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CREAGMILE o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-02-20 published
DILLABOUGH, Virginia (née BOOK)
Peacefully at London Health Sciences Centre - University Campus on February 19th, 2005, Mrs. Virginia DILLABOUGH (née BOOK) of London in her 84th year. Beloved wife of the late Mr. Frank DILLABOUGH (1988.) Loving mother of Mike DILLABOUGH and his wife Carolyn of Kingsville, Valerie DUKESHIRE of Lucan, Barbara and her husband Butch HESLOP of Thorndale, John DILLABOUGH and his wife Judy, and Nancy DILLABOUGH and her husband Ken CREAGMILE of Denfield. Dear grandmother of 13 and great grandmother of 4. Visitation in the Lloyd R. Needham Funeral Chapel (520 Dundas Street, London) on Monday 2-4 and 7-9pm where the funeral and committal service will be conducted on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005 at 11: 00am. Cremation to follow. In memory of Virginia, contributions may be made to a charity of your choice.

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CREALOCK o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-03-15 published
HOWLETT, Dorothy Louise (formerly CREALOCK)
Passed away peacefully at Tyndall Retirement Residence on Monday, March 14, 2005 at the age of 100. Much loved wife of the late Frank HOWLETT and previously of the late Austen CREALOCK. Loving mother of Dr. Geoffrey CREALOCK and grandmother of Martha and Molly. Dear sister of Mrs. Florence SMITH. Friends may call at the Turner and Porter Butler Chapel, 4933 Dundas Street West, Etobicoke (between Islington and Kipling Avenues), on Thursday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Service in the Chapel on Friday, March 18, 2005 at 1 p.m. Interment Park Lawn Cemetery. If desired, memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice.

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CREALY o@ca.on.middlesex_county.strathroy.age_dispatch 2005-12-13 published
CREALY, Laura▼ May▼ (1919-2005)
Laura May CREALY died December 4, 2005, the day after her 86th birthday. The daughter of Frederick and Lulu CREALY, she was born in Caradoc Township, Ontario, and grew up in the heart of a loving farming family from whom she gained a life-long sense of duty and integrity, a moral centre that guided her life and work. After graduating from Strathroy Collegiate Institute, she widened her rural horizons and moved to Ottawa to become a file clerk with External Affairs. Her career in the civil service was cut short in 1942 when she accompanied a friend who intended to register for the newly-formed Canadian Womens Army Corps. On the spur of the moment, she later claimed, Laura joined too. Self-effacing Laura would never have admitted the pioneering courage it took to go off to war in an army so new and ill-equipped she did basic training in street clothes and high heeled shoes because uniforms hadnt been manufactured yet, but signing up was illustrative of her life-long dedication to her country. Laura served overseas and rose to the rank of sergeant before her discharge in 1946. She subsequently obtained her B.A. from the University of Toronto and her Masters in social work from the University of Ottawa in 1952. While travelling through the Rockies, she fell under the spell of the mountains and settled in Calgary in 1959. She worked as a medical social worker at the Colonel Belcher Hospital until her retirement in 1979. Laura was loved for her nature and respected for her spirit by all she chose as Friends. She had a fine sense of humour, often at her own expense, but she could be acid-tongued in the face of injustice, incompetence or the misguided actions of politicians. Unstintingly generous and caring, she brought out the best in her Friends, encouraging them through obstacles they couldnt otherwise imagine conquering. Laura was the most loyal of Friends, a quality that in return inspired great loyalty in her Friends, new ones of which she continued to gather until the end of her life. Thoroughbred horse racing became a late life passion for her. She acquired her first race horse, Uncanny Greg, in 1991 and avidly followed the sometimes successful careers of several more horses over the next 14 years. Having become an adept handicapper, she regularly attended races in Calgary up to the end of the current season. An enthusiastic reader, especially of mysteries, she regularly perused several newspapers, countless magazines, and daily completed at least one cryptic crossword puzzle. With dictionaries always at hand, she was a language purist, pouncing on grammatical and spelling errors. Laura loved nature and enjoyed it in her garden, in city parks, and in the wilderness. She hiked the Chilkoot Trail, the West Coast Trail, and trails around her favourite spot, Lake O'Hara. Although she travelled through Europe and the Far East, she chose a trip on the Nahanni River as her best vacation. From childhood, dogs were a constant in her life. She leaves behind her last, her beloved Brittany Spaniel, Rockette. Although she documented her travels with thousands of photos, Laura seldom could be persuaded to have her own picture taken. Neither did she want a funeral held to mourn her passing. She is survived by three sisters, Alice WADSWORTH and Caroline CREALY, both of Hamilton, Ontario, and Ethel MIDGLEY (Bob▼) of Burlington, Ontario;▼ two nieces, Ellen TAILOR/TAYLOR of Puslinch, Ontario, and Patricia WADSWORTH of Hamilton; four nephews Robert MIDGLEY of Toronto, Philip WADSWORTH of Scarborough, Jerold WADSWORTH of Montreal, Brian WADSWORTH of Waterloo and several great nieces and nephews. A brother, William, and a sister, Phyllis, who died in childhood, predeceased her. Her Ontario family plans to gather in Calgary next May for a memorial service. Friends will be notified later of the exact date. Donations in memory of Laura would be gratefully received by the Animal Rescue Foundation, P.O. Box 34160, Calgary, Alberta T3C 1S2. Arrangements entrusted to Piersons Funeral Service Ltd., Calgary Alberta. Telephone: (403) 235-3602.

