August 16, 1924
June 21, 2020
Died peacefully of natural causes at age 95 in Victoria, British Columbia.
Tony Kennard was born to Edward and Grace Kennard, the oldest of two children, in Enfield, London, England. He lived a full and exciting life which he was proud of and loved to tell through his many stories. At the age of 18, he served in WWII as a British Air Force Officer where he piloted Beaufighters on submarine patrol over the Indian Ocean. After the war he attended London University and graduated as a Medical doctor. It was here he met and married Margaret (Mala) Gladys Williams-Yeagers from Guernsey, the Channel Islands. They emigrated to Toronto, Canada where they first lived in Malton and later Islington. After a brief stint at Sunnybrook Hospital he settled into a lifelong career with the Workers Compensation Board of Ontario (now the WSIB) specializing in the multifaceted care of amputees. During his early years in Canada he also served with the Canadian Air Force Reserves. Tony and Mala had four children whom they raised in the idyllic setting of Thorncrest Village, Toronto. Summer family camping trips to Bass Lake and Sandbanks were a fixture. He was tireless in supporting and driving his busy children to their various activities as they grew up. In 1981 leaving their adult children behind in Ontario, Tony and Mala retired to Victoria so Mala could be close to the ocean, first to Ten Mile Point and later Cadboro Bay. Tony resumed the work he loved for the WSIB as a consultant. Mala died of cancer in 1991 and Tony eventually retired from the WSIB for a second time at age 70.
In 1992 after a chance encounter at his cousin Joan’s in Mission BC and a brief cross ocean courtship he married Mette Astrea Peterson from Denmark. They moved to a beautiful home in Sooke with expansive gardens overlooking the ocean. As the years advanced, they returned to Victoria where Mette died of a stroke in 2008.
Tony loved to learn and was never afraid of new challenges. In 1970’s Toronto while at the WSIB he took up fencing and was soon a member of the Canadian National Fencing Team. In his sixties he realized a lifelong dream and took up flamenco dancing. He cut a dashing figure in his black shirt, colourful vest and dance boots. He loved to fly planes (real and digital), travel, sketch, paint watercolours, meditate, read, play guitar and sing. He was a natural, but quiet leader in all the groups and activities he took part in. Tony was a charming and true gentleman for many reasons including his continued insistence to always wear a jacket and tie.
Tony was predeceased by his younger sister Daphne. He is survived by his four children and their families: Ross, wife Blair and their children Rowan, Harper and Aiden (Elicott City, Maryland), Michael (Edmonton, Alberta), Ian and son Braden, (London, Ontario) Tamara and partner Kyle (Lincolnville, Maine). He will be greatly missed by his surviving cousin Joan Hoogewerf and her extended family.
Tony's spirit will be forever remembered in the hearts of family and friends. He was loved by the many who touched his life and whose lives he touched. He was a gifted soul and caregiver who always lived with grace and patience as life presented itself.
Our deepest gratitude to the staff at Parkwood Place and Mount St Mary’s Hospital who took such special care of him during his last few years.
According to his wishes he was cremated. His ashes will be in the care of loved ones until social gatherings are permitted and a celebration can be arranged.
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