Doug Garrett will be missed — especially his laugh

Doug Garrett, renowned among family and friends for his story-telling prowess, has died at the age of 94. He leaves behind a large number of family and friends, who may miss him most of all for the twinkle in his eye, and his large, infectious laugh, which delighted all who knew him.

“His laugh could fill a room with so much joy. He had an awfully big laugh for just a little fellow,” says his daughter Kelly Atalick.

Doug died at home last Thursday, Feb. 10, with his granddaughter Dahli by his side. Kelly’s 28-year-old daughter was close to her papa, and was travelling back and forth from Toronto to spend time with him and help out whenever she could. “It was really hard for her, but I think he knew it would have been harder for me. I wouldn’t have handled it as well,” says Kelly.

Doug was born and raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and as the fourth generation of a family who were United Empire Loyalists, he loved the town and never wanted to live anywhere else. “He wanted to die here, at home, and he did.”

He was being treated for pulmonary fibrosis, Kelly explains, but was doing well, and although his family hoped they would have more time with him, he died suddenly of a heart attack. “Ultimately, I understood this would have been a much calmer passing for him. I’m sorry he’s gone, of course, but feel blessed that he didn’t suffer,” and that she believes he is with Christine, and “we’ll all be together again one day.”

They expected to celebrate his 95th birthday on May 20 with him. Instead, she says, they have chosen that day for his celebration of life. “We’ll be celebrating without him, at the golf club. He was a social butterfly and loved his friends. He was so well-liked,” she says, “I don’t know how we’ll be able to fit everyone in.”

Doug was also known for his love of sports. He played hockey in his youth, reaching the Senior B level before getting hurt and gave it up. 

His real love was golf. He was a very talented golfer, and as a teen, dreamed of being a professional player, Kelly says. But his father died when he was just 17, and he had to go to work to help his mother support the family. He worked for a butcher for a time, delivered milk with a horse-drawn wagon, and took a few other jobs — anything he could find that would allow him to help out at home. The bulk of his working life, though, almost three decades, was with the LCBO, where he retired as a store manager in St. Catharines.

He married his first wife, Dorothy, as a young man, and they had two sons, David and Paul. Dorothy died of cancer tragically, at the age of 42, and Doug was fortunate to later find happiness with Christine, who he met while working at the LCBO. She worked at a cafe nearby where he would stop in, they became friends, then developed a relationship, and eventually married, says Kelly.

Doug was still living on Shakespeare Drive when Christine, suffering from Alzheimer’s, was moved into Upper Canada Lodge. Going to see her was an important part of his routine, and that continued after Kelly and Nick built a beautiful, self-contained apartment onto their Queenston home for Doug. Christine, now in the final stages of Alzheimer’s, didn’t know who Doug was or that he was visiting, but he would say he knew who she was, and wanted to be there with her. The visits continued until the week he died, Kelly says.

“She was the love of his life,” she adds, recalling the days her mother would get “all dolled up” and her parents would go out dancing. “They had a lot of fun together.”

Doug had recently reached the stage where he required full-time care, and had a palliative team caring for him, with Kelly, Nick and Dahli also spending as much time with him as they could.

His brain was sharp right up to the end, she says — he was laughing and joking, and enjoying family gatherings with his children and grandchildren around him.

When asked what about Doug’s achievements and a life lived to the fullest made him most proud, she says, “his family and golfing would be at the top of the list. He was really proud of his family.” Then she laughs, saying golfing might have been a tight second, and “maybe some days number one.” 

One of his greatest honours was being inducted in 2019 into the NOTL Sports Wall of Fame, in the Meridian Credit Union Arena.

One of his friends and fellow golfers, Ward Simpson, was the MC of the event, and both of them ended up teary-eyed at the ceremony.

Doug said in his golf career he had only one hole-in-one, Aug. 8, 1971, on the second hole at the NOTL Golf Course. “In those days,” he joked, “there were a lot of holes-in-one that never were, but mine did happen, because we had a boy on the hill witnessing it.”

Other memories Garrett shared included caddying for 35 cents for nine holes, and 75 cents for 18, and sneaking beer in wrapped-up towels to golfers after they finished their fifth round. “What I am trying to explain is that there is nothing new to having a beer cart on the golf course.”

Doug said he considered himself fortunate to have worked alongside George Knudson, a Canadian golfer with eight PGA wins, who taught him the fundamentals, rules — and how to control his temper. 

“I was golfing with him one day and made a terrible shot. I was so mad I threw my golf club. He made me go get it, looked at me and said, ‘you are off the course for two weeks.’ Boy, I cried. I certainly learned my lesson, never threw another club.”

His Wall of Fame description says, “A Veteran, Legionnaire, Mason and even a former horse-drawn wagon milkman, Doug Garrett still made his largest impression on our community on the golf course. His personality, competitiveness and athleticism led him to 21 NOTL Club Championships at all levels, plus one Senior Champion of Champions for the entire Niagara District. His indomitable spirit and joyous personality, coupled with innumerable course records, still evoke joy and awe for all those who know him.”

NOTL Golf Club operator John Wiens has known Doug — everyone called him Dougie, Wiens says — for many years, and golfed with him often. When Doug turned 90, he was given a life-time club membership.

He golfed through the 2020 season sometimes several times a week, as a member of different leagues, and last year, although he didn’t get out on the course, he continued to stop by the clubhouse.

He was always well-received, and members loved to have him sit with him, have a beer, and regale them with his golf stories.

Wiens recalls the days when Doug would travel by ferry across the river to Lewiston with some of the club members for a tournament that involved a bit of drinking after the game. There were years when they missed the ferry home, and needed to call someone on this side of the river to come and get them — those games were the source of some of his best stories.

