Duncan James Lear

May 29, 1964, to June 15, 2025

We all know Duncan through a series of “happy accidents.” Duncan’s parents Jim and Joan moved to Canada in the 70’s. Jim worked for the British construction company Wimpey and was offered a chance to move to Australia, Canada, or South Africa. Jim chose Canada and the family bought a house in the Erin Mills area of Mississauga.

Joan had heard of a good boy’s school called “St Michaels” and I can imagine that she called information or used a phone book or asked her parish office for the phone number. By accident she got the number for the choir school and Duncan could actually sing! Duncan and a group of mostly British kids all joined what would become the class of 82 in Grade 7 – 1976. We called it the British invasion. Grade 7 was a weird year for that class because there were several boys who got “advanced” from Grade 6 to 8, making room for about 7 boys to join the class. Most of the boys that joined us including Duncan were all a year younger born in 1964, the rest of us were born in 1963.

So, Canada was a “choice,” he ended up at the wrong St Mikes and was “advanced” into my class. Boys in Grade 7 are not particularly nice, and I don’t remember really liking any of the new kids that much. Duncan and I were forced together because we were the only 2 guys in Grade 8 (or 9) that didn’t have a partner for the (dreaded) science fair. Duncan – well really Jim saved me because he had an idea to build a solar house which he “mostly” built for us. I remember having to get my mom to drive me “all the way out to west Mississauga” to work on the final part of the project. Duncan’s dad quickly realized that I was totally riding on Duncan’s coat tails, justifiably.

And so the journey began for Duncan and I compounded by the fact that we were both first tenor’s, so we sat together in the 90 minute choral period each day – we had private singing lessons together – neither one of us played team sports and were into swimming and skiing so the mutual interests grew.

I was lucky enough to join Duncan’s family on their annual trip to Stowe Vermont during March break in Grade 11 & 12. Joan worked for the Peel Catholic School board, and a group of the head office people organized a trip to Vermont. That is where I first learned of Jim’s addiction to speed and Duncan’s lifelong fascination with cars and all things that went fast. At that time many new north American cars had speedometer that only went to 80 or 85 miles per hour. From the back seat of Jim’s Oldsmobile Duncan and I would marvel at how long the “needle was pegged” to the far right and when Jim had to slow down how long it took for the needle to move back the other way. Jim loved to travel 100 miles per hour!

Duncan loved things that went fast but didn’t like doing things fast.

In high school we were lucky enough to partner with a girl’s school in Mississauga – Holy Name of Mary to provide the male singing parts in their annual school musical. For many of us this was our first exposure to girls. Duncan was a favorite of the girls at Holy Name and had a large gaggle of admirers – while the rest of us were trying to show off – Duncan was an instant hit - he was “so nice and so cute and so shy.” Not only did he not realize how many girls adored him he had no idea what to do about it. After hearing him moan about not being able to have a date on a weekend because “she wasn’t available” – I had to remind him every week that if he didn’t call her by Wednesday, she wasn’t going to be free when you called on Saturday afternoon at 5pm.

Duncan took a gap year after Grade 13 in 1982 and went to Oakville Trafalgar Collegiate to improve his grades. He also played football that year. That lead him to Wilfred Laurier where we know he practiced with the football team – but its not clear if he ever played in a game. Regardless – there were not a lot of choir boys who went to university to play football. Sing the anthem yes, play a sport no.

Duncan did a 3-year BA in 5 years; I just think he wasn’t ready for whatever came next.

He did land a great job with a company called PreBon Yamani – they were currency traders. He dove right into an extremely high-pressure environment by day and the crazy world of “customer entertainment” at night. He and his colleagues were continuously entertaining banks and other financial institutions at the best restaurants in the city with what looked like unlimited entertainment budgets. They would order the most expensive meals complemented by the most expensive wines at places like Barbarians and North 44.

Sadly, when the markets took a turn, they had to let someone go. As the story goes the company had selected 2 people to be terminated – Duncan volunteered because the other guy had a wife and kids. Yes, he was just that nice.

That led him to HP, but the inflexible and bureaucratic environment was not for him.