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CREALY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-12-09 published
CREALY, Laura▲ May▲ (1919-2005)
Died December 4, 2005, the day after her 86th birthday. The daughter of Frederick and Lulu CREALY, she was born in Caradoc Township, Ontario, and grew up in the heart of a loving farming family from whom she gained a lifelong sense of duty and integrity, a moral centre that guided her life and work. After graduating from Strathroy Collegiate Institute, she widened her rural horizons and moved to Ottawa to become a file clerk with External Affairs. Her career in the civil service was cut short in 1942 when she accompanied a friend who intended to register for the newly-formed Canadian Women's Army Corps. On the spur of the moment, she later claimed, Laura joined too.
Self effacing Laura would never have admitted the pioneering courage it took to go off to war in an army so new and ill equipped she did basic training in street clothes and high heeled shoes because uniforms hadn't been manufactured yet but signing up was illustrative of her lifelong dedication to her country. Laura served overseas and rose to the rank of sergeant before her discharge in 1946. She subsequently obtained her B.A. from the University of Toronto and her masters in social work from the University of Ottawa in 1952. While travelling through the Rockies, she fell under the spell of the mountains and settled in Calgary in 1959. She worked as a medical social worker at the Colonel Belcher Hospital until her retirement in 1979.
Laura was loved for her nature and respected for her spirit by all she chose as Friends. She had a fine sense of humor, often at her own expense, but she could be acid-tongued in the face of injustice, incompetence or the misguided actions of politicians. Unstintingly generous and caring, she brought out the best in her Friends, encouraging them through obstacles they couldn't otherwise imagine conquering. Laura was the most loyal of Friends, a quality that in return inspired great loyalty in her Friends, new ones of which she continued to gather until the end of her life.
Thoroughbred horse racing became a late life passion for her. She acquired her first racehorse, Uncanny Greg, in 1991 and avidly followed the sometimes successful careers of several more horses over the next 14 years. Having become an adept handicapper, she regularly attended races in Calgary up to the end of the current season. An enthusiastic reader, especially of mysteries, she regularly perused several newspapers, countless magazines and daily completed at least one cryptic crossword puzzle. With dictionaries always at hand, she was a language purist, pouncing on grammatical and spelling errors. Laura loved nature and enjoyed it in her garden, in city parks and in the wilderness. She hiked the Chilkoot Trail, the West Coast Trail and trails around her favorite spot, Lake O'Hara. Although she travelled through Europe and the Far East, she chose a trip on the Nahanni River as her best vacation. From childhood, dogs were a constant in her life. She leaves behind her last, her beloved Brittany spaniel Rockette.
Although she documented her travels with thousands of photos, Laura seldom could be persuaded to have her own picture taken. Neither did she want a funeral held to mourn her passing. She is survived by three sisters, Alice WADSWORTH and Caroline CREALY both of Hamilton, Ontario, and Ethel MIDGLEY (Bob▲) of Burlington, Ontario;▲ two nieces, Ellen TAILOR/TAYLOR of Puslinch, Ontario and Patricia WADSWORTH of Hamilton; four nephews, Robert MIDGLEY of Toronto, Philip WADSWORTH of Scarborough, Jerold WADSWORTH of Montreal, Brian WADSWORTH of Waterloo and several great nieces and nephews. A brother, William, and a sister Phyllis, who died in childhood, predeceased her. Her Ontario family plans to gather in Calgary next May for a memorial service. Friends will be notified later of the exact date. Donations in memory of Laura would be gratefully received by the Animal Rescue Foundation, P.O. Box 34160, Calgary, Alberta T3C 1S2.
Arrangements entrusted to Pierson's Funeral Service Ltd., Calgary, Alberta. Telephone (403) 235-3602.

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CREAMER o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-01-15 published
CREAMER, Ethel (née HULLEY)
At Bluewater Health - C.E.E. Site, Petrolia, on Thursday, January 13, 2005. Ethel Creamer, (née HULLEY,) 94 years, of Petrolia and formerly of Wyoming. Beloved wife of the late Victor CREAMER (1965.) Dear mother of Vivian and John PERCIVAL of Sarnia, Bert and Jackie CREAMER of Point Edward, and the late Bob CREAMER (1972.) Dear grandmother of Kori CREAMER, Cheryl MacKENZIE, Al CREMAER, Brian CREAMER and Stephen PERCIVAL. Dear great-grandmother of Scott and Derek MacKENZIE, Aaron and Emily HAMILTON, Jennifer and Mark RINALDO, and Brian PERCIVAL. Dear great-great-grandmother of Madeline RINALDO. In accordance with Mrs. CREAMER's wishes, her body has been donated to the Anatomy Department at the University of Western Ontario. As expressions of sympathy, memorial donations may be made to the C.E.E. Hospital Foundation and may be arranged by calling the Needham-Jay Funeral Home at (519) 882-0100. Memories and condolences may be left on-line at www.needhamjay.com.

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CREAMER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-01-21 published
O'MALLEY, Helen (née CREAMER)
Died peacefully surrounded by her family at St. Joseph's Health Centre on January 19th, 2005. Beloved wife of Patrick. Mother of Della O'MALLEY, Debbie (Martin) BARBER, Patricia (Chris) CHAPPELL. Grandmother of Dawn, Ross, Derrick, Sean and Ryan. Resting at the Newediuk Funeral Home, Kipling Chapel, 2104 Kipling Ave., Etobicoke (two blocks north of Rexdale Blvd.) Friday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday at 10: 30 a.m. from Transfiguration of Our Lord Church, 45 Ludstone Drive. Interment Assumption Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Lung Association or the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated.

