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DEGAN o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-06-16 published
NEEDHAM, T. Willard " Bill"
Born July 4, 1923 in London, Ontario, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on June 14, 2005 at University Hospital. Loved and missed by wife, Dorothy (FLEMING/FLEMMING,) children Jackie and Gord DEL DEGAN; David and Joan FLEMING/FLEMMING; Cindy and Andrew NASHED; Pamela and Gerry HUNTER; Debbie and Rudy PARACHONIAK Jim and Elsa FAGAN; David and Allison FAGAN. Grandchildren: Adam, Emma and Kate DEL DEGAN; Shane, Nikki, Carly and Michael FLEMING/FLEMMING Andrea, Duncan, and Erin HUNTER; Sandi, Jody, Rudy and Andy PARACHONIAK Jesse, Alicia, Jeffrey, Kayla and Jeremy FAGAN; David and Matthew FAGAN. Best friend to his brother-in-law, Gordon FRY. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Predeceased by wife Evelyn, 1972, siblings Lewis, Margaret, Jean and Carmen, and parents Gordon and Emma NEEDHAM.
Bill worked as a proud sheet metal worker, supervising and building numerous construction projects including the Ford Motor Company, Wellington Mall, U.W.O. and the Cami plant. He was well respected and liked by all the men who worked under him and those he worked with. Bill saw front-line action with the Irish Regiment, 5th Division, 1942-1946. He played football for the London Lords, Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen and Regina Roughriders. His favourite past-times were watching all sports, especially football with his favourite dog, Rosie, and his frequent daily trips to Tim Hortons. Visitation will be held on Friday from 2: 00-4:00 and 7: 00-9:00 p.m. as well as 1 hour prior to the funeral service being conducted at the Westview Funeral Chapel, 709 Wonderland Road North (2 blocks north of Oxford) on Saturday, June 18t h, 2005 at 10: 30 a.m. Reverend Peter LEONARD of All Saints Anglican Church officiating. Interment, Grove Cemetery. Special thanks to the Doctors and nurses in Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital for their excellent care of Bill and for their dedication and support. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated.

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DEGAN o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-11-12 published
HORTON, Linda▼ Gloria▼ (DEL DEGAN)
A resident of Chatham, Linda Gloria HORTON (DEL DEGAN) died suddenly on Wednesday, November 9, 2005. Born in Toronto, dear daughter of Sidney and Bruna DEL DEGAN of Toronto. Beloved wife of Paul HORTON of Chatham. Dear mother of Greg and Christi COTÉ of British Columbia, and Jeff and Cathy COTÉ of Barrie. Loving sister of Larry and Linda DEL DEGAN of Innisfil, Gord and Jackie DEL DEGAN of London. Sister-in-law of Marie and Dale WOLFE of Chatham, Ralph and Linda HORTON of London, Karon and Bill CUDNEY of London, Stan HORTON, and Bill and Rose HORTON, all of Chatham. Loved by her 6 grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. In keeping with Linda's wish, there will be no service. Cremation with Private Family Interment Service at Maple Leaf Cemetery, Chatham at a later date. Donations made to Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation appreciated. Online condolences may be left at www.mckinlayfuneralhome.com

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DEGAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-01-08 published
DEL DEGAN-ANTONELLI, Dorothy (formerly DEL DEGAN, née FUDGE)
Peacefully, on January 6, 2005, surrounded by loving family. Predeceased by her first husband Joseph DEL DEGAN and her second husband Edward ANTONELLI. Cherished mother of Karen DEL DEGAN and Diane (Leonard) HOOD. Loving Noni of Joseph, Jason and Jody HOOD and Leah PATTON. Dear sister of Ruth (Wally) CURTIS, Ellen (George) MARTIN, Pearl (Henry) SILVER and Florence HARICH. Beloved daughter of the late Ambrose and Marion FUDGE. Predeceased by siblings, Margaret POLLETT, Fred and Mel FUDGE and Marie BEARD. Dorothy's family wish to express their sincere gratitude to her "Special Angels" at Mississauga Lifecare Centre for their nurturing care and support. A celebration of Dorothy's life will be held in the Chapel at The Simple Alternative (1535 South Gateway Rd., at Dixie Rd., 905-602-1580), on Monday, January 10th at 5: 00 p.m. with visitation one hour prior. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Dorothy may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Peel.

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DEGAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-11-12 published
HORTON, Linda▲ Gloria▲ (DEL DEGAN)

