DURST, Ronald Lorne Joseph, LCol (Ret’d), CD, RCLS
Ron, age 80, passed away 4 October 2020. He is survived by the love of his life of 56 years, Eleanor Durst (nee DiCicco), his sister and brother-in-law Marion (Larsen) and Helmut Splettstoesser, his children Scott, Caryl and David, his beloved grandchildren Michael, Jeffrey, Gabby, Jakob and Nikolaus, his son-in-law Frank Basso, daughter-in-law Kimberley Durst, sister in-law Nancy Durst. Ron was predeceased by his younger brother Earl Durs.t
It is with a joyous heart that we were able to celebrate an amazing 80 years with a loving husband, father and grandfather who has been the foundation of our family and our lives for so long. With joy, we pray that he is now with God in his heavenly place; he will be missed dearly and cherished always. Our father was first and foremost a loving, kind and giving man who loved his family (Team Durst) as well as his community and country with all his heart.
We are proud of our Dad’s professional career. After graduating from the University of Guelph as an Aggie (64), he spent 34 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a Logistics Officer, serving in various command and staff appointments throughout Canada, its far North, in Europe as part of NATO and in the United Nations missions in Cyprus, Egypt and the Golan Heights. Ron’s love for Canada was strong and he continued serving his beloved country in the Supplementary Reserves until 1996.
In 1986, our father partnered with his two sons to operate three local restaurants from 1986 to 2003. After seventeen successful years, we sold our hospitality businesses and he retired for the second time. However, he found that he was looking for new challenges and proudly served on the Board of Trustees of Skyline Apartment REIT for fifteen years until 2017.
In the community, our father gave charitably to causes he believed in and ones that bettered our community. He was also involved with the Royal City Men’s Club as well as the Aggie 64 Alumni group. We will all miss “Big R” in so many ways – but we will never forget the man our mother called partner, we called Dad, and our kids called Papa! We love you Dad – thank you for everything you taught and provided to us throughout our lives – especially your love.
As an expression of sympathy, donations to the Hospice Wellington are appreciated.