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CREAMER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-01-28 published
TUSTIN, Rickey E.
(Owner and Operator of the Red Umbrella Inn). Passed away peacefully, at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Barrie, on Wednesday, January 26, 2005, at the age of 56. Loving husband of Kim (née CREAMER,) R.R.#2, Minden. Dear son of the late Albert and Beatrice TUSTIN, and son-in-law of Bert and Gayle CREAMER. Father of Frazer TUSTIN, dear brother of Jim (Greta). The family would like to thank the staff at the Minden Hospital, Haliburton County Access Centre for the care and compassion provided. Friends are invited to visit the family at the Gordon A. Monk Funeral Home Ltd., 127 Main Street, P.O. Box 427, Minden K0M 2K0 (1-888-588-5777), on Saturday, January 29, 2005 from 1: 00 until 3:00 p.m., then to the Red Umbrella Inn (Hwy. 35 North and Red Umbrella Rd.), for a gathering of Rick's family and Friends. Cremation. Memorial donations to the Canadian Liver Foundation, Kidney Foundation of Canada or to the The Humane Society would be appreciated by the family.

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CREAMER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-06 published
YOUNG, " Gerrie" Geraldine (née KIRKEY)
Passed away on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at the Trillium Health Centre, Mississauga. Beloved wife of the late Ronald Joseph YOUNG and loving mother to David and Tina (Mrs. Gregory LAUGHLAN) and dearest Nanny to Lindsay and Cameron. Lovingly remembered by her sister Jacqueline (Mrs. David MERRIFIELD,) her cousin Veronica OSTER and her aunt Margaret CREAMER, and by many cousins. Blessed with many wonderful Friends, especially her life-long friend Veronica Harris and her family, she will be greatly missed. Friends may call at the Kitching, Steepe and Ludwig Funeral Home, 146 Mill St. N., Waterdown on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. with Prayer Vigil at 4 p.m. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Saint Thomas The Apostle Roman Catholic Church, 715 Centre Rd., Waterdown on Thursday, December 8, 2005 at 1: 30 p.m. Cremation to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to either the Heart and Stroke Foundation, or the Building Funds for Saint Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, 715 Centre Rd., Waterdown, L0R 2H0 or St. Leo's Roman Catholic Church, 125 Watford Street, Brooklin, Ontario, L1M 1H2.

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CREAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-12-22 published
CREAN, John "Jack" Nicholas (July 22, 1920 to December 21, 2005)
After a short courageous battle with cancer, with his family by his side, at Humber River Regional Hospital, Church site. John was predeceased by his beloved wife of over 64 years Dorothy (née MULLENS.) Beloved▼ father of John and his wife Marsha▼ CREAN, Gerry and his wife Shondra▼ CREAN, James▼ and his wife Marsha CREAN, Mary-Jo Dickens, Cathy and her husband Dave ORR and Jackie STEWARD/STEWART/STUART and her husband John ANDREYCHUK. Loving▼ papa of 14 and great-grandfather of 7. Dear brother of Richard and his wife Audrey▼ CREAN. John▼ served in the military for the second World War. He was a Commissioner in Scouts Canada. John had a successful business career as Vice-President of Sales with T.S. Simms. In semi-retirement he opened Jay's Carpet Care, which he continued to run until 2005. John was a very avid golfer and billiard player. Resting at the Newediuk Funeral Home, Kipling Chapel, 2104 Kipling Ave. (2 blocks N. of Rexdale Blvd.) Thursday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Friday leaving the funeral home at 10: 00 a.m. for Funeral Mass from Transfiguration of Our Lord Church, 45 Ludstone Dr. at 10: 30 a.m. Interment Queen of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated. Special thanks to the nurses of the Critical Care Unit at Humber River Regional Hospital, Church site.

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CREAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-22 published
CREAN, John "Jack" Nicholas (July 22, 1920-December 21, 2005)
After a short, courageous battle with cancer, with his family by his side at Humber River Regional Hospital, Church Site. John was predeceased by his beloved wife of over 64 years, Dorothy (née MULLENS.) Beloved▲ father of John and his wife Marsha▲ CREAN, Gerry and his wife Shondra▲ CREAN, James▲ and his wife Marsha CREAN, Mary-Jo DICKENS, Cathy and her husband Dave ORR, and Jackie STEWARD/STEWART/STUART and her husband John ANDREYCHUK. Loving▲ Papa of 14 and great-grandfather of 7. Dear brother of Richard and his wife Audrey▲ CREAN. John▲ served in the military for the Second World War. He was a Commissioner in Scouts Canada. John had a successful business career as Vice-President of Sales with T.S. Simms. In semi-retirement, he opened Jay's Carpet Care which he continued to run until 2005. John was a very avid golfer and billiards player. Resting at the Newediuk Funeral Home, Kipling Chapel, 2104 Kipling Ave., Etobicoke (two blocks north of Rexdale Blvd.), Thursday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Friday, leaving the funeral home at 10 a.m. for Funeral Mass from Transfiguration of Our Lord Church, 45 Ludstone Dr. at 10: 30 a.m. Interment Queen of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family. Special thanks to the nurses of the Critical Care Unit at Humber River Regional Hospital, Church Site.