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DEGANIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-09-05 published
3 reservists charged in transient's death
Autopsy of homeless Toronto man reveals injuries consistent with beating
By Jen GERSON, Monday, September 5, 2005, Page A9
Toronto -- Paul CROUTCH, a homeless man who Friends say was harmless and avoided trouble, spent the last night of his life in a sleeping bag in a downtown Toronto park, weathering the wet remnants of hurricane Katrina.
The 59-year-old had spent the past three years sleeping on the streets, or sometimes in shelters. Until recently, Mr. CROUTCH spent a lot of his time on a traffic island two blocks from where he was killed. But, worried about drug dealers, he picked up his meagre possessions and began sleeping in Moss Park, an area frequented by transients and close to the Moss Park Armoury, home to the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada regiment.
He told Friends he felt he would be safer there.
But in the pre-dawn hours last Wednesday, he was beaten to death, allegedly by three part-time members of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves now charged with second-degree murder.
Shortly before 5 a.m., after receiving two 911 calls, police arrived at Moss Park and found Mr. CROUTCH unconscious in his sleeping bag. He was taken to nearby St. Michael's Hospital, where he died with his case workers from a local hostel at his bedside, said Dion OXFORD, of the Salvation Army's Gateway Shelter.
"He didn't cause trouble, he didn't cause fights, he was harmless," said Mr. OXFORD, who had known Mr. CROUTCH since he started going to the hostel in December of 2002.
Mr. CROUTCH usually slept outdoors but periodically stayed at the shelter, Mr. OXFORD said. The Armoury is often used as a shelter for the homeless, for example during this summer's extreme heat alerts.
Toronto homicide Detective Wayne FOWLER said there was no sign that Mr. CROUCH put up much of a fight when he was attacked.
An autopsy showed that his injuries were consistent with being punched, kicked or stomped upon, police said.
Det. FOWLER credited people in the area with coming forward "with any information they had," which led to the arrests on Friday.
Jeffery HALL, 21, Mountaz IBRAHIM, 23, and Brian DEGANIS, 21, all of Toronto and all members of the Queen's Own Rifles, have been charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm. The three appeared in court on Saturday and are expected to be back in court later this week.
Captain Mark GILES, spokesman for the National Investigation Service with the Canadian Armed Forces, said that each of the three accused had at least two years experience with the forces, and that all were trained for combat.
"This is a tragic situation, it's a very serious matter," he said in a telephone interview from Ottawa yesterday.
Capt. GILES said that the case is now before the courts, and so he could offer no further details about the accused. Toronto police and the National Investigation Service were involved in the investigation.
Army officials confirmed that a regimental social event took place at Moss Park Armoury last Tuesday night, but could not confirm whether the accused men attended the party.
Police said a woman who tried to intervene on behalf of Mr. CROUTCH suffered bruising. The woman lives in shelters and was prompted by members of the community to contact police, Det. FOWLER said.
"She sought her own medical treatment," he added. "She's sore, but she's going to be okay."
Mr. CROUTCH spent every day at the Good Neighbours' Club, a day centre for homeless senior men located in a nondescript white building near the Moss Park Armoury.
Mr. OXFORD said Mr. CROUTCH was in good physical health, adding that he last saw him at a softball game in Moss Park last Monday.
Bob SEGUIN, a support-care worker with the Good Neighbours' Club, said Mr. CROUTCH was essentially a good man but suffered from paranoia and could sometimes be a bit of a handful.
He had been barred from most of the local shelters and so slept outside most of the year, only sleeping indoors during severe weather. Mr. CROUTCH came by the club to shower, do his laundry and sleep.
"He slept a lot here because he didn't sleep a lot at night," Mr. SEGUIN said.
Mr. SEGUIN said he believed Mr. CROUTCH ran a newspaper in a small town in British Columbia some years ago, but fell on hard times and suffered mental problems.
"He kept to himself," Mr. SEGUIN added. "He had a good sense of humour, a witty, intellectual, dry type of humour."
The▼ Gateway▼ Shelter will hold a memorial service for Mr. CROUTCH next week.

