Nick had been ill and in pain with cancer for some time, and the illness finally took him from us on Thursday, March 23, 2017 when he was in Florida, surrounded by his family.
Here are a few things I know about Nick’s life… He was born in Toronto, and attended the Toronto Islands Public School. He graduated from St. Helen’s Catholic Elementary School, followed by Western Technical School. He then graduated with honours from the Police Sciences program at Humber College, and served as a police officer with the Toronto Police Service for 34 years, rising to the rank of sergeant. Even a brief conversation with Nick about his time on the job and you would know instantly how much he loved it.
Nick has always been involved with his community. For 25 years, he coached ladies’ basketball and he was a past-president of the Ontario Basketball Association. He was also a past president of the Catholic Youth Organization of Metropolitan Toronto.
Nick was a founding member of the Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Canada, and a past president of the Toronto Aerospace Museum. He loved to hear and tell stories about aerospace history.
Our condolences to Nick’s wife, Shirley, his children and his many grandchildren for their loss. At Nick’s request, there was no public service or funeral, and he has been cremated. Instead a private celebration of his life was held by his family. Nick preferred to have people remember him in his best of times. For anyone interested, on June 5, 2017, the regular 9:00 am mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, 3055 Bloor St. W., will be dedicated to Nick.
Nick, the world is a better place for you having been here…
Denise Harris, on behalf of the Board and Membership of the Etobicoke Historical Society.