The death of a former Canadian soldier

A life worth celebrating. Peter Worthington of the Sun papers reflects on Douglas Fisher; his like unlikely to be seen again:

A man dedicated to Canada
...
When the Toronto Sun first emerged from the ashes of the old Toronto Telegram in 1971, no writer gave us as much credibility as columnist Doug Fisher -- a living institution of political journalism.

And now he is gone -- dead, at age 89, hours short of his 90th birthday...

A burly, bear of a man, I always wondered how he wound up in the armoured corps in the war -- 12th Manitoba Dragoons, an armoured car regiment that fought through Europe. He was too big to fit comfortably into tanks or armoured cars, but his response was that it was better than walking...

Of Doug's five sons -- Mark, Tobias, Matthew, John and Luke -- Matthew once wrote for the Sun before joining the National Post and is by far the best of all journalists covering Afghanistan and the Middle East, old-school trustworthy, like his dad [see 3) here]...

Fisher was something of a renaissance man, interested in everything -- politics, sport, environment, soldiering, Indians, forestry, education, serving on royal commissions -- you name it. He was gruff, not given to flattery or effusiveness, but a man dedicated to Canada in a way that few can match...

Much more on his time as a soldier at his website: