Former Lt.-Gov. David Onley remembered at funeral as role model, family man

Former lieutenant-governor for Ontario and longtime Citytv journalist, David Onley, was remembered at a state funeral Monday as a pioneer and champion of disability rights.

But it was former colleague at Citytv, Gord Martineau, who may have best captured the essense of the illimitable Onley. “The guy was such a gentle, caring, loving human being,” Martineau said.

Onley, whose groundbreaking journalism career was followed by a seven-year stint as Ontario’s 28th lieutenant-governor, died at age 72 on Jan. 14.

He used a motorized scooter throughout his life after contracting polio as a child and was lauded by mourners for always pushing for accessibility rights for all.

And as Martineau explained, he helped create a shift in how people living with disabilities were percieved.

“One of the things that he really helped us with is recognizing the abilities of so-called disabled people. As far as he was concerned we had it the wrong way. They are people with abilities, they are not disabled.”

“He was a guy who never once complained about his affliction and always looked for the good things, the positive things in life, and for that he got a tremendous amount of respect.”

Martineau also remembered Onley as a “riot” to work with. “He had a good sense of humour,” he recalled. “I’ll never forget his laugh because you could hear it a mile away. He was very easy to work with you could sit down and discuss anything with him and he always had an interest in what people had to say.”

“It’s a damn shame that he’s gone because he had so much more to teach us.”

Onley’s son said Monday that his dad’s greatest wish was for all disabled people to have the ability to fully participate in the social, cultural and economic life of Canada. When he became lieutenant-governor, Onley told his son that the legislature wasn’t fully accessible.

“I asked him what he was going to do about it,” Jonathan Onley said. “His response? ‘Well, if they want me, they’re going to have to prove it.’ ”

It was David Onley’s mantra for the events he attended as lieutenant-governor, his son said.

“He wouldn’t accept temporary accessibility measures,” Jonathan Onley said. “It needed to be permanent. He wanted to ensure all those who came after him had the same access, the same ability to fully participate.”

As a father and husband, David Onley was doting, his son said. He would talk to his family often about baseball and about his faith in God.

“As a kid, I often asked, ‘Dad, what do you think heaven will be like?”’ his son said. “He told me there is no polio in heaven, and he was excited to run, and that the two of us would play a game of baseball together one day.”

Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell said Onley was an inspiration “and a role model without comparison.”

“He believed that the lieutenant-governor’s office could be a transformational force for good, and he worked daily and tirelessly to realize that possibility,” she said in her eulogy.

Onley’s story is not just one of adversity, but one of accomplishment, Dowdeswell said. He was a boy from Midland, Ont., known for his “curiosity and desire to learn,” and rose to greatness, she said.

“There can be no doubt of David Onley’s greatness,” Dowdeswell said. “He represented some of the best qualities of who we are as Canadians, qualities that we don’t talk often enough about: compassion, empathy, and most of all, kindness.”

Premier Doug Ford said Onley’s legacy won’t soon be forgotten.

“His life of service is a call for each of us to commit to the same values of respect and inclusion, to make Ontario a more welcoming place for disabled people, to make Ontario a more welcoming place for all people,” he said.

The funeral was open to members of the public as well as dignitaries.

Neil Hewitt, who attended the same church as Onley, said his father lost the use of one leg due to polio and Onley inspired him.

Joan Miles, another community member who was there to pay her respects, said she admired Onley for his advocacy.

“I appreciated very much his presence on media, on Citytv and the fact that he … insisted on doing his broadcasting with the (scooter) visible,” Miles said.

Prior to becoming lieutenant-governor, Onley spent more than two decades working at Citytv as a reporter, joining the station as a weather specialist.

Robert Onley, another one of David Onley’s three sons, said Citytv viewers would constantly stop his dad while he was out in public, and he would engage with them, “even if he was halfway through a bite of his New York Fries at the Scarborough Town Centre.”

“One time on a very cold January day, just like today, a woman stopped him and asked him for the forecast on her wedding day,” Robert Onley said.

“So my dad asked, ‘Well, when is the wedding date?’ She replied, July 31. Completely unfazed, dad said, ‘Well, there’s a 50 per cent chance of rain and a 50 per cent chance of sunshine.’ The woman smiled and said, ‘Thank you,’ visibly relieved. Dad was forever the weatherman.”