Obituary of S. Wayne Calver

S. Wayne Calver passed away on November 15, 2021 after a life filled with love, service to others and adventure. 

Born at home in 1936, Wayne grew up in the “centre of the universe”,  Napanee, Ontario,  with sister Marilyn and brother Orien. Wayne and Orien spent their time being generally mischievous and “helping” on their grandfather’s farm, spending summers in a cabin on Oak Lake with their grandparents Estella and Art Stevenson, mother Eva Calver and their cousin Heather Rodgers and family. The first in his family to attend university, Wayne graduated from Royal Military College and Queen’s University with a BSc in Chemical Engineering. At RMC, Wayne was the smallest player on the football team, boxed, won the history prize, snuck out after curfew and met life-long friends.  Wayne met the love of his life, Margaret, on a blind date when posted to Winnipeg with 2 RCHA. They married in August 1960, leaving the church on an artillery carriage.

After his military service, Wayne and Margaret moved to Ontario, where they worked as educators, raised 3 kids and a dog, and shared a lifelong passion for adventure.

Education and the military combined when the family moved to Germany, where Wayne was Principal of the Baden-Baden base high school.  The family travelled across Europe, camping, visiting Egypt and skiing in Austria at Christmas. Wayne was generous and open minded, eager to share others’ experiences, leading to many lifelong “DND” friendships.
 
Wayne was a creative and highly spirited person who chose to work around obstacles in often unorthodox ways. He worked in challenging schools, addressed the broader needs of the community and helped pioneer integrated adult high school education.  After being Principal at Earl Haig and at Bathurst Heights, Wayne rose to Superintendent of Secondary Schools with the North York Board of Education. On retiring, Wayne and Margaret moved to Malaysia to continue as educators and to enjoy a new culture, spicy food and warm weather.  Throughout it all he kept the twinkle in his blue eyes, his infectious smile and his sense of humour.

Wayne was driven by his love of family, travel and adventure. He and Margaret explored the world together, from the savannas of Africa to the heights of Machu Picchu, to swimming with the sea turtles in the Galápagos Islands. Back home in Canada, Wayne loved to be at Eagle Lake, the “most beautiful place on Earth”, and enjoyed spending winters in Arizona playing tennis and billiards.  Wayne had a relentlessly positive spirit, often expressed with an enthusiastic “Bang On!”.
 
The last years of Wayne’s life in long term care with dementia were very hard; he was helped by some exceptionally special caregivers. Margaret provided constant care and advocated tirelessly for Wayne and other long-term care residents.  The family is eternally grateful to those who truly loved and cared for him.

Wayne inspired his family and those who knew him to be the best that they could be, to always keep trying, and to continue the fight. Wayne will be missed by the many friends he was fortunate to meet throughout his life’s adventures, his love Marg, his children Scott (Julie), Andrea and Laura (Mitch) and his grandchildren Cordelia, Annabelle, Thalia, Luke and Theodore. 

A Celebration of Wayne’s life will be held on December 18 at 12h00 at Dixon-Garland funeral home in Markham, with a visitation beginning at 11h00.  It will also be streamed through their website.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in Wayne’s memory to the Canadian Concussion Centre at UHN foundation would be appreciated by the family. Please visit http://support.tgwhf.ca/goto/waynecalver .

“Good stuff!” as Wayne would say.

*As per the families request, all guests must show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend*

Funeral Webcast

You can access the webcast by clicking the link below and following the prompt to enter your email address. You will immediately be sent a link in your email inbox (please check spam/trash folders if the link is not in your inbox). The link expires quickly, so please sign up to access it on the day of the service and keep the pre-ceremony page open until the stream begins. The service will be viewable after the webcast, as well. The webcast is set to start at 11:55am.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW WEBCAST