Doug, Wiens says, was such a good, consistent golfer, “he never got into any trouble. At least not on the course,” he laughed.

“He was great fun, knew the etiquette of golf, and how to interact with others, always with a smile. He was a very special man. When he came into the club, everyone wanted him to sit at their table and tell a story. He was the kind of person, as soon as you saw him, your eyes would light up. People had such huge respect for him. It was always nice to see him.”

On the golf course, says Wiens, Doug, a left-handed golfer, “had such a sweet swing. Nice tempo, nice follow-through, and always hit right down the middle. He was a very good golfer, that’s for sure.”

And he was always a gentleman, kind and patient to those who asked advice. He was willing to listen, and willing to help. “He was a very gentle man, and very much loved everywhere he went.”

Paul Dickson, who partnered on the golf course with Doug for many years, emails from Ireland that  “the passing of my great friend and golfing partner has touched me with sadness, and wonderful memories. When I arrived in Canada and Niagara-on-the-Lake back in 1987, I was young and keen to get into the game of golf. What a lucky day it was that I met ‘wee Dougie,’ and along with fellow Irish friend Brian Mckillop, we were welcomed with open arms at the club.”

Soon, Dickson continues, they began their Sunday morning games, which went on for the next 25 years. “Although my game never quite matched up to the game that Doug played, that was the delight, playing with a master of his craft. Countless club championships and club tournaments to his name, we soon decided that he should be introduced to the game in Ireland,” as well as Dickson’s and Mckillop’s
families and friends.

“As a long time Legion member, we thought it might be a good idea to sample a beverage at my local Legion. Needless to say once the locals heard that Doug was a veteran from Canada, there was no way we could put our hands in our pockets.”

From Ireland, Dickson says, “he is being mourned over here by all his friends.”

About the golf games Doug loved playing, Dickson continues, “he also enjoyed a flutter while doing it. Nothing too serious mind you, but as he usually collected his winnings each week, he always departed with a twinkle in his eye and reminder ‘to not forget my quarters next week.’ He was also my lucky charm. I have three holes in one, all played with the ‘wee man,’ all in NOTL on #4 hole.”

Doug’s golf game seemed to get better with age, Dickson says, “and I again was fortunate to play with him as he shot 65 as a senior (still a record). He had the best and smoothest swing I’ve ever seen, and the best putter, well into his 80s. But time take its toll on us all, so as Doug aged his handicap moved up, and while mine flatlined we soon realized that meant we qualified to play as a team for the Goldup Pairs in NOTL. Making our way through the rounds, we found ourselves in the final, and one up playing the final hole. Doug then confided in me (with a tear in his eye) that this was the only trophy he had never won. No way we would lose. We repeated twice more. Doug decided to go out undefeated. He was 90! That same year Doug was inducted into the sports hall of fame in Virgil. A proud moment.”

 Doug always had a smile and loved a beer at the club or at his little spot in Queenston, says Dickson. “While always a Niagara boy, born in his mother’s kitchen on Simcoe Street in 1927, he lived a full life that has left an indelible mark on our club and community. I called him whenever possible as his health failed, but his spirit never dulled. I am blessed to have called him my friend and golf partner. Let’s hope we can all celebrate his wonderful life this spring on the golf course he called home.”

Ricky Watson played with Doug when he was younger — Watson has been the club junior champion several times, and worked last season as assistant club professional. Doug, he says, “was the biggest gentleman. I was lucky enough to play a bunch with him when I was younger, and he was always helping out juniors around the club (including me) with their games, even donating his old clubs to some of the younger left-handed members. I will always remember Doug for his very distinct laugh. I would hear him before seeing him most days at the club, and he was always a positive and happy figure that we will dearly miss around the NOTL Golf Club.”

Doug was also involved in the community as a volunteer. He was a firefighter for two decades, and a strong supporter and canvasser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. He was also a member of the Masons, and was head mason for a time. But perhaps his biggest contribution was as a member of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. He played a role in the annual Remembrance Day as Sergeant-at-Arms for almost 65 years, but when the year came his knees prevented him from laying the wreaths during the service, he said was handing that role over with pride.

As Sergeant-at-Arms, his duty was to maintain order during meetings and be responsible for the colours and flags. Although he was one of the oldest active veterans, he never saw action — he signed up for the 44th Field Artillery Regiment in St. Catharines but the war ended before he was sent overseas. He did however serve five years in the reserves.

For decades, he continued to distribute poppies in the days leading up to Remembrance Day, taking up his usual spot on Queen Street, no matter what the weather.

The moment the veteran stepped up to the Cenotaph with his poppy box, he was besieged by people who would stuff bills in the box in exchange for a poppy, thanking him for his service. His age and his demeanour — or maybe the smile and the twinkle in his eye — seemed to draw respect, and when talking to The Local, he became a little tearful that people were so appreciative of his efforts.

In his later years as a member he was concerned for the future of the branch, with the difficulty of getting volunteers to help out at the events and fundraisers — it always seemed to be the older members doing the work, he said.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen when we’re not around,” he told The Local the last year he was out distributing poppies, “and you know that’s going to happen.”

Although he couldn’t do his usual job of laying wreaths, he was at the Cenotaph to raise the flag and lower it in 2019, the last Queen Street Remembrance Day ceremony before COVID, and said when he attended the annual services, he stood with pride and thought not only about those who didn’t come home, but about those who did, injured, and also increasingly about the local veterans who had died in recent years, and were missed — to him and other Legion members, he added, every day is Remembrance Day.

In NOTL, there will be many people who will remember Doug Garrett, and many days when he will be missed.