Obituary of Philip Blyth

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Philip Blyth on April 17th, 2020 in his 83rd year.  He leaves behind daughters Fiona and Philippa, granddaughter Mollie, and partner Lian Eng Chan.  He was predeceased by sons Fraser and Adrian, his ex-wife and children’s mother Sheila, parents Herbert and Marjorie, and his siblings Brian and Shirley.

Philip was born on July 1, 1937 in Whitstable, Kent, UK.  Upon graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK, Major Blyth served in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Singapore, England, Borneo (now Brunei), Malaya (now Malaysia), Hong Kong, and Scotland in the Royal Logistic Corps of the British Armed Forces.  He later joined MI5 within the British Security Service.  In 2004 he moved to Canada to be with his partner Lian.

He treasured his weekly phone calls with Philippa. Philip loved to travel and after meeting Lian, continued to explore many corners of the world together. He had been on over 90 cruises including two 105 day cruises, and cruised to 75 different countries (some of them up to ten times), 54 dependencies, and Antarctica.  He loved opera, dancing, history, genealogy, geography, nature, cycling and swimming.  He remained active in his later years and even undertook a bicycle ride from London, Ontario to Sarnia, Ontario to celebrate his 70th birthday.  Philip took special pleasure in sharing his July 1st birthday with the festive celebrations of Canada Day. He was always eager to start up a conversation with strangers, had a quick wit, and was a gentleman. His charisma and style brought joy to many lives.

Philip’s family would like to give heartfelt thanks to the staff, doctors, and chaplain at Parkview Home and the staff at Memory & Company for their compassionate care of Philip.

There will be no funeral service.  A private celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to Philip’s favourite charity, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) or to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.  Online condolences can be made at www.dixongarland.com.

"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come" - Rabindranath Tagore