Dave Arthur Harding

Dave Harding was a man for whom actions would speak louder than words. His life motto might well have been “if it isn't logical, it's not important.” The qualities of being fair, just and the ability to recognize what was right were clearly driving forces in Dave's life. He was also the kind of person who could respect a “do not disturb” sign, whether it was real or implied. He was analytical and observant, with an ability to be simultaneously spontaneous and keenly perceptive. Dave was modest in his actions and extremely literal in his thoughts and in the manner in which he communicated with others. When Dave said something, he meant it. All those who knew him appreciated this trademark quality.

Dave was born on July 28, 1955 at Sacre-Coeur Hospital in St-Laurent, Quebec. His parents were Betty and Len Harding. Dave was raised in the City of Lake of Two Mountains, Quebec. Even as a small child, Dave wanted to understand what was right and what was wrong in any given situation. As Dave grew older, he realized the importance of being treated fairly, and in return, he treated everyone around him the same way. This belief in fair play served Dave well throughout his life and despite his natural shyness; he enjoyed a solid group of friends.

Since Dave sought to treat those around him with respect, he often found himself in the role of playing peacemaker within his family. He was comfortable in working through the types of sibling rivalry situations that quite often occur, because he loved the challenge of conflict resolution. He would look at the most reasonable and practical ways to settle any disputes. Dave was raised with two siblings. He had an older sister, Linda, and a younger brother, Michael who passed away in his early years. Dave was constantly involved in activities with his siblings. Dave and his siblings had the typical rivalries while growing up, but they shared many life experiences.

During his childhood, family and friends viewed Dave as a quiet and reserved person with what most would consider a calm and tranquil demeanor. In fact, he was a fairly curious child who had the ability to entertain himself and didn't require much in the way of outside stimulation. A great deal of Dave's free time was spent learning how and why the things around him worked. He was an active child who loved being outdoors and absorbing all the sensory input that nature could provide. He took part in all kinds of sports but soccer was his passion. In his spare time he liked to take things apart to see how they work and put them together again. He enjoyed animals and creepy crawling things.

The fact that he was curious was an asset to Dave while he was in school. He relished the task of scrutinizing problems, investigating all of the options and then solving them. Dave enjoyed tackling the project that was right in front of him and working it straight through to its conclusion. Sometimes, he would become so involved in the process of problem solving that he would lose awareness of his surroundings. Experience was Dave's best teacher. He graduated from Lake of Two Mountains High School in 1973. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was gym. The teacher he enjoyed learning from the most was Mr. Rogers, his history teacher. Dave won the high school top athletic award for most outstanding athlete. He played almost all the sports available and did very well. He was a natural athlete. He will be remembered by his classmates for his sense of humor and his charm.

The same qualities that served as assets for Dave while he was in high school were tools that built success in his college years. His ability to work through problems and assignments without wasting time and energy demonstrated to his instructors that he possessed a real “stick to it” attitude that allowed him to succeed despite an underlying desire to defer making difficult decisions. Dave was an analytical and an independent thinker, qualities that allowed him to develop and implement effective strategies and techniques to meet his college workload. He earned his Bachelor of Education degree from the University of New Brunswick and his Diploma for Athletic Therapy and Management from Sheridan College. His favorite courses were anatomy and gym. His favorite coaches were Gary Brown and Robin Hopper. Dave's interest in university centered around his athletics, either playing or being a trainer. He was nominated All Canadian a few years in a row for soccer and in 1980 he help take his team to the Canadian National Championships and won. He was a great goaltender. Had a record established for the UNB Red Shirts Soccer Team. During his time at university, he ran for and was elected Treasurer of the Phys Ed Dept Student Council. He had a great time while in office.

Those who didn't know Dave well might have thought him to be objective and somewhat emotionally detached, but family and friends who were close to him knew that he was capable of unexpected flashes of humor. Dave's good friends tended to be “thinkers” like himself. Even though the circle of friends was somewhat small, it was a strong and loyal group, and Dave liked nothing better than to spend his free time with them. Dave was well known for always being up front and open, never hiding his true feelings, qualities that drew deep loyalty from his friends because they understood and appreciated him for the person he was. Another quality that people admired in Dave was his ability to link cause and effect and apply the appropriate connection in his assessment of any new situation. Dave was a shy person by nature, but when he warmed up to you, he became the best of friend. He possessed the rare quality of making you feel important somehow. He had a lot of good friends. He may not have been able to get together with some of them for a few years, but he cared for them always. (A testimony of some of his friendships were visible at his visitation and funeral.) Later in life, he became good friends with his name sake, Dave "B" Harding affectionately known as "Ditto", all his soccer mates, Susan Walmsley, Mark and Allison Chenosky, Barb and Pierre Sonier, Brian Laporte, Doc Dittmer, and many many others who became a part of his extended family. Dave's best friend was Pierrette.

This same loyalty and up front honesty Dave shared with his friends carried over to other aspects of his life, including his relationships with his family. On June 16, 1979, Dave exchanged wedding vows with Pierrette Marielle Begin at the United Church of Lake of Two Mountains, Quebec. The marriage became a solid relationship, due in part to Dave's skill at bringing fresh ideas and always humor to the marriage. He was a great cook and enjoyed the couple's “together” time, especially when it came to celebrating special occasions.

