ERNEST ABEL BENEVIDES

ERNEST ABEL BENEVIDES

BENEVIDES, ERNEST ABEL 1922-2019 Peacefully, at Sunnybrook Veterans’ Residence, on October 29, 2019, in his 97th year.

Ernie was predeceased by his wife Isobel (Wishart) Benevides (1926-2013). He is survived by daughter Sally Benevides Hopkins (Mark); sons Grant and Hugh John; and grandchildren Tristan and Margaret Hopkins and Alexandra Benevides. Ernie travelled from his native Bermuda to Canada in November 1940 by wartime convoy, dodging U-boats on his journey to Queen’s University and becoming the first Portuguese-Bermudian to attend university.

Ernie’s Canadian friends introduced him to downhill skiing and the ski jump at Mont-Tremblant, and he played halfback on the junior varsity football team. He and other students volunteered on the prairies one autumn to help bring in the wartime harvest. After graduation, Ernie served briefly in the Canadian Army before transferring to the Royal Canadian Air Force. He trained on bombers until his release in February 1945 at the rank of Pilot Officer. Graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1948, he maintained a full-service Toronto law practice at Deacon, Benevides and Thomson for 47 years until his retirement in 1995.

His clients consistently noted his commitment, care and meticulous nature. Others remember his sense of humour, and his enthusiasm on the dance floor. Ernie was a long-serving Lions Club member and church elder. Ernie prospected widely in northern Ontario in the 1950’s. He always reserved a week in October for deer hunting with friends. Ernie also introduced his children to the outdoors he loved. He tended backyard fruit trees and a small garden at the family home in Willowdale. Isobel’s kitchen was her domain, except when Ernie commandeered it to make his famous apple sauce, peach jam and fried bananas.

The family is forever thankful for the wonderful care Ernest received at Sunnybrook, where he lived since 2007. We also thank Carol Lombard and Angela Smart for their loyalty and friendship to Ernie and Isobel.

A service will be held on January 20, 2020 at 10 a.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2737 Bayview Ave., Toronto, with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Ernest’s memory to the Sunnybrook Foundation (Veterans and Community), the Alzheimer Society or the charity of your choice would be appreciated.