05.03.2018 09:49 AM

George Marsland, RIP

More terrible news. This is just an awful, awful week. RIP, George.

Update: Toronto Division April 29th 13 found George and brought him to hospital where he later passed away. He was found at a park at 335 St. Clair West on a path leading to the ravine. There was no sign of a dog. An autopsy is being performed. No additional information. Please pass this information on to whoever knew and loved George. I will continue updating this site as more details come in
Sue

19 Comments

  1. Jan Alexanian says:

    RIP George. <3

  2. ABB says:

    He had a magnificent dog that he walked along the Bay/Charles/Bloor area. A good all-round guy.

  3. Thanks for updating us. Maybe we should get together on June 6th,2018 for his 60th Birthday. We would be happy to hostas get-together in our garden on Castle Frank Crescent.

  4. Ann Peel says:

    George was a remarkable, generous man who I will remember with fondness. His life was not easy, but his smile was.

  5. Kim Piluso says:

    George was a special part of my family for many years. He was kind and generous. We shared many wonderful years together not only at Magna but personally. He will be dearly missed by us all.

  6. Sandra says:

    I will miss my dear friend. Your heart was as big as your smile. George, thank you for everything. I love you. We are thinking of having a celebration on his birthday. Xo S

  7. Nancy Deligiannis says:

    George, Sue and I and a few others of us all went to school together. Sue and George from Kindergarten onwards. He was kind and compassionate, loved to party and would sit in their family room and listen to the Eagles and Elton John. It was always a big nite when we could cruise in the Cadillac! He had a zest for life and always managed to make us smile. We will miss you George

  8. Diane Bonfonte says:

    There aren’t enough words…tragic, shocking, horrible, immeasurable sadness and grief are a few that come to mind…I was George’s “dear sister” – friends since grade 7 – we spoke on Saturday (April 28th – later that night found in the park) for 2 hours (he needed to take a conference call at 5) promising to continue Sunday – not an unusual length of time to chat since we always had much to share – no topic was taboo – spoke almost everyday – his last words to me were the usual, “good-bye honey, love you, talk soon”. Last mid-May to July 5, I picked him up in Toronto to stay in my home for a few weeks in Waterloo until he could arrange again new place to live – wonderful days and nights of much talk and laughter – took him to New Hamburg since he had not visited his parents’ grave since 2007 ( ironically he shared with me his wishes to have his ashes along with James’ ashes interred there with a simple sharing of remembrances and prayers). We then drove to his childhood home and eagerly welcomed into the kitchen by the present owners = one hour of sheer joy for George (and Remy). He called me just days ago on April 11th (twin brother James passed away on this date, 2010 in California) and again two hours of sharing memories and talking about “getting old together”. We had plans for me to visit him on June 6th (I told him I didn’t want him to be alone)since we did not get together for my 60th in January and in fact, we discussed the option of me driving to Toronto to pick him just before Victoria week-end so we could watch the Royal wedding together, visit the local quilt festival in St. Jacobs, the annual New Hamburg Quilt Auction preview and the gravesite again. I was encouraging him to and stay for his birthday – discussions we were to continue this week about this due to the possibility of him having to be in Toronto for a business associate coming from Greece. I have special novelty Toronto/CN Tower and MacGregor dress socks with black scotty dogs (Tammy his dog in the 1970’s) as birthday gifts with a special 60 card already wrapped. Last year all he wanted was to have cabbage rolls for a quiet birthday dinner followed by grape pie avec fresh whipped cream (yes, grape pie sold at the Friday evening quilt preview event in New Hamburg – brought fresh every year in the afternoon by a lady from Niagara). After dinner, many nights we drove around K-W for George to see our “old” haunts & hangouts/schools/neighbourhoods and overall changes (especially development) in K-W. He admitted to be “pleasantly surprised” and admitted that coming back here to live “at some point in not too distant future” (65ish) was appealing and to consider seriously. We talked regularly about health (I have MS) and I can say that he “got” chronic disease whatever we discussed – came from experience and his compassion to listen and understand. I expressed my concerns over his recent bout with double pneumonia and his fall causing a concussion and severe cut on his forehead that required surgery to repair his eye lid (almost lost his eye). Just last week, George promised, “I will be around for a long time because there I have still so much to do” and “to be here for me always”. I am still here George, always! It is has only been a few day and I already miss your advice. I already miss your generosity of spirit for consolation and re-assurance. I already miss discussing scripture from Hebrews covered in the weekly Love Israel program last Saturday night. I already miss your insights and comments about daily current events. I already miss your encouragement and support for my own projects. I already miss our friendly disagreements. I already miss chatting about this week’s Coronation Street episodes (I got him hooked during his visit). I already miss you…I will always miss you George! You might have been a twin…but truly one-of-a-kind! As you know, you filled much of a void for me still dealing with the grief of my beloved parents’ passing in 2016…now this void deepens. Despite I am facing some huge short and long-term challenges due to my choices to help you, I would not change a thing because my dearest “brother” and friend, you generously gave much for to many friends (long-time or new), colleagues, strangers and so many causes you supported with lots of dogged determination, passion, energy, commitment and resolve.
    I will always love you George MacCallum Marsland – gone too soon yet, forever blessed to be re-united with James, mother (“ma” Marsland) and father…the “fab four”…much talking and laughter will continue…
    My dearest George, much deserved peace…embraced in Glory and love.
    Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace”. (our fave scripture passage)

