Joseph Harold Dionne
January 6, 1937 – March 8, 2022
Funeral Mass
Friday, March 18, 2022 at 10:30 AM
Chapel of St. Joseph – Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
Interment
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
8361 Yonge Street, Thornhill, ON, L3T 2C7
Obituary
Peacefully, at McKenzie Health Palliative Care. His flame will be carried by his loving wife of 65 years, Barbara (Brennan), his two sons Bob and Rick (Claire), and his granddaughter, Laura.
Harold was born in Quebec City in 1937 to Laura (Hunter) and Charles Dionne, whose family arrived in the St. Lawrence River Valley in 1663. A working class kid, Harold and his brothers took weekly showers at the local YMCA. At age 11, he found his first regular paycheque working as a bellhop in one of the city’s bustling hotels. After graduating from St. Pat’s High and night studies at Laval University, Harold took a job with IAC finance, which transferred him to Montreal in 1962, and then to Toronto during the Canada-Russia Summit Series of ’72. Here he helped the firm establish Continental Bank of Canada, all the while discovering Ontario with his young family, one hockey rink, and one provincial park, at a time. Harold retired at 55 to establish his own consulting firm, Dionne & Associates.
Harold was a snowbird, a world traveller, and a coast-to-coast explorer of North America through the open windows of oversized four-door Buicks and Dodges — this, after discovering the limitations on his first family car, a 1956 VW Bug. Harold was also an oft-bandaged home handyman, a despairing fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and a tomato sandwich connoisseur who loved a cold martini and a well-turned double play. Harold was a long-time member of Thornhill Country Club where he pursued a passion for curling and an unrequited love of golf. A past-president of Don Mills Rotary, a Paul Harris Fellow, Harold was also an avid volunteer who worked with Good Shephard shelter Toronto, St. Vincent De Paul, and Out of the Cold, among others. He was also a member of St. Luke’s congregation in Thornhill.
And always, a loving husband and dedicated father who left a foundation of all good memories.
Harold is predeceased by his younger brothers Norman (Brenda) and Jerry (Diana). A private service will be held at Holy Cross Cemetery in Thornhill. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Parkinson’s Canada at www.parkinson.ca/getinvolved/waystogive/
1 Messages
JOHN
on March 12, 2022 at 12:10 pm
WAS LIKE A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER HAROLD SHARED MANY GOOD TIMES WITH LIETTE AND I AND MY FAMILY BOTH AT THE LAKE AND IN MTL AND FLORIDA.WE WERE FORTUNATE TO HAVE SEEN HIM IN OCT IN TORONTO.MY KIDS AND I WILL MISS HIM .HOPEFULLY HE HAS MET MY WIFE IN HEAVEN BY NOW AND THEY WILL LOOK OVER US FROM CLOUD 9.REST IN PEACE HAROLD AND THANK YOU FOR A LONGTIME FRIENDSHIP,,,,,,,,,,JOHN AND FAMILY
Reply
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Joseph Harold Dionne 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Thornhill, Province: Ontario