Donald Craig Wardell

WARDELL, Donald Craig ‐ Don passed away in the early hours of Monday, November 11th having faced a diagnosis of cancer with grace, dignity, and his usual subtle sarcastic humour.

Don was a generous, quiet, kind, wickedly funny person with a quick wit and a big heart. He loved art, music, and science and saw beauty in the things we often become too distracted to see.

Don started every day with comics, believing the reality of the news or work could wait for just a few minutes. He began sending a selection of cartoons daily to someone he cared for to lighten their day, word caught on and it grew. The comics were funny but kind, and his comments were often the best part. His emails were a friendly note that asked nothing of anyone, but that they pause - and hopefully smile.

He loved his work. Don was a talented graphic designer and graphics business owner in Orangeville who went on to spend most of his career in Ottawa as banknote designer at BA Banknote and as a graphic designer and coder for the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). When this was taken away from him by a life-altering accident, he faced the loss with the same determination, resilience and grace he showed in his fight against cancer.

Don is survived by his wife Kathy Pritchard, his children Caleb (Alexandra), Sarah (Pierre Maxime) and Christopher (Natalie), his grandchildren Léo, Lily and Cosmina, his siblings Jan, Linda and James and two generations of nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents Norman and Barbara Ann and his sister Virginia. Family was everything to him and supporting them was the north star on which he made every decision throughout his life. His love and pride in his children knew no bounds.

A special thank you to his family doctors, to the doctors, oncologists, and staff at the Ottawa General Hospital, Irving Greenberg Family Cancer Centre and Bruyère Health Saint-Vincent Hospital Palliative Care, and to the Brain Injury Association of the Ottawa Valley and specialists who worked with him as part of the accident recovery.

There will be a Memorial Reception at Tubman Funeral Homes Westboro, 403 Richmond Rd, Ottawa on Saturday, November 30th from 3 pm – 6 pm, with a toast in his memory at 5 pm. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made in his memory to the Canadian Cancer Society, the Ottawa University Brain and Mind Research Institute (uOBMRI)– Designate Gift to Concussion Research, or the Brain Injury Association of the Ottawa Valley . 

Don inspired us to see every day as a gift, to make the most of the opportunities we have to appreciate family and friends, to remember the value of simple acts of kindness - and to set aside a few minutes every day to check out some cartoons, and smile. May his memory inspire you to do the same.