Remembering David Desjardins

It is with many broken hearts that we announce the passing of David Desjardins of Aylmer, Québec at age 66.
Born September 5th, 1956, in Hamilton Ontario, the eldest of six children, David Desjardins passed away on January 12th, 2023, at 3:2 5pm from complications that arose due to a rare autoimmune disease he had developed in early December 2022.

David, at his heart, was both an author and an adventurer in equal measure, as happy on his hikes and trips as he was working on his poems and stories. Any passion David had, he pursued wholeheartedly and without compromise, doing nothing in half measures.

He loved teaching his students Karate, in conjunction with his fellow Sensei Richard, and he cherished every class he participated in. The house in which he and his wife Kathleen lived and raised their children for over thirty years is filled with the amateur paintings, statuettes and other collections that he accumulated over the course of his life.

A voracious bargain hunter, garage sale season would always find him out patrolling the city, eyes peeled to bring home a new haul to his loving, if at times bemused, wife.

But more than that, David had a kindness in his soul that never tarnished, and a massive heart that remained strong until the very end. Even when he thought the end might come, he remained unfalteringly polite and courteous to the doctors and nurses who tended to him during his time in hospital.

Above all, though, he remained concerned for the well-being of his family throughout; ensuring that they were healthy, and more so that they knew they were loved. His final hour was spent in sleep while surrounded by his wife Kathleen, his children Joel and Genevieve, and his son-in-law Nigel. His favourite songs played softly at his bedside, offering comfort up until he drew his final breath to Blue Rodeo’s ‘Bad Timing.’

If you wish to honor David and his love of karate and passion for teaching children, we have set up a scholarship for underprivileged children to practice karate in his name. Please send donations to David_Desjardins_Fund@Inner-Hero.com

A Celebration of Life will be held this summer in keeping with David’s wishes. Details to follow as plans are finalized.

Always missed; never forgotten.

“Although I cannot see your face
As you flip these poems awhile,
Somewhere from some far-off place
I hear you laughing- and I smile.”

-Shel Silverstein