Roger Peddle

On a more somber note, yesterday I attended the visitation of a good friend from Brampton who recently passed away due to a heart attack. Roger Peddle was well known person and community volunteer who made an impact on the lives of everyone he met.

There were litterally hundreds of people who attended the visitation yesterday and even more came to pay their respects the day before. The walls of the funeral home were covered in pictures and paintings of his well lived life. There was one thing that you couldnt miss in every one of them…his smile. Roger was a guy who was always smiling and laughing with everything he did.

 There were visits from many well known Bramptonians such as Lou Duggan, former MPP Joe Spina, Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell and even flowers sent by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen.

 Standing in line waiting to speak with his family, I overheard story after story of Roger, his love for life, his love for family and his passion for making a difference in the community. There were lots of tears from people but just as many laughs of those who remembered him and the things he did for that community. For some people, Roger will always be “Mr Brampton.”

 Roger Peddle was the Brampton Business Person of the year in 1998 and received a City of Brampton long time service award for 25 years in 1999. He was the current president of the Kiwanis Club of Brampton at the time of his passing.

 I knew Roger through my years of being involved in Brampton politics but I know of many of my friends who were close personal friends with him. He was a great man and he will be missed by many.

 We can only hope there are a few more Rogers in the world.

 Here is the story from the Brampton Guardian about his passing.

 BRAMPTON – Kiwanis president, community leader, businessman and volunteer Roger Peddle died suddenly of a heart attack at his northern Ontario cottage Friday morning.

 He was just four days away from his 58th birthday.

Peddle’s wife, Dr. Kathleen Armitage-Peddle, was at home in Brampton at the time. The couple has one adult daughter, Allison, who is attending college in Victoria.

 Peddle had gone to the cottage with a friend to open it for the season, as was his custom. The cottage, north of Timmins, had been in his family for a long time.

Times and dates had not been arranged at press time Friday, but visitation will be at Wards Funeral Home next week, and the service will be held at Grace United Church where Peddle was a long-time member.

 “He’s like a brother. I’m in shock,” said Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell, a close friend who talked on the telephone with Peddle every night.

 “He’s a late-night person, as am I,” Fennell said. She said she would call him after midnight most nights. His first word to her was always “So?” and he always signed off with “Later”. Fennell spoke to him Wednesday night before his trip north on Thursday. She said he wished her a happy birthday– the pair shares the same birth date.

 “He was a great person. A great friend. A family man,” said long-time friend and fellow Kiwanis member Joe Harley. “He was a real asset for the city. He was always trying to boost Brampton.”

 Peddle was the Brampton Board of Trade’s Business Person of the Year in 1998, and received a City of Brampton 25 year long-term service award in 1999. He is a member of the Brampton Kiwanis Club where he has served as president, director, and vice-president since 1989, and he was a current member of the board of directors for the Brampton Symphony Orchestra.

 He was the current president of the Kiwanis Club of Brampton, where he had been a member since 1989. It was his second time as president and he was working on the club’s 50th anniversary celebrations this year.
 

“He was a great Bramptonian and a great Canadian,” Fennell said. “He was involved in so many things.”

 He was proud of Brampton, and often told people it is the best city in Canada. His friends say he will be sorely missed.

Peddle grew up on a farm in Elmwood, which has since disappeared and the land is part of the airport now. He earned a degree in business administration from York University and ran a medical supply business. He started his career in 1972 with United Co-op of Ontario, moved on to Consolidated Foods in 1978 and was director of administration for AB Dick Marketing Controller from 1980 to 1982. From 1982 to 1989 he was executive vice president of Upjohn Pharmaceutical and Health Care Services for the company’s North American operations, and from 1989 to 2004 he ran Peddle-Morton Health Care Services.

Most recently he was a health care consultant and government liaison.

In his spare time, he brought his business acumen to many worthwhile causes in Brampton. He got involved in the city he loved and helped build the community he was very much a part of.

Over the years he has served on the Brampton Fall Fair board, chaired the Salvation Army’s annual Red Shield Appeal, served as president and director of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Peel Branch, and the Arthritis Society, and worked with the Peel Memorial hospital board’s Finance and Property Committee.

He was director and chair of the governance committee for the Ontario Trillium Foundation between 2000 and 2004.

There were other sides to Peddle, too.

Football was his game and he served as a director and vice-president of the Ontario Amateur Football Association (1977-1987), and a director of the Canadian Amateur Football Association (1982-1984).

“He started football in the City of Brampton,” Fennell said.

He was president and vice-president of Brampton Minor Football, owned the Brampton Satellites football team, and served as director and chair of the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame.

He loved other sports, too, and never missed a Brampton Battalion game. He was also a big fan of Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse.

“He was always at the games,” said Excelsiors President Ziggy Musial. “I would see him there all the time.”

Peddle served as president of the Excelsiors and was on the board for about six years. He brought his business sense to the organization and helped with sponsorship programs, Musial said.

“I could always call him if I had a question about anything,” Musial said.

Musial said Friday he was shocked to learn of Peddle’s death.  Peddle also had a keen interest in politics, and was Fennell’s close confidant and advisor. He never ran for office, but kept up to date on municipal, federal and provincial politics locally.  He was a lifelong member of the Conservative Party of Canada and had been a member of the Reform Party-Canadian Alliance Party. He is currently president of the federal Brampton-Springdale Conservative Party Riding Association.