Obituary of George Yates

George Thomas Yates, OLS #778 June 23 1928-January 23 2017 George decided to check into heaven in the early morning hours of January 23. He leaves his beloved wife of 62 years, Catherine (Cossitt) Yates. He was loved, adored and admired by his four children, Mary, Peggy, Patricia and Michael and his six grandchildren of whom he was immensely proud; Jamie, Danielle, Kathleen, Gabrielle, Matthew and Andrew. He is remembered with much affection by his childrens' spouses/partners, Jamie Campbell, Duff Sprague, Mike Adams and Lynn Fontaine. George was born at 943 Greenwood Avenue in East York, to Raymond Yates and Pearle (Graham) Yates, the third of six siblings. He is predeceased by his brothers Graham and Gordon, his sister Norma (Iley) and his brother in law, Gus Cossitt. His brother Don and sister, Mary and his sisters-in-law, Mary Cossitt, Térèse Cossitt and Dorothy Cossitt remember him with love. George attended RH McGregor Elementary School. He was a graduate of East York Collegiate Institute and according to his Grade 13 yearbook "loved to stump Miss Finch with words from the French dictionary". His childhood was defined by the Great Depression, World War 2 and summers spent at the Yates "compound" at Port Union, at a time when sunscreen was unheard of, resulting in George's inevitable and enviable tan. Following graduation, George decided to become a Land Surveyor and was commissioned in 1951. While working for CN Rail, he was sent to Newfoundland to survey the railway. It was there he met 18 year-old Catherine Cossitt at a dance in Corner Brook while she was home from university for the summer. When Catherine is asked what attracted her to George, she is always quick to reply, "he was gorgeous and he was the only one there taller than me". George enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an Ontario Land Surveyor. He was a partner with his brother Don at Yates & Yates Ontario Land Surveyors and PhotoMap Air Surveys. George, while modest, accomplished much; trustee and chair of two school boards in the 1960's, chair of the Unionville Home Society Foundation and appointment to the Canadian Board of Examiners for Professional Surveyors (CBEPS). When George retired in 1997, he started his second career providing back up emergency child care for his grandchildren, a task he handled with massive amounts of both love and patience. George was a born and bred Torontonian. That, combined with his long career as an OLS meant that he knew every street from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe. He couldn't go anywhere without running into someone he went to school with, did a survey for, or was related to. He was a long-time member of the Albany Club and the Fitness Institute. He was actively involved in politics and was a dedicated Progressive Conservative (of the Red Tory variety) which led to many lively discussions with his some of his more left-leaning children and grandchildren. George was a devoted Catholic and a long-time parishioner of The Church of the Good Shepherd in Thornhill. George loved Ray Charles and Oscar Peterson, beautiful clothes, red wine, Starbucks coffee, corned beef from the Centre Street Deli, extra old cheddar cheese, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Blue Jays (and much to his chagrin) the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a natural athlete, and continued his daily runs well into his late 70's. He taught all of his kids, at a very young age, to both swim and play poker (which worked out pretty well) and tried desperately to teach those same kids math (which didn't work out so well). He was a stone-skipper extraordinaire. You could put him anywhere in the world and he could tell you where due North was. George was the definition of a decent man, generous, fair, honest and courteous. He was both gracious and graceful and always, always looked like a million bucks. Visitation will be held at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Thornhill on Saturday, January 28 from 10 - 11am. The funeral Mass will take place at 11:00am with a reception to follow. George was a long-time supporter of Covenant House Toronto and if desired, donations may be directed to support their work for kids far less fortunate than his.