  9. Nancy & Philip says:

    There are no words to express the depth of the misery I feel, George should not have died, he should have told me/us his needs, he should have given me an opportunity to give him the helping hand that he gave to everyone who knew him. But there is nothing that can be done, nothing but try to overcome this devastating grief that I missed any sign of his struggle. May no one he loved ever fall so deeply into a financial hole like he did and not be able to dig themselves out.
    He loved my Mother, Claire, many knew of her, my Mother is 93 and his death is devastatingly impacting her. He visited my Mother on Wednesday April 25, I played with sweet Remi and George gave me such a big kiss and hug and I will never recover from that. I should have asked him if he needed something, if he was hungry, if he was ok…instead I took him at his word that he was living in a shared apartment…smiling, saying he was ok…when he was likely starving. I am angry at myself and the world, we lost a great human being who struggled to save his dog and his Mother and Brother’s possessions.
    Dear Sweet George, Rest in the Peace you never knew in life.

    …and what happened to Remi?
    Nancy Pick

    • Nancy & Philip says:

      George was sharing a home with Tim who has been lovingly caring for Remi. Hopefully we will find a permanent home for Remi with one of George’s friends who knows Remi. Love to all the people who cared about George and deepest gratitude to Tim for finding us.

  10. Ron Leach says:

    Such terrible and shocking news! George was friend and neighbour for almost three decades

  11. Heena Cbung says:

    You will be missed, George. Your bubbly voice and sparkly smile. I simply cannot put into words how sad I am. Rest in peace, my good friend.

  12. Margaret Crook says:

    I worked with George back in the 80s and early 90s with the former federal PC Party. What a lovely person he was. He was passionate and strategic in his work, but always kind, warm and generous. I will never forget his laugh. My deepest sympathy to his loved ones.

  13. Richard Smith says:

    For lovers of Charles Dicken’s classic novel A Christmas Carol, one can’t escape the harshness of its setting. But whether you have seen it as a film or have read it as a novel, one character, Mr. Feziwigg, pierces through the dourness by embodying kindness, generosity, and affection. George will always be like Mr. Feziwigg to me.

    Feziwigg’s trading company’s later decline is eclipsed by the lasting impression he leaves in readers’ minds through the glow of his personality, making him immortal. Likewise, I will always remember George’s warmth, kindness and laughter. Heaven has just become a better place to be thanks to its new addition.