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CREARIE o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-02-09 published
CREARIE, Richard Maxwell
Peacefully at Parkwood Hospital on February 8th, 2005 Mr. Richard Maxwell CREARIE of London in his 73rd year. Beloved friend of Dorothy Leyland. Loving husband to the late Jane CREARIE (1993.) Dear mother of Christine D'LUGOS (Gerry.) Grand-father to John, Craig and Paul all of Orillia. Also survived by sisters Barbara EDGEWORTH (Robert) of Burford, Betty GUTHRIE (Peter) of Woodstock, sister-in-law Berna CREARIE of Barrie, brother-in-law Gary McRAE of Goderich and many nieces and nephews. Predeceased by parents Henry and Florence CREARIE (PERRY, MOORE,) sister Peggy (Clarence) HAWKEYE, Doreen (Leroy) CHRISTIAN, Josephine McRAE and brother William CREARIE. Visitation will be held in the Lloyd R. Needham Funeral Chapel, 520 Dundas Street, on Wednesday 7-9 p.m. with Legion and K.V.A. services conducted at 7 p.m. The funeral service will be held on Thursday, February 10th at 11 a.m. with interment to follow at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Memorial contributions to the London Poppy Fund or the charity of your choice would be appreciated.

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CREASE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-03-22 published
CREASE, Doug▼
Passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on Friday March 18th, his 61st wedding anniversary. Doug CREASE, in his 92nd year, was the beloved husband of Marion CREASE (née PROUSE,) father of Jane FALCONER (John▼) of Sydney, Australia; David CREASE of Burlington, Ontario; Robert CREASE (Joanne▼) of Caledon Village, Ontario; and Linda HORNE (Jim▼) of London, Ontario. He was the grandfather of Peter FALCONER, Katherine▼ HORNE and Maggie HORNE. Doug▼ was predeceased by his brother Ted CREASE and his sisters Barbara WILSON, Helen▼ PICKFORD, and Jamesie STEAD. Doug was a graduate of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia (B.A. '34, LL.B '37) and a veteran of World War 2 having served overseas in Holland. Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held on Saturday April 2nd at 2: 00 p.m. at Humbercrest United Church, 16 Baby Point Road, Toronto, Ontario M6S 2E9 and telephone (416) 767-6122. Expressions of sympathy or donations may be made to Humbercrest United Church, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society or a charity of your choice. Donations may be made online at http://www.londoncremation.com/

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CREASE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-03-22 published
CREASE, Doug▲
Passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on Friday, March 18th, 2005 his 61st wedding anniversary. Doug CREASE, in his 92nd year, was the beloved husband of Marion CREASE (née PROUSE,) father of Jane FALCONER (John▲) of Sydney, Australia; David CREASE of Burlington, Ontario; Robert CREASE (Joanne▲) of Caledon Village, Ontario; and Linda HORNE (Jim▲) of London, Ontario. He was the grandfather of Peter FALCONER, Katherine▲ HORNE and Maggie HORNE. Doug▲ was predeceased by his brother Ted CREASE and his sisters Barbara WILSON, Helen▲ PICKFORD, and Jamesie STEAD. Doug was a graduate of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia (B.A. '34, LL.B '37) and a Veteran of World War 2 having served overseas in Holland. Cremation has taken place. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, April 2nd at 2: 00 p.m. at Humbercrest United Church, 16 Baby Point Road, Toronto, Ontario M6S 2E9 and telephone 416-767-6122. Expressions of sympathy or donations may be made to Humbercrest United Church, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society or a charity of your choice. Donations may be made online at www.londoncremation.com

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CREBA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-12-30 published
CREBA, Jane▼ Glenn▼ (May▼ 13, 1990-December 26, 2005)
Our bright light tragically scattered into darkness on Boxing Day▼ 2005. Jane CREBA, daughter of Bruce CREBA and Virginia BARTON, best friend, sister, and confidante of Alison and protector of brother Elliot. Her life has been transformed into a shooting star that will be forever a light for her devoted parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and close Friends. A star student and athlete in Grade 10 at Riverdale Collegiate Institute, she will be remembered by her teachers and Friends as a loving and caring soul with a cheerful open heart. She shared summers at Kawagama Lake, Queen Elizabeth Camp on Beausoleil Island, and winter ski trips to Québec. The family will be holding a private service. A public memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund, One Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E6, 416-869-4847 in Jane's name would be appreciated.

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CREBA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-30 published
CREBA, Jane▲ Glenn▲ (May▲ 13, 1990-December 26, 2005)
Our bright light tragically scattered into darkness on Boxing Day▲ 2005. Jane CREBA, daughter of Bruce CREBA and Virginia BARTON, best friend, sister, and confidante of Alison and protector of brother Elliot. Her life has been transformed into a shooting star that will be forever a light for her devoted parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and close Friends. A star student and athlete in Grade 10 at Riverdale Collegiate Institute, she will be remembered by her teachers and Friends as a loving and caring soul with a cheerful open heart. She shared summers at Kawagama Lake, Queen Elizabeth Camp on Beausoleil Island, and winter ski trips to Québec. The family will be holding a private service. A public memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund, One Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E6, 416-869-4847, in Jane's name would be appreciated.

