Obituary of Timothy McKenzie Gathercole Porter
TIMOTHY McKENZIE
GATHERCOLE PORTER
March 27, 1939 – March 19, 2023
Tim’s family is sad to announce his death at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, following complications from surgery.
Like many wartime kids in England, Tim was evacuated from London and lived in various parts of the country with his mother and family members until his father returned from fighting overseas. Following WWII he lived with his parents in Paris for a few years, and finally immigrated to Canada in 1948, at the age of nine.
Tim grew up in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and was a student at North Toronto Collegiate and then the University of Toronto (Vic) where he was a member of the Zeta Psi Fraternity and where he made many lifelong friends. After graduating from U of T, Tim became a newspaperman in the UK, returning to Toronto in 1966.
Tim met his wife, Patsy at a party held by mutual friends in Toronto and they married in 1968. After the Toronto Evening Telegram folded in 1971, Tim went on to work in Public Relations, eventually becoming self-employed in this field for many years until his retirement. In his thirties, Tim took up running, completing three marathons. In his forties he switched to cycling, which remained a lifelong passion. He rode with a number of cycling clubs, including the Toronto Randonneurs, the QCBC and the Midweek Cycling Club, and also cycled extensively in North America, Europe, South Africa and Cuba. In addition to cycling, Tim loved a good meal (or a medium one), a beer with friends and family, joking around with his daughters, racing his souped-up Mustang, rowing at the family cabin in Algonquin Park, playing endless games with his granddaughter, horsing around with the family dogs, a good spy novel, a road trip and, most of all, spending time and having adventures with Patsy.
He was predeceased by his parents, Kathleen (nee Gathercole) and John McKenzie Porter, and many of his lifelong friends. He is survived by his beloved wife of fifty-four years, Patsy (nee Gray), his daughters, Suzanna (Toronto), Rosalind of London, UK (Matt Russell), his granddaughter of London, UK, Ramona Wilson, and his son-in-law of Toronto, Geoffrey Morgan. Tim will be very missed and remembered by his many friends and extended family in Canada, the UK and South Africa, especially Patsy’s sisters, Katy and Barbie, and the rest of the extended Gray, Waugh and Coyle families.
We would like to thank all the staff and volunteers at Sunnybrook for their excellent care, particularly in the Critical Care Unit. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to a charity of your choice. Please also raise a glass to Tim, and tell an inappropriate joke at the dinner table. There will be a ceremony to celebrate Tim’s life at 12:00 noon on April 13th at St. Matthew’s United Church, 729 St. Clair Avenue West. Toronto.
Condolences may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com.
© 2023 Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles – Newbigging Chapel Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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