  14. Susan Hilton says:

    I first met George and James in kindergarten at Forest Hill Public School. We forged an instant friendship that would endure 6 decades. It was challenging to tell George and James apart at first and their dressing in the same clothes just added to everyone’s confusion. It was not long before George’s personality, his joie de vivre, and that infectious laugh set him apart from his twin brother. I was a precocious child and at the age of 5, I started my flirting exploits by pulling off the stocking hats that the boys wore during the colder months, forcing them to chase me to get it back. Soon, other young ladies joined in the game. The twins were very popular. By grade 3, we had a small social network that included the twins, several girls including myself, and another good friend, David Hill.
    We continued our education at Queensmount Public School. The boys would often meet me and a couple of other neighbour friends in a field near our home which is now highway 7/8 to Stratford. We would play in the forts the neighbourhood b built, find mice and pick dandelions for wine-making by a neighbour – and flirt!
    Grade 10: During a Friday lunch hour in the library of Forest Heights Collegiate I gathered with some girlfriends (Nancy, Diane, Pam, Heather, Isabel) to discuss our Friday evening plans to go see the movie “Airplane”. I overheard the boys (George, James, David, Ken, Jim, and Jeff Payne) next to us discussing their plans to go to the same movie. We decided to car pool together that evening. Little did I know, that evening would be the first of many evenings and weekends that we would all spend together over the next few years. Sometimes we went to movies or events in town, Mother’s Pizza, and there were also many weekend evenings we would just hang out and eat, dance and talk at someone’s home.
    Graduation from high-school led us all down different paths. George and James pursued Law School at Western University while I stayed in town to entering the nursing profession. One evening, George wrote me a letter, catching me up on his academic pursuits. The letter began with “As I sit here in my room, sipping on chardonnay while listening to Seals and Croft, I am thinking of you. Slowly our bodies intertwine until we become one, aloof to the troubles of the world”. I called him immediately and we laughed. I told him that he could always become a romantic novelist if his other interests did not pan out! That literary attempt gave us both many laughs over the years, even as recently as this year. When Nancy and I attended their 40th birthday party in Toronto, I read it allowed in its entirety and his friends roared with laughter.

    George and I supported each other through many seminal events in our lives. First, my brother, Scott passed away at the age of 17 from familial obstructive cardiomyopathy. Little did we know at the time, George would also lose his twin brother James due to illness. George was one of the first people I contacted when I heard that I needed a heart transplant. A surprise 40th birthday party with so many friends from the present and the high school years helped lift my spirits while I waited for my transplant. I think George enjoyed the male stripper’s routine as much as I did! He always dropped in for a visit while in town to visit his mother to see how I was coping. His counsel was in part instrumental in helping me to decide to end my marriage to a man that was a narcissist before the stress killed me. i will never forget that at the roughest time of my life George was there for me. November 26, 1998, I received the gift of life from a generous and courageous family. My parents kept George up to date as I waited for transplant and was there to visit me at TGH soon after the transplant.
    Whenever George and I would chat, I found myself enchanted with his adventures, his business pursuits, the circles he moved in and his travel experiences. I lived vicariously through his stories. But in as much as I envied his fast-paced exciting life, he would scold me for not acknowledging my own accomplishments of completing a BScN and a MScN following my heart transplant.
    George always has a positive outlook on life, and encouraging words for everyone. He was a kind spirit. I will miss him greatly. I trust George is at peace now and we will meet again beyond this life.

  15. Dianne says:

    My heart is broken ……RIP George…..WE had just talked in April……we had known each other since we re 16 yrs. My sympathies to Diane and Sue whom George and James always talked about…May you spread your wit and and knowledge and love on your new journey in life. Love you Dianne XO

  16. Diane Bonfonte says:

    MARSLAND, GEORGE McCALLUM (Clan McCallum Motto: He has attempted difficult things.) Born June 6, 1958 in Grand River Hospital, Kitchener. Unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack, April 29th in Toronto. Predeceased by beloved parents John (October 22, 1995) and Joanne (June 2, 2007) and twin brother James (April 11, 2010). Deeply missed by cousins Mrs. Joan Lawrence and Miss. Alexandra Gall and dearest friend Claire Goodman of Toronto. From 1962 -1995, the family’s home was 21 Forest Hill Drive, Kitchener. Remembered as popular, top student at Forest Hill Public School and Forest Heights Collegiate. George graduated Western University/Law. Career paths led him to Ottawa, California and his treasured Toronto. Many of George’s early childhood friends, neighbours, colleagues, friends, and members of the LGTBT community whom he cherished and touched, are deeply saddened by his loss. George’s extended ‘family of friends’ in K-W and Toronto welcome all to gather on Wednesday, June 6th, Riverside Cemetery, New Hamburg at 2:00pm – a brief interment (byo chair) then to St. George’s Anglican Church (3 Bryon St., New Hamburg) for ‘A Time of Remembrance’ service. Rev. Margaret Walker officiating.
    More info tel: 519-577-7779

    “You are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you…”(Isaiah 43:4)

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