Obituary of Donald Mark Edward Peterkin

No longer suffering, Donald Mark Edward Peterkin, in his 81st year, passed away on July 24th, 2020, surrounded by family. Donald was a loving husband to the late Gloria Lempi Helena Peterkin (1986), for 21 wonderful years. Donny was raised by his Aunt, the very loving Nellie Bailey for an unforgettable period of time. He was a cherished Father to Kelly Lynn Peterkin (Mack), Leah Charlene Sheppard (William), Melanie Dawn Schalk (Mike) and Donald Kyle Peterkin. Donald was greatly blessed with several grandchildren: Daniel Edward Sheppard (Ericka), Simon Cody Blair, Katy May Rose Blair (Danny), Jacob Kyle Sheppard (Amy), Michelle Gloria Schalk (Jade), Rebekah Charlene Whitley (Daniel), Mikayla Helena Schalk and Madelyn Corrine Schalk. He was also a Great-Grandfather to six great-granddaughters: Gloria, Amelia, Astrid, Alice, Anastasia and Ava. He will be greatly missed by his siblings: Patrick Tobey, the late Barbara Handley, Katie Bleckley, Kelly Mike Tobey, Jeff Tobey and the late Valorie Christink, as well as many other extended relatives. The late Fred Tobey was a loving stepfather. Given birth by the late Lois Godfrey Tobey and the Late Mark Edward Peterkin. Donald had a great sense of humour, and enjoyed making people laugh with a variety of puns. Throughout his life he was a talented mechanic, car-lover and locksmith. He worked as a Correctional Officer for Burwash Pun-itentiary, before transferring to the London area where he worked for Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre. Upon retirement, Donald spent his time on a small hobby farm located on the outskirts of Strathroy. He was also a fighter, surviving a catastrophic vehicle accident in 2008 which left him a quadriplegic - However even his doctors were shocked when prayers were answered and he walked again and made a significant recovery. A special thank you to Jason Poppe and Lorraine for Being so caring and supportive over the years. A private family graveside service will be held at Strathroy Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, as an expression of sympathy, donations to the Assertive Community Treatment Teams would be greatly appreciated by Donald's family. Online condolences and donations may also be made at: www.strathroyfuneralhome.com. Arrangements entrusted to DENNING'S OF STRATHROY. I'm grateful for my dad who taught me how to tell jokes and puns since the time I could talk. I remember when I was 17 I was going on my first date and I was wearing jeans and a very conservative turtleneck knitted sweater. As I came down the stairs my dad was very upset and said you're not wearing that!!! I was thinking what the heck is wrong with what I'm wearing, everything is covered? Then he says "I don't want some young man trying to pull the “wool” over your eyes!" Hahaha And that was the sort of thing We lived with lol He could be very literal with the English language as well. One day at supper, I asked "can you pass me over the salt?" My dad actually got up, came over, picked me up and passed me over the salt!! Lol true story He used to sing funny songs such as “Scab sandwich puss on top monkey vomit camel snot chopped up comic books chicken guts too scab sandwich good for you” My sister Leah was sewing little animals out of felt and she ran out of materials. So she asked "Dad, can I go to the mall to get felt?" Dad "no daughter of mine is going to the mall to get felt!!!" When Leah got married she made sure her husband to be, asked my dad with the proper wording Because he had been waiting years for a chance to make this joke: Bill "Can I have your daughters hand in marriage?" Dad "you either take her all or nothing!!? Dad was a lot of fun growing up and I often heard Mom say "Don, you're worse than the kids!" Lol Dad used to make nurses caps out of paper, he made caps for Barbie dolls regular dolls and our our skull ashtray. He could fix cars and create cool stuff. He once presented me with a diamond ring - which Was a diamond shaped piece of wood with a hole in the middle big enough to put on my finger lol. He taught me how to Solder when I was 12 years old and I made my very own transistor radio from a Heath-kit from Radio Shack . When I was a teenager I worked in a place that made Dutch auction clocks and I soldered all the components. One day they accused me of having faulty circuit boards. I got very upset and I told them to stop mixing my boards with the new girls boards, I was confident because my dad taught me well! Lol Sure enough when they kept my boards separate they were 100% perfect. lol We had the coolest family car in the world a baby blue 1956 Ford Fairlaine Ambulance with a working siren and a whip antennae for the CB Radio. Dads’ handle was Jail-Breaker. “Breaker breaker this is jailbreaker” lol. This was years before the similar looking Ghostbusters car came along. My dad also got an old Weston’s bread truck and turned it into a camper for Millard lake where we spent our summers while living in Burwash. Dad spray painted in large letters on the side of the bread truck/camper “PETERKIN’S WINNEBAGO” My dad is also an amazing singer and sang in a barbershop quartet and has sang "The impossible dream" at weddings. When he worked at the jail he was known for his mustache and was nicknamed handlebar Hank. I’ll never forget the day that he actually shaved his mustache and came downstairs, we were all in shock!! We had always see dad with a mustache and he looked like a stranger without it. Melanie was only four years old and she looked at him put her hands on her hips and demanded “You go back upstairs right now and shave that back on!” Dad used to have 8 tracks of the Mormon Tabernacle choir and one of them played the classic “Bringing in the sheaves” And there was young Kyle joyfully and confidently singing along “Swimming in the cheese, swimming in the cheese we will all rejoice in swimming in the cheese” Dad’s love of music was especially passed down to Kyle who has an eidetic memory for song titles and artists ( with a few fun misheard lyrics) I'm so happy and proud to have such a loving Dad. One day his mother was visiting and he had been fixing the van's Steering column and had it all apart. His mom needed a ride somewhere, so he quickly put it back together but didn't tighten any bolts. She started giving him a hard time about his driving, so he removed the steering wheel handed it to her and asked "do you want to drive?" She stopped. Lol My Dad had a very difficult life growing up without a family Except Nellie Bailey for a short time. However, he experienced love like no other when he met our beautiful mother Gloria Lempi Helena, They had 21 years of marriage and 4 beautiful children. Dad absolutely adored and cherished our Mom, She truly was one of the most beautiful loving people that has ever lived. Nothing has ever been the same that horrible night of December 6, 1986 when she was tragically killed in a car accident just down the road from my Dad’s home. 34 years without her took a toll as he missed her every single day. I’m grateful That he is no longer suffering and that our loving God will be merciful. Written by Kelly Lynn Peterkin ( Osborn) We love you dad ❤️ Kelly, Leah, Melanie ( KLM airlines) And your only son Donald “Kyle”- last of the PETERKIN’s ❤️