A Collingwood pilot has taken his final flight.
George Daniels died on Feb. 9 at Campbell House Hospice Georgian Triangle. He was 86.
CollingwoodToday.ca interviewed Daniels in October 2019 for a People of Collingwood feature, to celebrate the release of his memoir George Works! Lad to Leadership: The Making of a New Canadian. He had spent 10 years writing the book, releasing it in March 2019.
“When I came up to retirement... I realized I had lived a life of survival throughout my career in all industries. I wrote the book for my grandchildren. I have two,” said Daniels at that time. “I’m probably going to be six feet under when they pick up the book and wonder, what did that old geezer do?”
“That’s why I write books.”
Daniels was born in 1935 in Bedford, England. He came to Canada when he was 12, and his family settled in Montreal. He attended McMaster University, and started dabbling in flying with the Hamilton Flying Club. After becoming a bush pilot in Northwestern Ontario, he met a friend who was an avid skier who brought him to Blue Mountain in 1955, which was his first introduction to Collingwood.
He met his wife Ruth on the hills, and they were married in 1961. The two avid skiers were founding members of the Devil’s Glen Ski Club.
“He was a classic father. He was very kind and compassionate. He was also very giving to his community and his family,” said Daniels’ son, Tiff Daniels. “He was extremely hardworking.”
“He was a real go-getter. He was always on the go and trying to help other people,” said Tiff.
Daniels spent a lot of his career in the media business as a sales representative for advertising for television, magazines and radio in the early 1960s. He has also worked in marketing and public relations, specializing in public speaking. He spent his early career as a broadcasting executive with CJAD Montreal and CFRB Toronto, a general sales manager for Otaco in Orillia and a co-founder and managing director with Signature Advertising before retiring to Collingwood in 1999.
Former Collingwood Enterprise-Bulletin publisher and friend George Czerny first met Daniels when Czerny worked at the Orillia Packet & Times.
“George Daniels was a top-notch gentleman and keen community contributor,” said Czerny. “His many vocations, from being a bush pilot to a businessman, gave him many insights into Canadian life and he wrote about those in his book. This book should be required reading in Grade 8, or in Canadian high schools.”
Daniels took a leadership role in many of the volunteer organizations he served, such as Kiwanis (Orillia), Probus (Blue Mountain), the Lake of Bays Association, Andrew Daniels Fish Stewardship Foundation, and the Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation.
In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award (2014), Diamond Anniversary COPA Wings (2016), Sovereign Medal for Volunteerism (2016), Town of Collingwood Distinguished Citizenship Recognition (2021) and the Lifetime Achievement award from the Collingwood Flying Club (2021).
In his later years, Daniels also worked with the Collingwood Terminals and Harbour Action Group to help bring attention to the cause of preservation of the terminals.
“As a pilot, when I’m 4,000 feet over Shelburne, I can see the Collingwood terminals as a super beacon on the horizon of Georgian Bay, and so can other pilots,” said Daniels in his 2019 interview. “It goes beyond what you just see in the community. It serves another iconic purpose.”
Friends will be received for visitation at Fawcett Funeral Home Collingwood on Feb. 14 from 2 p.m to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A private funeral service will be held at All Saints Anglican Church at 2 p.m. on Feb. 15. The service will be available by livestream.