As the family grew, Dave was easily able to adapt to the changes and challenges of parenthood. Dave was blessed with two children, a son, Keith Andrew and a daughter, Tracey Joanne Renee. He was also blessed with one grandchild, Damian Blaine Madison McEachern. Dave was never impulsive in dealing with family problems. Instead, he would carefully think things through before implementing the solution in a logical and objective manner. Dave was a strong, clear communicator who excelled at eliminating confusion by making matters crystal clear to all those involved. At the same time, Dave's inventive nature could turn some of the boring old household chores into a fun activity for the family.

In his work life, Dave was the kind of person who had no difficulty in taking on a project and seeing it through to its completion. He excelled at dealing with those pesky details that can derail some people, and once he understood exactly why he was working on a project, he could plow full steam ahead. For Dave, being able to grasp the logical components of any task was significant to him in appreciating its importance. Even if he worked alone on an assignment, Dave was able to incorporate and welcome new insights from co-workers, and he would readily use them if they improved the process. Dave was employed as an Athletic Therapist for 20 years working in clinics and on the playing field. He had a change of career and started working in the insurance industry. He had been with the company (London Life/Canada Life) for a good seven years. Dave always made the effort to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Dave's curious and inquisitive nature influenced his choice of leisure pursuits as well. He applied his strong concentration and analytical skills as to how things worked to his choice of activities. He particularly enjoyed the “alone” time his hobbies provided. Dave had a few hobbies. He loved to cook and became quite the chef. He watched the Food Network and got ideas and then entertained his family and friends with delectable dishes. He also loved to do woodworking. He liked to make things for around the house and the yard. Every year the birds in the neighborhood enjoyed the homes and bird feeders he would make for them. He was also a Pin Collector. As he traveled extensively in his younger days, he collected pins from around the world and family and friends would always add to his collection. Dave loved music and always had the car rocking on family trips or just for casual listening around the house. Dave was content to enjoy his hobbies with Pierrette's helping hands.

Dave had the ability to stay calm and the determination to do what was necessary to get the job finished, traits that helped him enjoy sports. In high school, Dave played basketball, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, football, baseball, you name it, he played it. In his college years, Dave continued to stay active by playing soccer. Recreational sports included soccer, basketball, tennis and later on he got into playing golf. Dave was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed following his favorite events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were hockey (Boston Bruins), soccer, college and pro basketball, football (CFL & NFL), golf.

Dave was an asset to any organization he joined. In many ways, he was a man of action who would rather tackle a job than spend time chatting about irrelevant things. He worked well on small committees and excelled at focusing on the important details without getting bogged down by the unnecessary parts of an assignment. Throughout his later years, Dave was an active member of the Southend Soccer Association and he was a Vice-President, Medical of the Ontario Football Conference.

If Dave believed in a cause or an idea, he was willing to work hard on its behalf. Dave was a member of several community groups in the city. When the children were younger he was very involved by donating his time and skills to the Blue Devils Lacrosse Team, The London Beefeaters Football, many different soccer teams, hockey teams, and basketball teams as coach and trainer. He gave a lot of his time for the children in London, Ontario. Politically, Dave was a Liberal. He never belonged to any party over the years, but most of his life he agreed with the Liberal concepts. He was a Pierre Trudeau fan.

Because he was a man who let his actions speak for themselves, Dave didn't find it necessary to brag or boast. But it wasn't always possible for him to conceal his accomplishments. Others who recognized his achievements made certain that he was honored for them. Some of his most treasurer awards came to him from his soccer players and the kids he coached. When they presented him with an autographed ball with words of wisdom, this was so cherished. Over the years he had received numerous awards, the biggest was winning the All Canadian Championships in soccer for both the University of New Brunswick and the City of Saint John Drydock Team. We have a picture of him kissing the glass casing in British Columbia where the trophy for the city championships was housed in 1981.

Dave didn't vacation much but he did a lot of traveling when he was involved with an Oldtimers' Hockey Team. He went to Moscow, Germany, England, France, Switzerland, Findland, Denmark when he played for the Quebec Provincial soccer team when he was 19. He did like camping and over the years spent a lot of moments sitting by the fire and enjoying the sounds of wood crackling and the peace you get from being out with nature. He didn't want to go on vacation trips where the family and pets couldn't go.

Dave was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of Dave's favorites was Bogie, a cross collie/lab mix. Bogie was the first family dog. Dave had a few dogs as a child, but Bogie was Dave's favorite. They were best friends for 14 years. His family was rounded out by his cats, the late Ronnie and Rebel and the current Momma Kat, turtles, tropical fish, birds (two cockatiels) Buddy and Bert, and the current two dogs, Bentley and Lexus.

Dave passed away on April 1, 2009 at Victoria Hospital, London Ontario. Dave fought a brave battle against a relatively unknown disease called Henoch-Schönlein purpura. This is a systemic vasculitis disease which in rare cases causes irreversible kidney damage. He had complications with this disease and fought very hard for the last 3 months. He entered the hospital on Jan 12, 2009 and passed away on April 1st, 2009. He is survived by his two children Keith and Tracey; his grandson Damian and Damian's father, Justin McEachren, his sister Linda, his mother Betty and his wife Pierrette. Many family members, nephews, nieces and cousins are all grieving his passing. Services were held at Needham Funeral Services. Dave was cremated as per his wishes.

Dave strongly believed that talk is cheap. He was the type of person who would show others his feelings through his actions. He was practical and realistic but was able to be flexible when the need arose. He had a curiosity about the things around him and tried to experience life directly rather than sit back and talk about it. The experiences he treasured most were those he shared with his loved ones. David Arthur Harding was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers donations were sent to The Canadian Cancer Society or the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario Foundation. Thank you to everyone who gave.