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DEGANIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-09-07 published
Defeated by his demons, man met violent end on a Moss Park bench
By Anthony REINHART, Wednesday, September 7, 2005, Page A1
Last▼ Tuesday night, Paul CROUTCH laid down his life, or what little was left of it, safe in the belief that he could handle any threats.
He bedded down on his usual bench in Toronto's Moss Park, which, to his mind, was a damn sight safer than the shelters, with their drunken bullies and bedbugs, their tuberculosis, their thieves.
When the former British Columbia resident wound up dead the next day, beaten almost beyond recognition on a rough and desperate patch of the city's downtown, few would have expected police to find $300 in his pocket, right there where he'd put it.
Fewer still would have guessed he had been a newspaper publisher, minor hockey coach, homeowner and the father of a scientist before his demons defeated him.
And no one who was thinking straight would have anticipated where the finger would point: at three part-time reserve soldiers from the armoury next door, three young men trained to lay down their own lives to save others.
As often as death walks the tired streets around the park, "you wouldn't expect people that are charged with our protection to take this kind of action," said Don HARRIS, who runs the Good Neighbours' Club, a men's drop-in centre where Mr. CROUTCH, 59, visited daily.
For all its optimism, the centre's name suggested only irony yesterday, given what police allege to have happened after three members of the Queen's Own Rifles left the Moss Park Armoury and visited the park next door.
There, police say, a woman saw three men beating a homeless man, and they turned on her when she tried to intervene.
There,▲▼ at 4: 40 a.m., officers found an unconscious Mr. CROUTCH, suffering what the coroner would call "blunt impact head trauma... consistent with being punched, kicked or stomped."
And there, they pursued leads, along with the National Investigation Services of the Canadian Forces, that resulted in Jeffery HALL, 21, Mountaz IBRAHIM, 23, and Brian DEGANIS, 21, being charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm.
In due course, a court will answer the questions. Yesterday, those closest to Mr. CROUTCH could only wait, wonder and remember.
"Paul wasn't always a crazy homeless person," said Marilyn HOWARD, his former wife of 25 years, from Dawson Creek. "He was incredibly brilliant, and that was probably a lot of his difficulty."
Difficulty quickly followed Mr. CROUTCH's birth, in Toronto, on November 6, 1945. He was placed in a foster home with a family called CROUTCH, but they never adopted him.
At 12, he renamed himself Paul Richard Franklin CROUTCH, taking his first three names from his favourite hockey players.
When the young couple met in 1966, Mr. CROUTCH worked for aircraft maker McDonnell Douglas, and after they married, he started his own fabricating business.
"His mental illness was starting even then," Ms. HOWARD said. "His big problem was, he was always right," and too often saw the rest of the world as wrong.
The couple moved to Vancouver in 1973, then north to Dawson Creek two years later, where Mr. CROUTCH worked as a travelling auto-parts salesman for Ford. Twice a month, even in winter, his work took him deep into the Yukon via the Alaska Highway, a desolate but essential lifeline for northerners.
"He did lots of favours for people on the highway," Ms. HOWARD said, recalling how her husband would pick up a half-dozen lobsters on sale at Safeway, or a side of beef from a farmer, and deliver them to far-flung Friends along his route.
Mr. CROUTCH left the road after their daughter, Shannon, was born in 1977. He joined the Peace River Block News as advertising manager, but when its owners cut salaries, he left. With his wife and some Friends, he started a weekly, The Mirror, in 1980, and focused his coverage exclusively on good news.
The▲▼ paper prospered, but Mr. CROUTCH's mental illness became ever more evident, both at home and in the paranoid tone of his editorials.
"The worse it got, the less he realized how much help he needed," said Ms. HOWARD.
And he would go on refusing help until the day before his death.
The▲▼ couple divorced in 1993, and soon after, Mr. CROUTCH sold The Mirror and moved to Grande Prairie, Alberta.
"I got reports of him just sitting in the mall [in Grande Prairie], looking like a zombie," Ms. HOWARD said.
She lost track of him from there, but in the late 1990s, as his daughter was earning her master's degree in plant science, Mr. CROUTCH made his way back to Toronto.
When he walked through the stainless steel doors of the Good Neighbours' Club in 1999, he filled out a form to become a member. In the box marked "next of kin," he wrote "none wished."
From then on, he was a fixture, albeit a quiet one, at the drop-in centre, where he showered, did his laundry and sent faxes to the social agencies that helped him.
"He was really smart, and he really felt he'd been wronged," said Gary McCRIMMON, a worker at the centre, referring to Mr. CROUTCH's phantom fears of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the government, whoever. "I think it consumed him and it was a large part of his downfall."
As evening fell last Tuesday, Mr. CROUTCH turned aside a doctor's concerns with his usual phrase: "I'll be dead in a couple days." He also refused, as usual, to sleep in a homeless shelter.
"I gave him two bottles of water and he set off for the park," Mr. McCRIMMON said.
When a detective called the centre on Wednesday morning, Mr. McCRIMMON answered. When told of Mr. CROUTCH's death, and of the bruising on his face, his first thought was that he had fallen.
"She said, 'Oh, no, no, this is a homicide,' " he said. "When I went and identified the body, I could see what she meant."
Ms. HOWARD, who spent yesterday taking condolences on the sidewalks of Dawson Creek and arranging a Toronto cremation by phone, said she hopes to be in court to see her ex-husband's alleged killers face justice.
"Paul's life was over, in many ways, years ago," she said. "These people who did this have got to atone for what they've done."

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DEGANIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-09-04 published
3 reservists face murder charges
Homeless man beaten to death in Moss Park
By Hilda HOY, Staff Reporter
Three members of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves are facing second-degree murder and assault charges after a homeless man was beaten to death in a downtown park and a woman coming to his aid was attacked.
Paul Richard CROUTCH, 59, died at St. Michael's Hospital on Wednesday as his case manager stood nearby. An autopsy performed Friday found the cause of death was trauma to the head, and the injuries were consistent with being punched, kicked or stomped.
Police were called to an assault in Moss Park, near Sherbourne and Shuter Sts., shortly before 5 a.m. on Wednesday. An unconscious CROUTCH was rushed to hospital but died later that morning.
A woman who witnessed the beating and intervened was treated for soft-tissue damage and bruising, police said.
CROUTCH had been a resident of the Salvation Army's Gateway Shelter, around the corner from the park on Jarvis Street, since 2002. Gateway will host a funeral next week.
He has family on the West Coast who have been notified.
"He was very mild-mannered and soft-spoken," said Gateway director Dion OXFORD. "He was harmless."
Last▲ time he saw CROUTCH, he was watching the Gateway softball team play in the park.
"He kept to himself most of the time," remembered Gateway chaplain Ron FARR.
Brian DEGANIS, 21, Jeffery HALL, 21, and Mountaz IBRAHIM, 23, all of Toronto, were arrested and charged Friday after a joint investigation by Toronto police and the army's National Investigation Services.
The three men are part-time members of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, a reserve infantry unit that trains at the Moss Park Armoury adjacent to the park where CROUTCH was found.
Each has received at least two years of combat training, although the exact length of their service could not be confirmed. They had attended a "social function" at the armoury that evening but were not in uniform, investigation services spokesman Capt. Mark GILES said.
"Uniform or no uniform, these are very serious charges and we take it very seriously," said GILES.
Because the incident took place in the park and not on armoury property, the investigation falls under city police jurisdiction. The National Investigation Services provided support and will continue to do so as needed, GILES said.

