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Sports hall-of-famer David Christie remembered for kindness

David Christie, 86, died in his Rob Roy home on Aug. 14
2022-05-02 POCChristie JO-001
David Christie was one of the 2020 inductees to the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions to alpine skiing. Photo taken May 2, 2022.

In life, David Christie achieved accolades in sports, business, and service, but his legacy, says his wife, will be his kindness. 

Christie, a Collingwood Sports Hall of Famer, local businessman, Rotarian, and founding member of a local ski club, died on Aug. 14 at his home in Rob Roy. He was 86.

“From my broken heart, I would like to thank all the people who have been so good to David over the years,” said Katie Christie, David’s wife and best friend of 66 years. “He certainly had a lot of friends.”

When she looks back on their lives together, Katie says she hopes David will be remembered for his kindness.

“David never met anyone who wasn’t a good person, regardless of whether they were or not. He just believed that everybody was fine,” she said.

David lived in Collingwood all his life until moving to Rob Roy about five years ago. In his youth, he studied agriculture at the University of Guelph with the intention of taking over for Smarts Farm upon his return to the area, however, a change in plans saw him sit on their board of directors instead while working as a salesman for Chipman Chemicals, and later moving on to manage Bell Electric in Collingwood.

“David was a very happy man and he did a lot of silly things that were a lot of fun, but he had a business side to him too,” said Katie.

An avid skier since his youth, he was the 1953 Junior Ontario Alpine champion, and had a first and third-place finish in the 1954 Ontario Championship Senior C Class.

He was a founder of the Collingwood Ski Club (first called Blue Mountain Ski Club), long-time Rotarian in Collingwood and Gore Bay, Rotary Team Leader to Nigeria (1988), a Rotary District 7010 Governor (1993-1994), recipient of a Paul Harris Fellow. This year, he was inducted into the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame in honour of his contributions to alpine skiing. He also enjoyed painting from the time he was a child.

He leaves behind four children and five grandchildren.

“He was the most welcoming person to everybody. He believed everybody had a good side,” said his daughter Liz Christie. “He was a friend to people from all walks of life, and all over the world.”

Liz said her dad was still out riding his bicycle, swimming and socializing up until the end.

“He was enjoying life,” she said.

Katie has fond memories of David welcoming people into their home over the years.

“When people came to our house, they usually stayed. If they came as strangers, they became friends,” she said. “That’s just exactly what David was.”

To visit David Christie’s online book of memories, click here.


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Jessica Owen

About the Author: Jessica Owen

Jessica Owen is an experienced journalist working for Village Media since 2018, primarily covering Collingwood and education.
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