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CREBA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-31 published
A loving mother's son
Andre BURNETT's five half-siblings all grew into the adults their mother hoped they would
So how did her sixth child end up on the most-wanted list and then in the morgue?
By Jim RANKIN, Staff Reporter, Page A22
Andre BURNETT began life as an independent boy, raised by a loving mother in a poor neighbourhood. At some point, for reasons this city must reckon with, he decided to live by the gun. He was murdered September 10 -- becoming Toronto's 54th homicide victim of the year, and the 36th to be killed by a gun.
His tall, thin frame was draped over a chair, and beneath the brim of a baseball cap, the lucky man's eyes were further obscured by wraparound sunglasses.
He had a criminal record for drug and firearms offences. Not reflected on that record was the fact he'd been accused (but not convicted) of pulling the trigger a couple of times in his 24 years. He'd also, in July 2003, taken a police hollow-point bullet between the shoulder blades, just left of his spine.
Although his left arm, damaged by that police shooting, would take time to heal, that was all in Andre BURNETT's past. He considered himself lucky. He could have found himself in jail -- or not sitting there at all.
On that day this past June when BURNETT sat down for an interview a lawyer to his left, and mother to his right -- there was big hope that his luck would continue.
"I'm going to get a place, my own place, with my girl," BURNETT said. "Stay out of trouble."
He also planned to stay away from Jane and Finch, the neighbourhood where he grew up, was schooled, and had made Friends and enemies.
Three months later, there were funeral plans. "He was slaughtered," says his mom, Cecile CASE HOLDER, in her late 50s.
Andre Malik BURNETT left behind a son, 6, a daughter, 4, and the mother of his children.
In a city hurting from a spate of other gun-and-gang-related killings this year, mostly of young black men, and numb from the shooting death this week of 15-year-old Jane CREBA caught in crossfire while holiday shopping, BURNETT's life and death also leaves behind a list of post-mortem questions.
Perhaps the most instructive is the question of how his four half-brothers and a half-sister grew into the adults CASE HOLDER had hoped they would, and her sixth child ended up in the morgue?
It is Black youth that is unemployed in excessive numbers, it is Black students who are being inappropriately streamed in schools, it is Black kids who are disproportionately dropping out, it is housing communities with large concentrations of Black residents where the sense of vulnerability and disadvantage is most acute, it is Black employees, professional and non-professional, on whom the doors of upward equity slam shut. Just as the soothing balm of "multiculturalism" cannot mask racism, so racism cannot mask its primary target -- Stephen Lewis, Report on Racism in Ontario, 1992
Under circumstances that are the subject of a Toronto Police Service homicide investigation, BURNETT, having just served a 60-day stint in jail for breaching parole conditions, wound up back home the afternoon of Saturday, September 10.
It's believed he was driven to Jane St. and Driftwood Ave., not far from his childhood home, his mother says. What is certain is that he was killed around 3 p.m. Witnesses: heard a loud argument, followed by gunfire. BURNETT was reportedly hit by eight bullets. He collapsed on a footbridge. He was, according to police, unarmed.
BURNETT was no angel when he left this world, and to that his mother attests. But on May 27, 1981, born at Toronto General Hospital, he began as one.
Cecile CASE HOLDER had come to Canada from Jamaica in the late 1970s, leaving behind four sons and a daughter from a previous marriage, with the hope of establishing a new home for them in Toronto. With the birth of Andre in 1981, fathered by a man CASE HOLDER likens to a "bad accident" who had very little to do with her son's life, she was done with having children.
Baby Andre, however, "was very sweet. He was my last of six."
BURNETT spent the first five years of his life growing up in an apartment near Bathurst St. and Lawrence Ave. W. -- a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood where one cannot walk a block without finding a bagel shop, and, today, bungalows are being torn down to make way for the occasional monster home.
He wasn't to go near the stove in their apartment, but on Saturdays, when CASE HOLDER was not working, her young son would show up at her bedside with a cup of tea.
"Here, mommy, is your tea," he would say.
"Sometimes he'd drink half of it before he got up there," says CASE HOLDER. "He was very independent. He would go to his drawer and, in the summer, take out a matching shorts and top. In the wintertime, he would match his clothes."
CASE HOLDER worked for a car parts manufacturer, and by 1985, had waded through the bureaucratic red tape required to sponsor her five children from Jamaica. They joined her in the two-bedroom apartment CASE HOLDER had been sharing with her youngest, and the elder five enrolled in local schools. The apartment would not do for long.
It was clear she had to move, but couldn't afford the rent for the kind of space she needed in that neighbourhood.
"So I went and I applied for the Metro Housing, and that's how I end up in Jane and Finch," says CASE HOLDER. " Didn't know I was going into the lion's den."
This reality of huge housing projects creating what many called "communities in distress" has to be dealt with. They're often under-serviced, and a persuasive case can be made for better transportation, for a Community College campus, for a thriving community centre, for some kind of outdoor recreational space. The list goes on. It all has relevance. -- Stephen Lewis, 1992 report
It may have been only a few kilometres away, but the move to Toronto Community Housing Corp., subsidized housing on Shoreham Dr., east of Jane St. and north of Finch Ave. W., might as well have been to another planet. A very small and concentrated one. Bordered by Black Creek Pioneer Village immediately to the north, and York University to the east, the low-rise brick buildings are home to some of the city's least well off, and historically, a place where gunfire is not unexpected.
In other areas of Jane and Finch, however, gunfire is not expected at all. And this is what Jane-Finch ratepayers not living in the pockets of public housing most susceptible to drug dealing, gangs and associated violence have taken great pains over the years to point out.
All that likely would have been lost on little Andre. He started school at Shoreham Public School, where he quickly fell in love with his kindergarten teacher. His siblings, however, continued to go to school in their old neighbourhood, where they had the kind of role models outside the family young Andre would find in short supply.
"All the older kids were seeing around them was positive things," says CASE HOLDER. " Andre was the baby who started school in the Jane and Finch area."
From the beginning, CASE HOLDER says she didn't like what she was seeing in the new area, and for that reason kept her children on a tight leash. There were curfews, and strict rules. "I started to observe how people live, and their kids running around. I was tough on my kids," she says, recalling one instance where she delivered a walloping to her daughter, at the time an A-student who was starting to cut school. "I busted her behind."
CASE HOLDER tried her best to ensure her work hours didn't interfere with her job of raising six children on her own, but when her youngest was 8 or 9, she took up a new job from midnight to 8 a.m. cleaning luxury boxes at the newly opened SkyDome.
On her very first shift, the police came calling to her townhome. CASE HOLDER says they were looking for a neighbour who had sold cocaine to an undercover officer, but ended up arresting one of Andre's half-brothers. During the nighttime raid, police searched the house with guns drawn, including Andre's room, while he was in bed.
"My house was like five hurricanes passed through it," she says. "They didn't even apologize," she says, "and later they arrested the guy who they wanted."
The charges against her son were eventually dismissed, but the raid left her youngest with an indelible impression of police, and white people. Young Andre soon began seeing a therapist, who happened to be white. His mother remembers he was wary. "The white people are bad," she recalls him saying, "because, why would they put a gun into my head?"
Of all Jamaican children under 19 years of age, 62.7 percent live in lone parent families, as do 54.8 percent of children who are African and Black and 52.1 percent of children from "other Caribbean nations." In these three groups, respectively, 64.5, 63.2, and 57.8 percent of children are below the poverty line Ethno-Racial Inequality in Toronto: Analysis of the 1996 Census, by Michael Ornstein, 2000
When Andre BURNETT was in his mid-teens, CASE HOLDER discovered a gun outside their townhome. That, she says, was "the reason why I took my baby and left Jane and Finch one morning."
She moved right out of Canada, to a city in the northeastern U.S., where she lives to this day and works as a caregiver in a hospital. She enrolled BURNETT in a high school there, but he soon was asking to go home, back to Toronto, to finish his schooling.
Another reason he wanted to go home, says his mother, was tight security at his new high school. He didn't like getting wanded every day. He didn't feel the school was safe. CASE HOLDER, deciding he was old enough at 17 to make his own decisions, let him go home to Jane and Finch.
While violent crime in Toronto has been declining, young people's involvement in, and victimization by crime has been trending upwards over the past eight years. The number of youth is projected to grow by 21 per cent in five years -- Toronto's Vital Signs 2005: The City's Annual Check-up
