Mr Alan M. Seymour

Alan died at the age of 80, on December 10th 2014, after a short bout with lung cancer. Survived by his wife of 58 years, Norma; his daughter Ann and her husband Steve Goyeche; his son Mark and his wife Susan Zidaric, and their children Anthony and Eric; his brother Tony; his niece Emma and husband Nigel Hewett; his niece Sarah Seymour and her husband Matt Barfoot, and their children Connor, Ellie and Storm; and his nephew Dale and his wife Natasha, and their son Harry.

In keeping with Alan’s and Norma’s wishes, there is no funeral or wake.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Alan Seymour’s name are welcome to either Kensington Hospice, Toronto, or Dying With Dignity, Toronto.

CHILDHOOD

Alan was born on July 20, 1934. His parents, Frank and Nancy raised Alan and his younger brother Tony in Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex on the south coast of England. As a boy (from 5 to 11 years old) he lived through the war; Alan remembered with clarity the air raids, the bombed out buildings which were enticing to play in, and all the spent and unexploded munitions that could be found in the fields.

A life changing event occurred when he was 16. A live bullet shell that he was handling exploded in his face. Alan lost half of his right index finger and his right eye (later replaced with a glass eye). Alan’s face was reconstructed at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex, that specialized facial reconstruction. With his near fatal injuries on the mend, Alan felt compelled not to take life for granted and to live life to the fullest. This sentiment would be at his core for the rest of his life.

After his visible wounds were healed, Alan continued to be subject to severe migraine headaches. This precluded him from both enlisting in the compulsory National Service, and a formal university education that he had been planning. In order to cope with and mitigate his migraines until he recovered fully from them, he took to work in the fresh air; first as a herdsman and later through a landscaping business he established.

ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE

In 1952, at the age of 18, he met Norma Bowen while attending a Valentine dance. And for him, it became love at first dance. This heralded their courtship and lifelong romance. Alan and Norma were wed on October 6, 1956 in Hastings, England. Three weeks later they were on their way to Canada. They established themselves in Montreal.

FAMILY

Alan’s and Norma’s life soon included two children, Ann and Mark.

After 9 years in Quebec, Toronto harkened in 1965, where the family was to grow permanent roots. Another addition to the family soon followed with the beloved family dog Marmaduke.

As immigrants to Canada, they took it upon themselves to become Canadians to the core, adopting the culture whole. Without any blood relations at hand, they embraced their new friends as close as one would family.

Alan purchased a 200-acre farm northwest of Toronto, and then a nearby schoolhouse that had been converted into a country inn. The family enjoyed city life with weekends in the country. Alan instilled a strong work ethic in Ann and Mark, whether it was working on the farm, cleaning his offices or working as volunteers in community fundraisers.

Later in his life he and Norma moved into a cabin in the country which they affectionately named The Tavern. It was located on Ann’s and Steve’s property in Belfountain on the banks of the Credit River. Alan and Norma would spend weekends enjoying the country life and involving themselves in the local community.

HOBBIES

Alan’s hobbies included the collecting of antique furniture. One of his prized acquisitions was a 19th century cast iron street lamp from Rye, England. It is now permanently installed to illuminate the pathway to The Tavern.

CAREER

In Canada Alan, found employment in corporate and production areas of major corporations (British Petroleum, Canadian Vickers, Levy Industries), gaining a broad business base of experience in the areas of Economic Planning and Forecasting, Finance and Banking, Corporate Structure and Structuring, Production Control, including Advertising, Marketing and Consumer Research.

Alan left the corporate arena and entered the entrepreneurial business world, becoming a founding partner and CEO of Adcom Research Limited in 1967. Over the next 18 years Adcom grew into one of the largest Advertising, Marketing and Consumer Research organizations in Canada (with 23 offices across Canada) serving major corporations, institutions and governments in North America. During this period he also became a principal and founding partner of several additional independent companies in the field of real estate development, computer tabulation and statistical analysis. The real estate development company, Cabbagetown Holdings Ltd., became one of the first companies in North America to start the conversion of old factories and warehouses in the downtown core, into residential and commercial office space.

Having had many years of hands on management, Alan became well versed in management strategies and policies. He was sensitive to the trends in the current business environment, consulted with a wide range of corporate leaders, financiers, developers and associated professionals on domestic and international business development.

Alan was involved in the establishment of two new companies, Liquid Metal Sonics Ltd., an R&D corporation acting as a bridge between the University of Toronto (Metallurgy Department) and industry, in the introduction of new leading edge technology for use in the liquid metal foundry industry, MetalVision Manufacturing (Canada) Ltd., a manufacturing and assembly company for this technology.

Always on the go, retirement at 65 was not in Alan’s character. He parlayed his connections with MetalVision and Liquid Metal Sonics into an interview at Andec, a manufacturer of systems for non-destructive detection of flaws in metals. Initially engaged under a provisional 3-month contract, he soon became a fixture and ultimately remained for 15 years as Administrator.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Outside of his family life and work life, Alan volunteered his spare time and energy to community organizations and local politics. This was often through a leadership position as an elected member of a volunteer board of directors. The following is a list of just some of his activities:

•Active member of the Teen Twenty Club of the Town of Deux Montagnes in the greater Montreal region. He arranged many activities for teenagers and was held in high esteem by club members;

•Active member and past president of the Toronto East Rotary Club. One of the highlights of his many accomplishments as a Rotarian was to initiate and actively participate in an educational native tree planting programme in Toronto’s ravines;

•Worked on many special events and fundraisers for Big Brothers;

•Board member of the Toronto East General Hospital Foundation;

•Treasurer of the Belfountain Community Organization in Caledon.

In recognition of his community service included among Alan’s awards:

•Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 awarded for making a significant contribution to his community;

•Certificate of Recognition in 2014 for his over 30 years of civic engagement. The certificate read: “Thank you for your years of service to the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association, Citizens for the Old Town, the South East Downtown Network: your advocacy for securing the First Parliament Site in public hands, building a vision for a new North St. Lawrence Market, your commitment to recognizing and sharing our built heritage, and your unwavering belief that fostering community dialogue and positive action makes better neighbourhoods and better citizens. Thank you.” It was signed: “Sincerely, Glen Murray, MPP, Toronto Centre Riding, September 4, 2014”

LEGACY

Alan finally gave up his work and his community service activities this summer due to an unexpected diagnosis of inoperable late stage lung cancer.

Alan was a gentle man with an inclusive nature, a mentor to many, and a community builder. Alan lives on in his family, friends, work and volunteer colleagues, leaving with them his values of integrity, generosity and honour. He was always available and giving, happy when others were content, a protector and visionary, and participant of life.

Alan was excited about Christmas just days before he died. He was happy and pleased, and very well taken care of; he had lots of love and support from his family. This was a wonderful thing for a wonderful man!

The Funeral for Alan and Norma Seymour will be held on Saturday May 25, 2024 at 11:00 am at the Toronto Necropolis Cemetery.

200 Winchester Street ,Toronto ON, M4X 1B7