Cover photo for Richard Mairs's Obituary
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Richard Mairs

d. October 10, 2025

Richard Frederick Mairs died peacefully at Bethell Hospice in Inglewood on October 10, just two weeks before his 79th birthday.

Richard, Rick to most friends, would have wanted to tell you that he passed on without any regrets for a life well lived. He had a wide-ranging community of friends and neighbours who supported him over the last 11 months since his cancer diagnosis, stopping by often to visit and have a coffee.

A life-long bachelor, he lived on his own in Glen Williams -- not Georgetown, he was definite on that -- for almost 30 years. He at first shared the home with his parents Kathleen, who died in 1991, and Claude who died in 1997.

He spent his early years in Warden, Que., in a house adjacent to the farm his mother grew up on. Sandwiched between the two properties is a graveyard where he earned some of his first cash cutting the grass. His parents are buried in that graveyard and Richard will be interred beside them, close to other cousins and his grandparents.

The living room of his bungalow showed signs of his passion and woodworking ability. A bowl, which sat on a mid-century style coffee table that he had built, had been made in high school and the bottom still bears the mark he received – 92 out of 100.

Richard readily admitted he only went to high school in Waterloo. Quebec for the woodworking classes.

When Richard told the high school he wouldn’t be returning for his final year, he was called to the office. The principal sarcastically wished him well and said: “You’ll never amount to anything.”

Shortly after, he left for Ontario and within three days had a job at Northern Electric, which eventually became Nortel, which eventually collapsed. Richard worked there for 29 years and said he and his workmates loved the community spirit and the hijinks that they got up to daily.

“You didn’t want to miss a day because you never knew what trouble people would be getting into,” he recalled recently with a smile. “Who was going out with who’s wife, or who had brought booze for a party.”

He did recall that a year after leaving Waterloo, he was back visiting friends and joined them at a school reunion where he was glad to tell the principal that he had a job, and a car, and cash to spend.

Richard’s home in the Glen has a collection of rotary phones and early push-button models manufactured by Nortel. He always insisted they work better than the newer models.

As a young teen Richard spent his summers cutting lawns for neighbours, so it wasn’t a stretch when he returned to the lawncare business after getting a package from Nortel. It turned out to be a wise move when Nortel went bankrupt and its pension plan foundered.

He eventually set up his own lawnmower repair shop. The machines and their parts took over the backyard shop and his two-car garage in the Glen.

For many years, a focus of Richard’s life was fishing, hunting and storytelling with friends from the Halton Sportsmen’s Association, which he was a member of for 37 years. His basement rec room was filled with antlers and mounted fish from across the country.

He often talked fondly about his fly-in trips to Ungava, Quebec, northern Ontario, and the Yukon. He always said that he never travelled outside Canada, but he had seen much more of this country than most of us manage, and he was happy with that focus.

Richard’s final flight came when a small plane filled with fishermen bounced and bobbed on a rough flight, eventually making a safe landing.

“I kissed the ground when I got off and said I was never flying again, and I didn’t.”

His strong will was also displayed several years ago when he decided to heed medical advice and stopped drinking. Cold turkey.

“I called my buddies over and had them clear out the beer fridge and the bar. Never drank again.”

While his buddies downed a beer or two during their regular darts or euchre nights he’d stick to water. He kept a single beer in the fridge just to remind him to stay the course.

For many years, Richard was an active member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 120 in Georgetown.

Richard’s cancer was discovered after he reluctantly agreed to a colonoscopy a year ago. He soon became an advocate for screening, urging his friends to be sure they were checked and ensuring them it was painless.

His sociable nature was on display during his last year as he loved the regular visits from a variety of nurses, PSWs, and doctors. He had been getting Meals on Wheels for several years and the delivery team learned to make him their last stop because they’d have to sit and chat for a while.

Just hours before he left home for Bethell Hospice he had a visit from a neighbour’s child. Richard roused himself from his pain and tiredness and chatted with the youngster who had just returned from his first hockey game.

“You scored your first goal, that’s great,” he said, getting a smile from the shy four-year-old.

For the last several years his life was kept organized and on track by his cousin Cathy Frost, who quarterbacked the team that provided home care and eventually led him to Bethell Hospice for his last days where he received excellent and loving care from the palliative care team.

He received excellent care from his family doctor Dr. Reana Parasram, surgeon Dr. Matthew Mosseler, and palliative care specialist Dr. Jeffrey Martin.

Throughout his cancer care treatment, he was aided by Cancer Assistance Halton Hills and its many volunteers.

Memorial donations to Bethell Hospice or Cancer Assistance Halton Hills would be appreciated.

Make a donation to one of the following charities in remembrance of Richard Mairs

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