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DEGANIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-09-14 published
Homeless man's defiant life honoured
BARTLEMAN met slaying victim
CROUTCH spoke of his mental illness
By John GODDARD, Staff Reporter
Paul CROUTCH attracted more attention at his funeral yesterday than he likely ever did in life, as the victim of a fatal beating that has galvanized the downtown homeless community and moved the Queen's representative in Ontario to sympathy.
Lieutenant Governor James BARTLEMAN and his small entourage mixed with social workers, street people, a few of CROUTCH's former Friends and his ex-wife at a shelter on lower Jarvis St. to pay tribute to CROUTCH as a man, not a statistic.
"I met him two years ago, at about 6 a.m.," BARTLEMAN told about 130 mourners at the yellow-brick chapel of the Salvation Army Gateway▲ shelter, where CROUTCH sometimes stayed. "I was part of a Salvation Army breakfast run and I had on a Salvation Army jacket."
BARTLEMAN recalled getting out of a van and serving coffee and soup to a man sitting on a park bench.
The man, not aware he was speaking to the lieutenant governor, told of owning a newspaper in British Columbia and falling on hard times due to mental illness. BARTLEMAN recognized the same details in newspaper accounts of the beating.
"He was well spoken, obviously well read and very likeable," the lieutenant governor recalled.
CROUTCH, 59, could also be anti-social, paranoid, fatalistic and self-neglectful, Friends and other supporters said of his decline. And in the early hours of August 31, he was beaten to death in his sleeping bag next to the Moss Park Armoury at Queen and Jarvis Sts.
Three reserve soldiers with the Queen's Own Rifles, attached to the armoury, are charged with second-degree murder in the case. They are Brian DEGANIS, 22, Jeffrey HALL, 21, and Mountaz IBRAHIM, 23.
All three had been celebrating with other reservists the night before, after 10 days of war games at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, northwest of Ottawa.
The anti-poverty group Toronto Disaster Relief Committee has called on Ontario's attorney general to prosecute the killing as a hate crime, saying CROUTCH was targeted as a homeless person.
The▲ group also helped pay for CROUTCH's ex-wife, Marilyn HOWARD, to travel from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to attend the funeral, and is arranging for her to meet senior Crown attorney Fred BRALEY this week to discuss the hate crime proposal.
At the crowded chapel yesterday, HOWARD spoke of CROUTCH as a spirited family man and entrepreneurial talent. The two met in Toronto in 1966, she said, and later moved to Vancouver and the northern British Columbia town of Dawson Creek.
In 1977, their daughter was born. She did not attend the service, but a recent photograph showing her as a smiling blonde stood on the altar next to a container holding CROUTCH's ashes, and two snapshots of CROUTCH playing with her as a baby.
CROUTCH stopped seeing his daughter when she was 14 as his creeping mental illness turned serious. The couple divorced in 1993. Their daughter recently graduated with an M.A. in plant sciences in the United States, HOWARD said.
"(Over the years), he owned six houses, including a section of farmland, and was a partner in seven businesses," HOWARD said.
At one point, he started his own weekly newspaper in Dawson Creek, the Mirror, which is still publishing. Earlier on, he worked as a travelling auto-parts salesperson for Ford.
"Every second week, he would drive 700 miles of the Alaska Highway," HOWARD said. "He was extremely well known. He'd get calls from all over the North -- 'Hey, I hear Safeway has a sale on lobsters, can you bring some with you?' He would do those things for people."

