LeasideLife issue 39 rev_LeasideLifev1 15-05-21 4:02 AM Page 1
No. 39 • June 2015
Leaside Life leasidelifenews.com
UP IN ARMS Page 14
Mr. Leaside 1943-2015
He died on the baseball diamond David Stickney died on Monday, May 11 of heart failure at Goulding Park in North York while at a game of the girls softball team of York Mills Collegiate Institute that he helped to coach. He was known to some as Stick (origins obvious), and to others as Tank, from both his effectiveness at blocking home plate, and as a football lineman despite his diminutive stature. He was Mr. Stickney to the generations of Leaside High students to whom he taught math. And he was Mr. Leaside to so many others. Several hundred friends and neighbours filled the William Lea Room at Leaside Gardens on Monday, May 18 to pay their respects. The funeral service was to be held at Leaside United Church, Monday, May 25 (after our deadline). ■
How did David Stickney become Mr. Leaside? By NICK MITCHELL So, how did The Stick [a.k.a. Le Baton] acquire the nickname Mr. Leaside? Let me count the ways. David Stickney grew up in Leaside, attending local schools, as well as Leaside United Church, and participated in community baseball and hockey. Some older Leasiders might remember him delivering the newspaper or their dry cleaning from Bassett’s. He started high school in 1957 and threw himself into every activity. He loved math and was inspired by Bill “Pops” Stafford who also coached him on Leaside’s football team. Dave, despite his relative light weight, played on the line and was given the nickname Tank, a moniker still used by his contemporaries. David was evidently respected by his peers and in 1961 he was elected
school captain. At the University of Toronto he completed a degree in engineering but his mind was soon directed to teaching. He started his teaching career in Oshawa, but two years later returned to Leaside where he remained until his retirement in 2001. He was a much loved and respected teacher. He made math clearer, fun and practical for his students, and gave a large part of his day to providing extra help for math strugglers. He kept doing this right up until the current school year for both Leaside and York Mills students. This was a free service. David and Janet were married in the early ’70s. They spent their first summers travelling and hiking around the world. I met David in 1973, my first year of teaching at LeaTHE STICK, Page 4