BURNETT initially moved in with a girlfriend of CASE HOLDER's, then with one of his half-brothers. He had arrived back home with thoughts of going to York University, as one of his brothers had. He was bright, into computers, and also looking at a possible career in music, says his mother.
"He liked to write music. He wanted to be a record producer," she says. "He had some stuff that he wrote, but I don't know where they are, and most of the things that he used to write was against, like, the brutality of police. He used to write heavy stuff, like Tupac Shakur."
CASE HOLDER admits she doted on her youngest, particularly after the others had left home. "The other kids used to say I spoil him, but he was the only one that I had to support. So he used to wear Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, stuff like that.
"Then he started wearing black, and clothes that I didn't like to see him in. He started wearing his pants down, and when I see him I would tell him, 'Pull your pants up.'"
At some point, the independent young boy CASE HOLDER had raised became a follower. Just when, she is not sure, but says her son's life changed some time after he went back home and enrolled at Westview Centennial Secondary School, southwest of Jane and Finch.
"That was the doom. That's when all hell broke loose," she says, blaming the school and poor choices in Friends for what followed. (A vice-principal there, responding to a Star inquiry about BURNETT's days, said senior staff had moved on, and there was little she could say other than he had attended the school.)
With the birth of a son, BURNETT became a father before his 20th birthday. He and his girlfriend later had a daughter as well, and the two grandchildren remain an important part of CASE HOLDER's life. She would come back to Toronto to visit, but she no longer had a strong hold on her son. She did try, though.
She remembers one occasion when the half-brother BURNETT had been staying with called her to say he had taken to coming home at 4 a.m. "And so I asked my son to drive him over to me. I remember very clearly, I was in the kitchen, and (Andre) was talking to me, and I had a mop like that in the corner, and I pulled him up and I beat him, and was beating his ass with the mop.
"And he was, like, 'Mommy, Mommy.' He would never say a word to make me upset. He would never, no matter what I do, and I would rap him, and he would never open his mouth.
"He was never a disrespectful child, never."
He started racking up an adult criminal record, which included drug and firearms offences. He was also fingered in a 2002 non-fatal shooting but later saw charges dropped because of identification problems. In connection with that shooting, he made the Toronto Crime Stoppers 10-most-wanted list.
By then, he looked little like the boy CASE HOLDER had raised. Nor like the young man wearing the red gown in his middle-school graduation picture. In one particular police mugshot, he wears a beard. His eyes look dead.
On July 10, 2003, in a police operation aimed at flushing out a wanted gunman in a park near Jane St. and Driftwood Ave., BURNETT was shot once in the back by police, who alleged BURNETT had fired first. Police found a 9 mm handgun at the scene, but, following a thorough search of the area by the province's civilian Special Investigations Unit, no forensic evidence was found to indicate the gun had been fired that night -- no residue, no shell and no bullet could be found. The Special Investigations Unit found the shooting to be justified, and cleared the two officers who opened fire of any wrongdoing.
BURNETT, badly wounded by the police bullet, found himself charged with attempting to kill the two officers.
One dramatic reversal in policy concerned the equity policies enacted by the Liberal and New Democratic Party governments. The Conservatives shut down an Anti-Racism Secretariat created by the New Democratic Party, and its counterpart in the Ministry of Education, abandoned policies aimed at increasing gender equity in administrative posts in education, and deleted references to pro-equity goals -- Stephen E. Anderson and Sonia Ben Jaafar, Policy Trends in Ontario Education, 2003
On most days, Winston LAROSE of the Jane-Finch Concerned Citizens Organization can be found in a cluttered second-floor office at Yorkgate Mall, a rejuvenated shopping centre on the northwest corner of Jane and Finch. Over the years, LAROSE, a trained psychiatric nurse, has watched and lived the hurt of young black men in the neighbourhood.
He never knew BURNETT, but he knows the story.
"Somewhere along the line, we have failed them as a society," says LAROSE. "We are a particularly impoverished area, in terms of social, cultural values and economics and the whole thing. Single mothers raising children, without the means to do it properly, absent fathers, inadequate material things in the home, hardly can pay the rent, distressed mother, Children's Aid having ready access to their children, police officers coming and knocking on the doors.
"It's not treated in the same way as a kid who goes to Upper Canada College, for instance. They're growing up in different worlds."
Generally, he says, this has all translated into a loss of a proper sense of self-esteem and humanity.
"What's been critically important for our community has been the devaluation of social life -- all together, the devaluation of our sense of humanity. I think it's stepped away from strong traditional values that are critical to developing human beings that respect each other."
Those who choose to pull the trigger and take a life, he says, are detached from that reality. "All that happens is an emotional response to, 'You're wearing my colours,' and bam, you're gone."
Extra police alone, as has been pointed out by many this past year in Toronto, is not the answer, he says. "All we're going to have is like Harlem in the old days, or Chicago, where police with guns are patrolling certain neighbourhoods and other neighbourhoods don't have that experience, and this is where we're heading right now."
The warning signs have been long been there, he points out, dating back decades, and perhaps most ominously as laid out in Stephen Lewis's 1992 report on anti-black racism in Ontario, which was ordered up by Bob Rae, the New Democratic Party premier of the day, following the "Yonge St. riots" that stemmed from the verdict in the police beating case of motorist Rodney King in Los Angeles.
Things have not much improved in Ontario, says LAROSE, who cites funding decisions made during the years of the Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government as one of the root causes behind the trouble many of Toronto's most impoverished youth, and black youth in particular, are in today.
"What he did is he restructured schools, and the schools in this area suffered from that. It reduced the number of teachers in the schools. It removed the schools from the domains of the community itself, where they had access, ready access for things like after-school programs, recreational programs and activities.
"A lot of community activities were conducted in those schools and people literally saw those schools as being some place where they could go. That's gone.
"There's kind of a general disrespect for the black community at large that seems to be acceptable," says LAROSE. " That is still very much in existence, and we need to do something to alter that, to change that.
"It has to start with the children we have right now, that are at the age of 5 and 6 and 7," he says -- and then pauses.
"Many of these kids that are committing all these murders, these are Harris's children, because they were 5 and 6 years old (in 1995), and these were the kids that got neglected."
Following the police shooting, BURNETT spent most of his recovery in jail, where he remained until this past summer, when the most serious charges against him were suddenly dropped after one of the two police officers he was accused of trying to kill, on the eve of BURNETT's trial, changed his story. In a last-minute deal, BURNETT pleaded guilty to possessing the handgun, and walked out of court a free man.
Upon his release from jail, CASE HOLDER noticed changes in her son. His head, in her words, wasn't "right." Still, he was a lucky man, and talked of settling down and perhaps getting back to his education. When he came to the Star to tell his story, he did it with the intention of filing a potential lawsuit against police. He said little, but claimed he never had a gun the night police shot him.
Despite the subsequent launch of an internal police investigation into police testimony and note-taking in the case, the two officers were lauded for their actions the night BURNETT was shot by police. The officers received their awards at police headquarters September 20. By then, Andre BURNETT had been dead for all of 10 days, having been gunned down near his old home, becoming Toronto's 54th homicide victim of the year.
There is no indication BURNETT was in a gang. Nor have police indicated what they think might be a motive for his killing.
To this day, his mother is incensed that police would hand out an award so close to his death. But she is hopeful that she will one day attend the trial of whoever took her son's life.
She says she has an idea who did it -- "Friends," she says, from his high school days. And she blames them, and the old neighbourhood, for his demise. She makes no specific mention of any government policy. BURNETT was 14 in 1995 when the Harris government ushered in its Common Sense Revolution platform. All of his older half-brothers and half-sister, the closest of whom was 21 at the time, were out of the secondary school system by then.
Today, one of his half-brothers is an accountant, studying journalism. Another is an Ontario government worker. The remaining two are a house painter and a self-employed electronics technician. BURNETT's half-sister is a bank supervisor.
Andre BURNETT went home this summer, and lies buried in the most expensive coffin his family could afford.
"I know he's in a better place. You should see him. He looked so peaceful," she says. "The funeral home did a good job by him. It was like the day I gave birth to him. He was that perfect child."