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DEGASPARIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-10 published
Marco MUZZO was visionary in industry
Legendary developer enjoyed 50-year career
'His word was as good as his signature'
By Pat BRENNAN, Special To The Star, Page N2
It was 7 a.m. on a Saturday and the steady rain was into its third day.
Standing at the bottom of a deep excavation of what used to be Greenwood Race Track, Marco MUZZO was covered in mud. He was trying to find a way to get loaded dump trucks up the steep, dirt ramp that has become a river of mud.
He employed 3,500 people, was one of Canada's biggest land developers and richest citizens, but the man was fully in his element solving problems in the bottom of a mud hole.
MUZZO built many thousands of homes in southern Ontario, as well as thousands of acres of industrial and commercial buildings and it's unlikely there is a stick of lumber or a panel of drywall installed in any of those structures that didn't have its purchase order come across his desk.
And despite this kind of hands-on attention to the most ordinary of details, Marco MUZZO was considered one of this country's most visionary builders. He died earlier this week at his home after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 73.
The mud hole at Greenwood Race Track at Queen St. E. and Woodbine Ave. became The Beach Neighbourhood, one of Toronto's most spectacular new home developments.
When MUZZO and Fred DEGASPARIS, a close friend and partner in many of his developments, launched the $200 million housing project in June 1997, it was the largest active urban renewal project in North America.
MUZZO owned a variety of companies in the development and building industry. Despite being one of the largest residential developers in the country, he was virtually unknown by consumers. Neither his name nor image appeared on any of the dozens of his companies he controlled.
"The buyers are the deciding factor and I think smart buyers mostly rely on two things -- location and the bottom line," MUZZO said in a Toronto Star interview in 2000.
Pemberton was his highrise condominium developer. It has erected dozens of large condo projects around the Greater Toronto Area since he launched the firm in the mid-'90s. The company was named after Pemberton Ave., where he erected his first highrise as the sole developer.
He once owned a large chunk of Camrost Developments, a prominent highrise developerheaded by David FELDMAN.
MUZZO operated all his firms from his office at Marel Contractors in Vaughan. Marel was the only company that hinted at his name.
Marel is one of Canada's largest drywall contractors and its name is a blending of Marco and Elio. Elio was his older brother who died in 1997 at age 75.
Elio arrived in Canada from Italy in the early 1950s from the family farm just outside Venice. After getting established in Toronto as a plasterer, he sent for his younger brother.
"When I arrived in Toronto I spent the first three months in Elio's basement building a plaster wall," said MUZZO. " When he came home at night he'd come down and check my work. Then he'd rip it down and say do it again. He wouldn't let me go to work as a plasterer until he felt I was good enough," said MUZZO.
After becoming one of Canada's largest builders, MUZZO would still talk with pride about his talent as a plasterer. He talked about the time in the early '60s when he went to help a family on Christmas morning. Their upstairs bathtub had overflowed and ruined the dining room ceiling below.
"The woman of the house was very upset because she was having her whole family over for Christmas dinner later that day and the ceiling was lying on her dining room table," MUZZO said in an interview.
"I spent much of Christmas day getting that ceiling looking good again. I could smell the food cooking in the kitchen. The ceiling had been finished with an elaborate rosette. She wanted it back and so did I. I did a good job on that ceiling," said MUZZO more than 30 years later.
MUZZO was very close to his brother Elio. Although he was one of Canada's wealthiest men, he drove his brother's old Cadillac. Elio's children wanted their dad to give up the old pickup he drove and bought him a new Cadillac. After two weeks in the Caddy, Elio wanted his old truck back because the Caddy hurt his back. So Marco took his brother's car and drove it long after his brother passed away.
"I had great respect for that man," said Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCALLION. " His word was as good as his signature. He was a tough negotiator -- just like me -- but he was fair and honest. You never had to question whether he would do what he said he would do. Marco was aware of the tiniest details. He knew everything that was happening in his empire, in every corner. Everything he did; he did well, because he had pride in his work. He leaves a great legacy."
MUZZO put together a consortium of builders to buy Mississauga's Erin Mills from Cadillac Fairview and create an award-winning community.
MUZZO had great respect for the working man too, said Ucal POWELL head of Local 27 of the International Carpenters Union and Allied Workers.
"He employed thousands of our members as carpenters and drywallers. He treated them fair. He demanded good work and if you supplied that, you got respect and you got work."
"The last time I saw Marco was on September 20 at what I think was one of his finest development achievements," said Toronto Councillor Kyle RAE. "It was at the opening of the sales office for his Uptown condo at Yonge and Bloor. After all that he has done for the fringes of the city, I was pleased to see him bringing a spectacular-looking condo to the heart of the city -- right where the two subway lines cross. It think it will be another great legacy for the man," said RAE.
"I have never respected any man more," said architect Gary WATCHORN of MBTW, a land planning firm. "He was such a visionary. He could see opportunities everywhere. He set very high standards for everyone associated with his companies, but he was also fair and compassionate."
"His death is the biggest loss to our industry ever," said Desi AUCIELLO, president-elect of the 1,400-member Greater Toronto Home Builders' Association. "He was way ahead of his time. He was a unique individual and an iconic figure. We've all heard it before that he was tough, but fair. He was old school in that his word was his bond."
Home builder and developer Tony GUGLIETTI of Townwood Homes was a close friend.
"He had such great passion for people. This city will never know all the generosity, all the quiet philanthropy he did for people, for charities, for organizations," said GUGLIETTI.
"He was the grandfather of the development industry in this city. He had more influence on development in this city over the past 50 years than anyone I know; but what a lot of people don't know is that he was also a great humanitarian."

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DEGASPER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-12-29 published
WOLMAN, Anthony " Avraham"
Passed away on December 26th. Beloved husband and father to Malka and Zevy. Cherished son and stepson of Frank and Harriet WOLMAN. Sadly missed by siblings Cathy, Adam, Michael and Kate and his mother Joyce DEGASPER. Shiva through Sunday at 260 Heath Street West Suite 412.

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DEGASPERIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-12-10 published
DICARLO, Giuseppe▼
On Thursday, December 8th, 2005, at the York Central Hospital, surrounded by his loving family. He will be reunited with his loving wife Filomena (1998). He will always be cherished by his dear children; Teresa (Husband Alfredo 'Fred' DEGASPERIS,) Benny▼ (Pre-deceased 1966) (wife Antoinette), Anna (Husband Joe, Pre-deceased 1992) CISCO, and John (Wife Michelina.) Sadly missed Grandfather of; Jim (Lina) DEGASPERIS, Carla▼ DEGASPERIS (Christopher Salt,▼) Freddy Jr. (Wendy) DEGASPERIS, Marina DICARLO, Danny (Lilli) DICARLO, Corey (Laurie) DICARLO, Jason (Kristina) DICARLO, Andrea (Peter) MUNISTERI. Proud▼ Great-grandfather of 15. Friends will be received at the Fratelli Vescio Funeral Homes Ltd., (located at 8101 Weston Rd., Woodbridge, just S. of Langstaff Rd., 905-850-3332) on Saturday, December 10th, 2005, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. and Sunday, December 11th, 2005., from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m.. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, December 12, 200, at 12 noon from St. Clare of Assisi R.C. Church (located N. of Rutherford Rd., just West of Weston Rd.), followed by the entombment service in the Holy Cross Cemetery (located on Yonge Street, just S. of Hwy.#7). In lieu of flowers, the DICARLO family would appreciate donations to The Cardiovascular Surgery Fund for Excellence, c/o Dr. David, Peter Monk Cardiac Centre Toronto General Western Hospital Foundation.

