MCFARLANE, Gregory Mark 1952-2023

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Gregory Mark McFarlane, husband to Anne, 'brother' to Diana, father to James (& Katie) and Heather (& Allan), Papa to Lyle, and friend to a select few who knew him well.

His passing occurred after a sudden illness, peacefully and surrounded by those who loved him.

Greg was born and raised in Toronto. He had a natural curiosity and a thirst for knowledge of the world around him. He placed great importance on education and life long learning. Greg graduated with a BA in Social Development Studies (University of Waterloo), a MSW in Community Development (Wilfrid Laurier) and an MPA in Public Administration (Queen's University). He was always seeking new training and education opportunities as well as meeting new people and networking.

He possessed a spirit of adventure that led him around the world, through many challenging and varied careers and our world is dimmer with his absence.

The majority of Greg's career was spent working within the Ontario Government in several different ministries with a focus on research and policy development. He believed in our social responsibility and social justice which led him to his career as a civil servant. Simply put he wanted to make the world a better place. His career culminated with a six month trip to Nepal where he worked with the Nepal Administrative Staff College in Kathmandu. His role was to bring his knowledge and experience to the Nepal policy development process at a time when Nepal had a new constitutional mandate. Greg loved the Napali people and culture, he felt proud of the work he was doing there and his contributions to the College.

Anne and Greg met in high school and were married in August 1975. In October 1984 they welcomed James David into the world, followed by Heather Anne in May 1990. Being a Father was Greg's greatest joy, his family was everything to him. He worked hard to provide, nurture and feed his family. As a Father, Greg was always present and intentional with his actions and words with his children. In October 2019 Greg graduated from Father to "Papa" with the birth of his first grandchild, Lyle. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile was Papa's sunshine, whenever they were together you could see how happy Greg was to be in his presence and how proud he was of him.

Greg could often be found at home in the kitchen. He loved to cook and experiment with new recipes. He would never shy away from flavour or heat and he was very open to trying cuisine from around the world. He was an adventurous foodie but was famous for his signature comfort dish - Mac n' cheese.

Greg had a life-long interest in photography which paired well with his love of travel. On his many travels, Greg would always have a camera in hand to capture nature, people, culture and wildlife.

Greg loved to keep up with the political issues and news of the day. Watching tv commentators, reading the newspaper and books on a wide range of topics. He was a thoughtful critical thinker and loved to discuss and debate the current events with family and friends.

Service of remembrance to be held at 11:00am on Thursday, April 20th at Knox Presbyterian Church, 89 Dunn Street, Oakville. Reception to follow.

Special thanks to the exceptional staff at Trillium Hospital Mississauga in the ICU and the Comprehensive Stroke Unit.

Memorial contributions can be made in Greg's name to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Trillium Hospital CSU or Knox Presbyterian Church 'New Roads Project'.