It is with great sadness the family of David Conn announce his death peacefully at home in the early hours of July 28th. David was the much loved and cherished husband for over 63 years of Hilda, a beloved father to Alison (Barry) and David (Jennifer) and grandfather to Alex and Ryan Shaw and Meghan and Adam Conn.
David was born in Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, educated at Cumnock Academy and graduated B Sc., ARTC in Mining Engineering from Glasgow University. He married Hilda in 1959. In 1965 with their two small children, they emigrated to Canada. In 1967, David joined the Federal Government where he spent most of his career in various positions with Manpower and Immigration, the most challenging and rewarding being his time as Director General of Immigration for Ontario.
David was an avid reader and a devotee of Cryptic crosswords. In his leisure time he was seldom seen without a book or puzzle in hand. He had a prodigious memory for math and science formulae. He could also recite quote after quote from classical poetry and literature. He was a lifelong learner and took an MA in Public Administration at Carleton while in Ottawa.
After retirement, David and Hilda moved to Vancouver Island where he took up golf, enjoying both the game but especially the camaraderie of his golfing buddies. The west coast opened up wonderful holidays to California, Cannon Beach, and his favourite Maui.
David had a great sense of humour and loved to laugh especially with his grandchildren. Whether at Laurel & Hardy, Korman & Conway, or Calvin & Hobbes the tears would be streaming down his face from the pleasure of it all.
He was most of all a kind and generous man of quiet Presbyterian faith, who made many lifelong friends. He will be greatly missed.
Donations, if desired, can be made to the Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation. https://sphf.ca/
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
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JOE BISSETT
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David Burgess My condolences to David’s family and friends. I only worked briefly with David while on assignment with Employment and Immigration at 4900 Yonge Street. I had coffee with him several times and found him to be a friendly and considerate man with a great mind. He was charismatic and far from your typical civil servant. Very sorry to hear this news.
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Maria Bozzo I enjoyed working with David in my days at the Ontario Regional Office. He was indeed kind and patient. Condolences to the family.
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Germain Laporte Condoléances to David’s family. I remember him as a very kind colleague at Employment and Immigration Canada.
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Allan Jacques Condolences to David’s family and friends. I have very fond memories of David from our days at Employment and Immigration Canada. When faced with problems or issues to be resolved, David was a wonderful collaborator.
A TRUE GENTLEMAN AND TRUSTED COLLEAGUE. MY SINCERE CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO WILL MISS HIM. WHO CAN FORGET HIS HUMOUR AND WARM PERSONALITY