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DEGASPERIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-08 published
Real estate developer flourished
Became one of Canada's wealthiest people
Credited with building much of Woodbridge
By Morgan CAMPBELL, Staff Reporter
Marco MUZZO came to Canada 50 years ago as a tradesman, armed only with a willingness to work.
That trait served him well, as he quietly built a real estate development empire in the Toronto area and became one of Canada's wealthiest people.
MUZZO, who died of cancer Monday at age 72, was buried yesterday at Holy Cross Cemetery in Thornhill.
MUZZO was born and raised in northern Italy, and moved to Canada in the mid 1950s, working as a plasterer and drywaller. By the early 1970s, he had entered the real estate business with partners Alfredo "Fred" DEGASPERIS and lawyer Rudy BRATTY.
Over the next three decades, the business bloomed, building industrial and commercial projects both in Toronto and its rapidly expanding suburbs. In recent years, MUZZO, who lived in Vaughan, headed the Pemberton Group, a condominium developer with projects in Toronto, Mississauga and Richmond Hill.
He also owned Piagga Ltd., a development company that paid $10 million for the Uptown Theatre on Yonge Street, with plans to raze the building and put up a 50-storey condominium tower. But on December 9, 2003, the theatre collapsed before it could be demolished, killing one person and injuring 14.
By 2004, MUZZO's extensive developments helped make him the 48th wealthiest person in Canada, worth $644 million, according to Canadian Business magazine.
That figure placed him above several more famous business people, including Magna International head Frank STRONACH.
That MUZZO could keep such a low profile while rising so high in the business world doesn't surprise the people who knew him.
"He was a very private person," said Vaughan Mayor Michael DI BIASE, who dealt with MUZZO on the developer's various projects in that York Region city. "Not many people knew what he was up to. In 20 years, if I saw him in council chambers twice it was too much."
What many people didn't know, DI BIASE said, is that MUZZO made large donations to Women's College Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children and to all five Catholic churches in Vaughan.
"He was very tough in negotiations, very tough in business and very tough in getting what he wanted, but also very generous," DI BIASE said.
The mayor also credits MUZZO with helping Vaughan accommodate an exploding population. He estimates that there are 30,000 homes in Woodbridge and MUZZO's companies built 80 per cent of them.
"The style, the workmanship, nothing but the best," he said. "He built the whole west Woodbridge area. I don't think our community will ever forget him."
MUZZO leaves his wife of 49 years, Resy, children Isabella, Diana and Marc, and 11 grandchildren.

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DEGASPERIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-10 published
DICARLO, Giuseppe▲▼
On Thursday, December 8th, 2005, at the York Central Hospital, surrounded by his loving family. He will be reunited with his loving wife Filomena (1998). He will always be cherished by his dear children: Teresa (husband Alfredo "Fred" DEGASPERIS,) Benny▲▼ (predeceased 1966) (wife Antoinette), Anna (husband Joe, predeceased 1992) Cisco, and John (wife Michelina). Sadly missed grandfather of Jim (Lina) DEGASPERIS, Carla▲▼ DEGASPERIS (Christopher Salt,▲) Freddy Jr. (Wendy) DEGASPERIS, Marina DICARLO, Danny (Lilli) DICARLO, Corey (Laurie) DICARLO, Jason (Kristina) DICARLO, Andrea (Peter) MUNISTERI. Proud▲▼ great-grandfather of 15. Friends will be received at the Fratelli Vescio Funeral Homes Ltd., (located at 8101 Weston Rd., Woodbridge, just S. of Langstaff Rd., 905-850-3332) on Saturday, December 10th, 2005, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. and Sunday, December 11th, 2005, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, December 12, 2005, at 12 noon from St. Clare of Assisi Roman Catholic Church (located N. of Rutherford Rd. just west of Weston Rd.). Followed by the entombment service in the Holy Cross Cemetery (located on Yonge Street, just S. of Hwy. 7.) In lieu of flowers, the DICARLO family would appreciate donations to The Cardiovascular Surgery Fund for Excellence, c/o Dr. David, Peter Monk Cardiac Centre Toronto General Western Hospital Foundation.

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DEGASPERIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-11 published
DICARLO, Giuseppe▲
On Thursday, December 8th, 2005, at the York Central Hospital, surrounded by his loving family. He will be reunited with his loving wife Filomena (1998). He will always be cherished by his dear children: Teresa (husband Alfredo "Fred" DEGASPERIS,) Benny▲ (predeceased 1966) (wife Antoinette), Anna (husband Joe, predeceased 1992) Cisco, and John (wife Michelina). Sadly missed grandfather of Jim (Lina) DEGASPERIS, Carla▲ DEGASPERIS (Christopher SALT,) Freddy Jr. (Wendy) DEGASPERIS, Marina DICARLO, Danny (Lilli) DICARLO, Corey (Laurie) DICARLO, Jason (Kristina) DICARLO, Andrea (Peter) MUNISTERI. Proud▲ great-grandfather of 15. Friends will be received at the Fratelli Vescio Funeral Homes Ltd., (located at 8101 Weston Rd., Woodbridge-just S. of Langstaff Rd., 905-850-3332) on Saturday, December 10th, 2005, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. and Sunday, December 11th, 2005, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, December 12, 2005, at 12 noon from St. Clare of Assisi Roman Catholic Church (located N. of Rutherford Rd. just west of Weston Rd.). Followed by the entombment service in the Holy Cross Cemetery (located on Yonge Street, just S. of Hwy. 7). In lieu of flowers, the DiCarlo family would appreciate donations to The Cardiovascular Surgery Fund for Excellence, c/o Dr. David, Peter Monk Cardiac Centre Toronto General Western Hospital Foundation.

