Mr. Thomas Tevlin

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our dear Dad, on Tuesday, November 15th in the Veterans Ward at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Following a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, Tom slipped away peacefully with his children Sarah, Mary Ann, John and Tim by his side. In his 93rd year, Tom was predeceased by his loving wife of 61 years Carol (nee Wood), who passed away almost a year to the day of Tom’s death.

Tom was a kind and loving grandfather to Thomas and James (John and Kathy Tevlin), Patrick, Michael and Robert (Tim and Christine Tevlin), Peter and Graham (Mary Ann and Bruce Smith), and Matthew and Natalie (Sarah and Jeremy Pryor). Tom was the last of seven siblings, predeceased by his brothers Jack, Murray and Don, and his sisters Doris (Carton), Ann and Joan.

Tom loved the simple pleasures of life: painting and sculpting, tending his vegetable garden, going to Mass every Sunday, fishing with his lifelong pals, reading Agatha Christie novels, and listening to the Blue Jays on his little transistor radio with the broken antenna, on the back deck, along with a cold beer in his pewter mug.

To know Tom was to love him, a life-of-the-party guy who would break into song and dance, or do funny voice characters (the underwater guy!)...but always make people feel at ease. He was a true gentleman who would speak to people of different cultures with the (very) few words of their language he knew, trotting out a brave, if occasionally over-the-top, accent...always bringing a smile.

He was originally from Stratford, Ontario and was raised in the Great Depression of the 1930s by his widowed mother, Irene (Murray). From these humble beginnings, with many of his formative years spent in London, Ontario, Tom volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II, and then went on to the University of Western Ontario. It was at Western, as a member in the Delta Upsilon fraternity, that Tom earned his nickname ‘Tiger’ for the high-energy enthusiasm he brought to everything he did.

Tom later became a copywriter and VP, Creative Director, at F.H. Hayhurst in Toronto, where he worked for more than 30 years. It was there he wrote a line that became part of Canadian culture, “Hey you kids, get out of that Jello tree!” Tom made many great friends and colleagues over the course of his career in advertising, including the fellow to whom he sold the family car - a Monza Corvair - for a bottle of wine.

The light of his life was, of course, Carol, and the two of them shared so many happy years together raising a family, traveling abroad and socializing with their wide circle of friends. Even held in the grips of his disease, he asked for her every day.

We would like to extend our thanks to all of the nurses (Dernell: shout out), therapists, and doctors of 2nd Street (E), L Wing at Sunnybrook, for their heroic care of our Dad over the past three years. And finally, thank you to Tom’s caregiver and companion Dawn, who held his hand through to the end.

A visitation will be held this Friday, November 19th at the Trull Funeral Home - 2704 Yonge Street from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. The Funeral Mass will take place at Tom’s church, St. Margaret of Scotland, 222 Ridley Blvd., this Saturday, November 20th at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Alzheimer Society of Canada at http://www.alzheimer.ca/en. .

Rest in peace, Tiger.