Obituary of David Douglas Dutton
Peacefully, on April 30, 2021, Dave drew his final breath at Ottawa General Hospital at the age of 69, following a month-long battle with Covid-19. His daughter and his sister were at his side.
The breadth of Dave’s impact on the lives he touched - as a loyal friend, brilliant and accomplished journalist, valued and admired colleague, generous mentor and teacher - is immeasurable and enduring. To have a friend in Dave was to have a friend for life. He was a motorcycle lover and racer, a builder and fixer and tinkerer, and a lifelong cottager. But above all, Dave was a devoted family man with a heart of gold. To know him was to know his boundless love for his children, and that his granddaughter, Liliana, was his sun and his moon.
As a child, he idolized his journalist father, and by the time he was 18, Dave was eager to follow in his dad’s footsteps. His own career as a reporter and editor spanned dailies, news agencies and magazines, from his beginnings in Ontario, to Europe, Alberta, Quebec, and San Diego, before making his way back to Eastern Ontario where he finally settled and purchased his forever dream home in Lanark Highlands.
He recently retired after 28 years as a copy and digital editor at the Ottawa Citizen, was a former teacher of journalism at Algonquin College, and the recipient of two National Newspaper Awards. He had a strong reputation for integrity and high standards, and was a generous mentor who swore with abandon and made everything he touched better.
As hard as Dave worked, both in his career and his life, he played hard as well. He found great joy in his return to motorcycle racing in recent years, and his love for the sport was infectious. There were few things he liked more than a sunset cruise in his boat around Aylen Lake. He loved taking trips in his RV. He brought his kids camping and fishing and waterskiing and go-kart racing when they were young, and he never turned down an adventure with his beloved granddaughter.
Dave would drive long distances to be there for family and friends, sometimes through the night, just to make it on time for a wedding or birthday party or important milestone. Sentimental to his core, he was a keeper of all sorts of treasures and little reminders of his favourite people, places, and events. He’d never pass by a stranger in need without stopping to offer help, and was often first in line to assist family or friends or neighbours in trouble. He may be remembered by some to have a gruff and tough exterior, but on the inside, he was as soft and kind-hearted as they come.
But it was that tough exterior that helped him bravely face adversity - of which he had more than his fair share. The great tragedies of Dave’s life were the loss of his son, Alex, in 2009, the loss of his father, Don, in 2017, and the loss of his beautiful log home to a fire following a lightning strike in the summer of 2019. For over a year, he lived in and worked from a tiny trailer on the property so he could be available for the reconstruction of his home from the original plans. Throughout that process, he never lost sight of his dream of spending his long-awaited retirement filling the house with new memories, the love of family and friends, and most of all, his beloved granddaughter’s laughter. He only got to live in his new home for five months. It took a worldwide pandemic, closed borders, and death to prevent him from realizing his most cherished dream.
Dave will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered as the beloved father of Alexander Dutton (deceased) and Rachel Simon (Carl), cherished grandfather of Liliana Simon, devoted son of Donald Dutton (deceased) and Gloria Dutton, dear brother of Philip Dutton and Lisa Dutton (D’Arcy O’Brien), adored uncle of Taylor Dutton and Cory May, and by his friends beyond number.
The family wishes to thank the many incomparable and heroic ICU doctors and nurses in Perth and Ottawa. A private cremation has taken place, and a celebration of life will be held when all can safely gather.