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CREBER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-02-12 published
BAREFOOT, Ronald▼ R.▼
Passed away in hospital Friday, February 4th, 2005 of pneumonia. Beloved husband and dear friend of Frances and dear sister Audrey NICHOLLS and her husband Ken. Predeceased by brother Norman. Very▼ saddened relatives include his nieces Sandra CREBER (husband Bruce and children,) Anne NICHOLLS in Calgary, and sister-in-law Louise BURKHOLDER. Ron▼ earned his post-graduate degrees in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Toronto under Professor Fred Beamish, and joined CIL in 1953. When Ron retired after 30 years service with his Analytical Research Group he found interest and pleasure in chemistry related work in two different departments at the U. of T. There will be a memorial service held at the Oakview Funeral Home, 56 Lakeshore Road W. (one block east of Kerr St.) (905) 842-2252 on Tuesday, February 15 at 1: 30 p.m. Private interment to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to charities of your choice or St. Paul's United Church Memorial Fund, or Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital would be appreciated.

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CREBER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-01-28 published
CREBER, Francis George
Passed away suddenly on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 with family by his side at Groves Memorial Hospital, Fergus, in his 80th year. son of the late Francis and Marion CREBER (Francis Wilbert and Marion Hartrick). Beloved brother of Bill (Barb), Marion (Charlie), Autumn and Gerry (Leona). Loving uncle of David, Suzanne, Stephen, Margaret, Kelly and Danny. Good friend of Don and Jeanette. Frank is loved and will be greatly missed by his many relatives and Friends. Resting at Memorial Chapel Brooklin, 79 Baldwin Street, Brooklin Village Whitby from 1: 00 p.m. Saturday, January 29th with Funeral Service to follow in the chapel Saturday afternoon at 2: 00 p.m. Interment to follow at Groveside Cemetery.

