Obituary of Darren MacPherson

On December 31, the world lost an amazing person who was gentle, quiet, thoughtful, humble, generous, insightful, loyal, funny, witty, and wise. Darren died suddenly and unexpectedly at home in Ottawa, while taking advantage of a few minutes of peace and quiet to play a video game. He was the husband, better half, best friend, co-parent, sounding board, moral compass, and jar opener to Michelle Deveau—his partner of 22 years and wife of nearly 20. He was Dada, Daddy, incredible role model, wrestling partner, and provider of piggyback rides and middle-of-the-night cuddles to Louis and Robbie MacPherson. He was “son” to Paul and Bonny Deveau, and brother-in-law to André Deveau and Leah Furey. Darren was predeceased by his father Charlie MacPherson and brother Robbie MacPherson.

 

During his childhood in rural Prince Edward Island, Darren found solace in fishing, video games and sports, which led to his crowning achievements as a provincial champion in a Nintendo competition (in back-to-back years!) and soccer. Although Darren had received the second-highest marks in his graduating class at Montague Regional High School, he had not been planning to attend university until he discovered UPEI awarded him a full scholarship that he hadn’t applied for. His Bachelor of Science in Biology led to his work in fisheries biology, much to the dismay of his Browns Court roommates who would sometimes find eels in their freezer. A career change led him to Montreal—following in the footsteps of his close childhood friend Ryan Stewart—where he received his Master of Science in Occupational Health Sciences at McGill, and met Michelle.

 

After brief stints in heavy industry in Fort McMurray and Timmins, Darren moved to Ottawa, where he spent most of his career as an occupational hygienist, safety professional, and manager for non-industrial employers, including City of Ottawa, Canada Post, Ottawa Police Services, Canadian Blood Services, and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. In his work he enjoyed building relationships with unions and standing up for workers, even when he faced pushback or had to work to change long-entrenched systemic barriers. 

 

One of Darren’s favourite pastimes was running—he cleared his head every Sunday morning with a long run along the Ottawa River, and was planning to complete another half marathon in February. He would have been extremely annoyed to know that his last-place finish in his dynasty league would have been the end of his fantasy football career, and that he would never see Toronto Maple Leafs or Arizona Cardinals as Stanley Cup or Super Bowl champions in his lifetime. Darren had become an avid traveller and enjoyed seeing the world, and had very much been looking forward to experience it through his children’s eyes.

 

The most important thing to Darren was his family. Although Darren and Michelle had opposite personalities in many ways, they understood and accepted each other fully, grew together, learned from each other, and made each other better people. There are no words to describe how much love and pride Darren had for Louis and Robbie. It was evident seeing him with them or hearing him talk about them that he would do anything for them. He had been looking forward to retiring while the kids were still young, so that he could be completely involved in their lives. He constantly spoke about how amazed he was to get to watch them grow, and was excited to see the people they would turn into. Although they never got enough time with him, Darren gave them enough love to last their lifetime.

 

Rather than seeing a Darren-shaped hole in our hearts and lives, let us cherish all the memories we have of him. Let his incredibly strong morals guide our daily lives. In his adult life he tried to be inclusive, celebrate people’s differences, and stand up for those who were being treated inequitably due to those differences. These were principles he wanted to instill in his children, and that he would have wanted to be his legacy.

 

In accordance with Darren’s wishes (which were never expected to be fulfilled so early), no formal service will be arranged. Although Darren’s more recent request was to save his ashes in the car so that he could be useful if anybody was stuck in the snow, we will instead abide by his previously stated wishes, and will scatter his ashes in a few of the places that meant the most to him.

 

Those wishing to honour Darren are welcome to make a donation to a charity of their choice. For those who would like to consider types of organizations that are helpful to children and youth coming from similar backgrounds to Darren, some suggestions include:

• Operation Come Home – Ottawa organization providing employment, education and support services (food, clothing) for at-risk youth and those who have left their homes.
• Your local food bank or PEI School Food Program – in his youth, Darren would often only have one meal a day and was usually hungry at school.
• Your local KidSport program or KidSport PEI – sports had a huge positive impact on Darren’s life. To be able to play, he had to rely on the generosity of friends’ parents to drive him, and earn money as a child labourer on local farms, often performing precarious work.

 

Darren, we will always be in awe of the incredible person you became.

We love you and will carry you in our hearts and minds forever.