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DEGAUST o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-04-22 published
FINLAY, Helen V.
At London Health Sciences Centre on Wednesday, April 20, 2005, Helen V. FINLAY in her 72nd year. Beloved wife of Donald "Don" FINLAY. Dear mother of Doug FINLAY (Cathy), Dave FINLAY (Shelley), Dean FINLAY (Gayle), Kim HEITZMANN (Rick), Jeff FINLAY (Shannon) and Jody DEGAUST (Nick) all of London. Also survived by 17 grandchildren. Sister of Beverley PERKINS (Dexter) of London. Visitors will be received on Sunday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at the O'Neil Funeral Home, 350 William St. where Funeral Service will be conducted in the chapel on Monday at 1 p.m. Interment Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. Memorial donations may be made to the London Health Sciences Foundation for use in the Neurology Department.

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DEGEER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-05-15 published
DEGEER, Betty E. (ALCOCK)
Suddenly at her home in Thornton on Friday, May 13th, 2005. Betty (ALCOCK) of Thornton and formerly of Mt. Albert in her 72nd year. Beloved wife of Ivan. Dear mother of Brian (Marian) and Barry. Dear grandmother of Michelle, Rodney and Jeremy. Dear sister of Claude ALCOCK, Joyce (Jim) DOYLE, and predeceased by Austin ALCOCK. Dear friend of the family, John (Tammy) JEFFERIES. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Friends may call at Skwarchuk Funeral Home, 30 Simcoe Rd., Bradford (1-800-209-4803) for visitation on Monday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral service will be held in the Lathangue Chapel on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 at 11 a.m. Interment Stouffville Cemetery. Donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario would be appreciated.

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DEGEER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-12-19 published
LITTLE, Dorothy (née SCOTT)
Peacefully, on Friday December 16th, 2005 at York Central Hospital - Palliative Care Unit in her 84th year. Beloved wife of the late James Alyward LITTLE (1992.) Loving and devoted mother of Barry Ross, Diane Elizabeth and her husband Wayne McMAHON, and Judith Eileen and her husband Lincoln CHOO. Cherished grandmother of Melissa Marie and Laura Christina BALL. Survived by her dear sister Helen DEGEER and her brother Roy SCOTT. Dorothy will be missed dearly and fondly remembered by her many Friends. Our family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff both at North York General Hospital and York Central Hospital for their compassionate care. Friends may call on Tuesday December 20th, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at the R.S. Kane Funeral Home, Toronto, (6150 Yonge Street, at Goulding, south of Steeles). Funeral service will be held on Wednesday December 21st, 2005 at 1 o'clock. Interment Orono Cemetery. As an expression of sympathy, donations may be made to the York Central Hospital Foundation. Condolences www.rskane.ca

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DEGELMAN o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-12-24 published
LOGAN, Ester (LILLIAN)
At London Health Sciences - University Hospital, on Wednesday, December 21st, 2005, Ester (LILLIAN) LOGAN of London and formerly of Thorndale and Clinton in her 87th year. Beloved wife of the late Wilfred LOGAN of Thorndale, and survived by her ex-husband Jim GRAHAM of London. Cherished mother of Judy GRAHAM and Bonnie GRAHAM of London, and Gary GRAHAM and Darlene STODDARD of Goderich. Loving grandma of Garry and Corinne MALLOUGH of London, and Kelly GRAHAM and Mark of Rankin Inlet. Loving great-grandma of Zachary, Meagan and Tessa MALLOUGH. Predeceased by her parents, John and Anna Marie LORETH of Raymore, Saskatchewan. Survived by siblings, Edna McPHERSON of Regina, Bertha MOROSOFF of Kamsack, Helen BANNICK of Calgary, Ida CASTAGNER of Cabri, Beatrice and Roy GILLINGS of Montreal, Victor and Blanche LORETH of Sundre, Alberta, and sister-in-law Lois LORETH of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Predeceased by brothers Charlie, Spark, and Albert (Okee) LORETH of Raymore, Saskatchewan, and sister Mary DEGELMAN of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Sincere appreciation is extended to London Health Sciences Centre-University Hospital for all your compassionate care. Special thanks to Dr. MARKO and the team of nurses, and Father Leslie an Sister Bernadette for all your support. Cremation has taken place. A private family service was held at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, donations to the London Health Sciences Centre-Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, P.O. Box 5339, London, Ontario N6A 5A5, would be very much appreciated. Westview Funeral Chapel, (641-1793) entrusted with arrangements.

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DEGENHART o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-01-02 published
McKENNA, Janet Editha
In Richmond Hill, on Thursday, December 30, 2004, in her 85th year. Beloved wife of the late Dr. Frank E. McKENNA. Dearest mother of Frances, Jim, Joanne (Gary), Mary (Rino), Janet (John), and Bill (Michelle.) Loving sister of Robert (Connie) DEGENHART of Columbia, South Carolina, and the late Harold DEGENHART. Also remembered by 11 grandchildren. In 1942 when very few female students attended University, Janet graduated with her Masters Degree in French Literature. A loving woman with a brilliant mind, she will be remembered for her wisdom, her wit and her selfless devotion to family, Friends and those in need. Friends may call at Marshall Funeral Home, 10366 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill (4th traffic light north of Major Mackenzie Drive), on Monday, January 3, 2005 between 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Mass will be held at Saint Mary Immaculate Catholic Church on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Burlington at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Canadian Food for Children (40 King Georges Road, Toronto, Ontario, M8X 1L3), would be appreciated.