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CREBER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-02-11 published
BAREFOOT, Ronald▲ R.▲
Passed away in hospital Friday, February 4th, 2005 of pneumonia. Beloved husband and dear friend of Frances and dear sister Audrey NICHOLLS and her husband Ken. Predeceased by brother Norman. Very▲ saddened relatives include his nieces Sandra CREBER (husband Bruce and children,) Anne NICHOLLS in Calgary, and sister-in-law Louise BURKHOLDER. Ron▲ earned his post-graduate degrees in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Toronto under Professor Fred BEAMISH, and joined CIL in 1953. When Ron retired after 30 years service with his Analytical Research Group he found interest and pleasure in chemistry related work in two different departments at the U. of T. There will be a Memorial Service held at the Oakview Funeral Home, 56 Lakeshore Road W. (one block east of Kerr St.) (905) 842- 2252 on Tuesday, February 15 at 1: 30 p.m. Private interment to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to charities of your choice or St. Paul's United Church Memorial Fund, or Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital would be appreciated.

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CREBER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-09-06 published
CREBER, Robert P.
Passed away, at Toronto East General Hospital, on Saturday, September 3, 2005, after a long and courageous battle. He will be sadly missed by his beloved children Bradley and Tanya. Dear son to Marjorie. Loving brother to Jack and Rick. He will be fondly remembered by his extended family and many Friends. Family and Friends will be received at Pine Hills Visitation, Chapel and Reception Centre, 625 Birchmount Road (north of St. Clair Ave. East), 416-267-8229, on Friday, September 9, 2005 at 1 p.m. for a memorial gathering. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Kidney Foundation or the Diabetes Association.

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CRECES o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-03-26 published
VOISIN, Robert Norman Sr.
At London Health Sciences Centre, University Campus on Tuesday, March 22, 2005, Robert Norman Sr. of Dashwood, formerly of Kitchener, in his 84th year. Beloved friend of Helen CRECES. Dear father of Carol (FARQUHAR,) Lindsay and her husband David of Parkhill, Robert and his wife Sophie of Kitchener and Michael and his wife Susan of Edmonton. Loved brother of Gladys of British Columbia and Mary, Rita, and Doug of Kitchener. Grandfather of Kimberly ANTOZACK (Gerry), Rob, Meghan, Lauren, and Allison. Great grandfather of Derek. He will be missed by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Mr. VOISIN's family will receive Friends from 10 a.m. until the memorial mass at 11 a.m. on Tuesday April 5, 2005 at St. Teresa's Roman Catholic Church, 44 Leonard Street, Kitchener. Interment Woodland Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy and donations (Grand Bend Royal Canadian Legion Br.#498 or Heart and Stroke Foundation) would be appreciated and may be made through London Cremation Services, 672-0459.

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CREE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-05-25 published
BELL, Nora (née CREE)
Peacefully in her sleep at Bon Air Nursing Home in Cannington on Monday, May 23, 2005 in her 90th year. Beloved wife of the late George Howard BELL. Loving mother of Kenneth of British Columbia and William and his wife Joanne of Whitby and will be missed by her devoted daughter-in-law Geraldine BELL of Pickering. Dear Nanny to Sherry, Pauline, Cindy, Lisa and Kevin. Great-grandmother to Brandon, Trevor, Logan and Kathleen. Nora will be sadly missed by sister-in-law Helen CREE and nieces and nephews. The family will receive Friends at the McEachnie Funeral Home, 28 Old Kingston Road, Ajax (Pickering Village) 905-428-8488 from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 28, followed by a service in the Chapel at 11: 00 a.m. Interment will take place at Resthaven Memorial Gardens. Special thanks for the loving care provided by Emily TEAR and her staff, also the wonderful caring staff at Bon Air Nursing Home. In lieu of flowers, donations to a charity of your choice would be greatly appreciated.

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