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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
GRAHAM, Scott - Father, brother, husband to one, ex-husband to four, raconteur, narcissist, fisherman, swordsman, reader of poetry, dog lover, and occasionally the passer off of Canadian Tire money in European brothels during his 10-year stint in the Canadian navy in the 1950s, died peacefully, surrounded by those he loved, on January 12th, after suffering a heart attack 40 hours earlier. It was quick, painless, and exactly how he wanted to leave the building.
Predeceased by parents, Robert Douglas Graham and Isabelle Nablo; and siblings, Douglas, Ron, Anne, and Mary. Survived by wife, Miriam Graham (Goldhagen); siblings, Jane (Terry), Cathy (Shirley); and children, Tracey (Ed), Leslie, Michele (Cullen), and Jason (Stephanie); stepchildren, Greg (Sophia), Nora, and Jordan; and his beloved grandchildren, Graham, Emma, Rowan, Hudson, Tasman, Angela, Kyle, Eli, Sandler, and Gena.
Scott grew up in the glorious, chaotic embrace of a large, loving family right in the misty roar of Niagara Falls, a place where the water never stops shouting and neither, apparently, did those at the family dinner table. In 1955, young and ready for adventure he faked his dad's signature and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy at 17 years old. Stationed in Halifax, he served two full terms until 1965 basically a decade of "yes sir, no sir, and more rum please sir." He found his calling in submarine communications, training up and down the Atlantic, as well as stopping off at many ports around the world. After hanging up the navy whites, he settled in the Toronto area with his then wife, Lorraine, (mother of Michele and Jason). There he launched an impressively long and successful career in telecommunications technologies, steadily climbing to senior-level roles with companies spanning the Americas, finding homes in Texas and Virginia in the United States and in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Upon returning to the Toronto area after early retirement, he met and fell deeply in love with his wife, Miriam, and welcomed more family and more love into his life. She was the smoothie to his scotch, the breath of fresh air to his pipe smoke and remained stoically by his side until his recent passing.
Other than Miriam, the real heartbeat of his life was family, especially his grandchildren, cheering for each of their wonderfully different paths, offering wisdom without many words, pride without pressure.
Scott was also an outdoorsman, happiest at the family cottages on and near Georgian Bay and especially at Three Mile Lake in Muskoka, where he could sit at the head of the 20-person picnic table he built, surrounded by family and friends, and laugh, drink, and eat, three of his favourite things, and always keenly aware of who was using how much of his internet data.
Scott was very well-read, fiction, poetry, the works, and passionate about music across all genres. Conversations with him could be both lighthearted and contentious, whether it was current events, politics, the latest tech... he'd try to listen, but his opinion would often supersede his patience, and you would have to wait to engage another time.
As he got older, Scott began to carry a deep, quiet gratitude, forever thankful for the life he'd been given and, most of all, for the people who filled it with love and meaning.
What a full, colourful, deeply human story, full of celebrations and failures, pride and regret, laughter and tears, one that left everyone who knew him a little richer, a little kinder, and probably still chuckling at one of his stories.
He will be missed.
A visitation will be held on Sunday, January 18, 2026, from 10 to 11 a.m., at Thompson Funeral Home, 530 Industrial Parkway South, Aurora, ON, L4G 6W8. A memorial service will follow from 11 a.m., to 12 p.m., A reception will take place following. Memorial contributions in memory of Scott may be made to The Ewings Cancer Foundation of Canada Endowment at SickKids. (The St. Catharines Standard 16 Jan 2026)
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