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DEGENNARO o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-10-26 published
DEGENNARO, Chris▼
Peacefully at home, surrounded by her family and Friends, on Monday, October 24, 2005 at the age of 58. Beloved wife to Angelo for 38 years. Cherished mom to David and Megan, Michael and Christine and Adam. Devoted grandma of Julian and Lauren. Dear sister of Judy DEY and her husband Mel. Chris will be lovingly remembered by all who knew her. A Celebration of Chris' life will be held at St. George's-on-the-Hill Church, 4600 Dundas St. W., on Thursday, October 27, 2005 at 11 o'clock. If desired remembrances may be made to Canadian Cancer Society. Arrangements entrusted to the Turner and Porter Yorke Chapel. 416-767-3153.

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DEGENNARO o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-10-26 published
DEGENNARO, Chris▲
Peacefully at home, surrounded by her family and Friends, on Monday, October 24, 2005 at the age of 58. Beloved wife to Angelo for 38 years. Cherished mom to David and Megan, Michael and Christine and Adam. Devoted grandma of Julian and Lauren. Dear sister of Judy DEY and her husband Mel. Chris will be lovingly remembered by all who knew her. A Celebration of Chris' life will be held at St. George's-on-the-Hill Church, 4600 Dundas St. W., on Thursday, October 27, 2005 at 11 o'clock. If desired, remembrances may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society. Arrangements entrusted to the Turner and Porter Yorke Chapel, 416-767-3153.

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DEGENSTEIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-06-28 published
DEGENSTEIN, Frank
On Friday, June 24, 2005, Frank DEGENSTEIN, late of Regina, passed away at the age of 74 years. Predeceased by his parents, Frank Sr. and Grace, Frank is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Lillian, and his six children and their partners: Laura (Pat), Linda, Leslie (Gerry), Philip (Joann), Paul (Ian) and Marie (Ian). "Pop" will also be missed by his 10 grandchildren -- Leah, Jeff, Alexis, Danielle (Mike), Carmen, David, Erin, Tess, Madeleine and Jamie -- and his great granddaughter, Bryn. He will be fondly remembered by his extended family including sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law and nieces and nephews, as well as many life-long Friends. Frank began his career at SaskTel in 1947 as an apprentice switchman. He held a number of positions with the company before becoming President in 1983. He ended his career as President of Telecom Canada, the national long-distance carrier, headquartered in Ottawa. Frank was a man who lived his life and pursued his interests with great passion, wit and humour. Wine taster, champion bowler, fisherman, hunter, art lover, golfer, and musician, Frank's achievements include being inducted into the Canadian Opimian Society Hall of Fame in 2004. Frank's greatest achievement, however, was to raise with Lillian a family filled with enormous love. His greatest joy was the marriage he shared with Lillian -- together they are a remarkable example of what life and love are all about. A Memorial Service for Frank will be held on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 at 7: 00 p.m. in Saint Anne's R.C. Church, 1701 Cowan Crescent, Regina. In lieu of flowers, donations in Frank's name may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society or the Canadian Diabetes Association. Arrangements in care of Speers Funeral Chapel and Crematorium Services, Regina, Saskatchewan. Condolences to the family may be e-mailed to reception@speersfuneralchapel.com

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DEGOUW o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-10-05 published
ROMBOUTS, Maria Agnes (née KUSTERMANS)
Passed peacefully at the Watford Quality Care Centre surrounded by her family on Tuesday, October 4th, 2005 in her 89th year. Predeceased by her husband Peter Thomas ROMBOUTS (1977.) She will be sadly missed by her children, Adrian (Jane) of Thedford, Peter (Elly) of Arkona, Casey (Gertie) of Watford, John WILLEMSE of Parkhill, Jackie VANDER KANT (Martin) of Arkona, Joe (Cathy) of Watford, Liz VANDER KANT (special friend Nick) of Arkona, Frank (Betsy) of Watford, Andrew (Cindy) of Watford, Mary COPELAND (Jim) of Watford, Lucy BUTTERY (Bill) of Watford, Cathy VAN GEERTRUYDE (Mike) of Kerwood and Marg WYGERGANGS (Tony) of Forest. Also sadly missed by 39 grandchildren and 50 great-grandchildren. Predeceased by her daughter Annie WILLEMSE (1986,) grandchildren Richard ROMBOUTS (1987,) Jeff VANDER KANT (2003) and son-in-law William VANDER KANT (1999.) Survived by her sisters Lucy DEGOUW (Marinus) of Parkhill, Johanna VRIENDS of Komoka, brother Sjeff KUSTERMANS (Maria) of Holland, sisters-in-law Anna KUSTERMANS of Parkhill, Mary KUSTERMANS of Watford and Anna ROMBOUTS of Holland. Predeceased by her parents Adrian and Anna KUSTERMANS, brothers and sisters Pete and Sjan KUSTERMANS, Lisa and Adrian ROMBOUTS, Cornelius and Anna KUSTERMANS, Josepha and Adrian BROSENS, Andrew KUSTERMANS, Adrian KUSTERMANS, brothers-in-law Peter VRIENDS, Elizabeth and Adrian DE KONING, Cornelius ROMBOUTS, Kee and Harry VAN TILBURG, Tony and Katherine ROMBOUTS, Jan and Trien ROMBOUTS, Jack ROMBOUTS, Mein and Adrian BRASPENING and Miet and Adrian BASTIANSEN. Friends may call at the Harper Funeral Home, 232 Warwick Street, Watford on Thursday, October 6th, 2005 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Liturgy of Christian Burial will be conducted at Our Lady of Help of Christians Church, Watford on Friday at 11 a.m. Interment in Watford Catholic Cemetery. If desired, memorial contributions to Childcan would be appreciated as your expression of sympathy.

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DEG surnames continued to 05deg002.htm