COUNSELL, Maurice 'Bud'

Passed away peacefully, at home, with his family by his side on Tuesday,
August 4, 2020.

Bud Counsell, in his 94th year, was predeceased by his loving wife Minnie.
He was the loving father of Kim Counsell and her husband Dave McConnell
of Guelph, Kathy and her husband Bill Hicks of Minden and John Counsell of
Dundas. He was the proud grandfather of Sean (Lena), Matthew (Tess),
Brittany (Taylor), Brett and Spencer and great-grandfather of Liam.

He was born and grew up in Niagara Falls. His many stories of childhood
were full of fun and adventures even though money was scarce. As a young
man working at the Kimberley Clark Co. he laid his eyes on Minnie and knew
'that was the one for me'. Although he had always shown an aptitude for
art, it was Minnie who insisted he go to art school when they first
married. His years studying at the Albright Gallery in Buffalo were among
his happiest times. Upon finishing there he took a job in the advertising
department of Simpsons and he and Minnie moved to Toronto. There he
worked as a commercial artist for his entire career. Always, though, he
was involved with fine art, which he took up with vigour after his
retirement.

When the upkeep of their home in Mississauga became more than they could
comfortably handle, they moved to Guelph to the Village by the Arboretum
and then to the Royal on Gordon Retirement Residence. He was almost
always happy wherever he was.

He left behind many gifts: his love of nature, demonstrated in his passion
for trees (stroking their bark, admiring the dead ones for their
magnificent structures) and birds (calling to and getting responses from
cardinals and bluejays) and landscapes; his love of the arts and the
creative process (becoming fully engrossed in the act of painting even
when his eyesight was severely limited); his love of a joke and a witty
comeback (in the emergency ward of the hospital he would have the nurses
and doctors laughing), his love of stories, both the telling and the
listening to; his love of family, which he often said was the most
important thing to him; and his empathy for others (he never lost interest
in what was happening in the world and felt injustices deeply). But
perhaps the most important gift was the example he set of seeing the
positive, of choosing to be happy.

His family will receive friends at the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral
Home, Hart Chapel, 1099 Gordon St., Guelph on Monday, August 10, 2020 from
1:00 p.m. with a service to commemorate his life at 2:00 p.m. Due to
Covid 19 restrictions, to reserve your attendance, please RSVP for
visitation and his service on the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son website. If so
desired, memorial donations made to the Foundation at the Guelph General
Hospital would be appreciated by his family.