He was extremely well suited for his next role as road, travel, and finance manager. Managing logistics and specifically the complicated taxation process for a performer who worked and got paid in several countries in one year required a certain skill set. Just the record keeping, receipt collection and tax filing alone was complicated then throw in scheduling, travel, and housing. It was a big job.

I saw the physical evidence of this when Yvonne and I were cleaning out one of Duncan’s 3 storage lockers. Each opera had a huge separate file filled with receipts from each day, invoices, schedules etc. I think there were over 30 boxes.

This is when Yvonne, Lochlan and I were able to start spending more time with Duncan. My career in the travel industry made it easy for us to travel to wherever Duncan was. Where most of us would typically go someplace on a business trip for 2-3 nights – Duncan would typically go for 2-3 months and often not return home between different engagements.

We met in New York, Chicago, LA, San Diego, Houston, Dublin, London, Paris, Munich, Milan, and Rio. So many great trips in beautiful places and fun evenings out.

He asked me to join him in Monte Carlo for the Formula One race to celebrate his 50th birthday. It was on his bucket list. I was not an F1 fan before that but attending that amazing event in such beautiful surroundings was incredible. I certainly had a new appreciation for why he loved it so much. I was able to get a discounted rate at the Fairmont……5000 Euro’s a night. F1 fans know that Monte Carlo is distinctive because of the racecourse through the city. The Fairmont is at the far end of the course above some very dangerous hairpin turns where we could watch the pre-race laps from our room. The whole event was amazing and the “paddock” experience – pit access and Emirates VIP area were all incredible.

We would go to the race during the day and wander around Monte Carlo at night. The Fairmont had a great casino which is where we would end up every night. Until that point, I really did not know how much Duncan liked to gamble. But it was not blackjack, or craps, or Roulette, he liked slot machines! And not the pull a handle and try to get three sevens or three cherries or three horseshoes he liked the fully electronic, huge monitor 7-line machines and he would win – every night – 500 to 600 Euros……because he has 3 pharos, 3 sphinx and a golden Nefertiti. It was hilarious.

On our last and very late night we were riding back up to our rooms in a very crowded elevator. Duncan and I were very tired and let’s just say we had had a few drinks while he rolled in the Euro’s. I looked up to see the elevator manufacturers registration plate and leaned over to him in a not so quiet whisper…….” Duncan, look, we are on Schindler’s lift.” We cried we were laughing so hard while our fellow riders looked on not amused.

When Duncan wasn’t travelling, he would often visit us at Big Hawk Lake. Duncan spent more time at the lake with us than almost all our other guests combined. He was a great guest. He always came with extra wine and cold beer. He had a specific routine on his trip to the lake. He would pack a cooler with 12-18 beer and ice. That ensured that when he arrived, he would have his own beer cold and ready to drink. A practice that is much appreciated by hosts who before they were asked what the “Wi-Fi” code was were asked “is there someplace I can put my warm beer?’ Duncan took the routine one step further – he would place the cooler in his car within arms reach and once he pulled onto our private road he would “crack a cold one.” He typically arrived at our driveway with 1 empty can in his hand. Next time you get invited to a cottage – consider “doing a Duncan.”

The pandemic affected us all very differently. The initial outlook was doom and gloom – but for some their businesses adapted and thrived. The impact on Duncan was terrible. He was very aware of the complete lack of income and uncertainty of the future of live theatre versus the costs of his lifestyle. This was further compounded by his deteriorating health and his increased difficulty travelling. The effects of Covid absolutely contributed to his demise. The end of his marriage, the loss of his home and the uncertainty of the future were devasting to him.

The last time Duncan travelled was with us to Phoenix to visit Lochlan in November 2023. We had a great trip and while his mobility issues were increasing, he was well enough to attend ASU Football and Hockey games. As the amazing godfather he was to Lochlan, we were so happy he could see what Lochlan’s University life was like in Arizona and we spent some extra time north of Scottdale in Cave Creek which we all loved.

When we talked to Duncan about the future, he really just wanted things to return to normal. Living in Barrie was temporary so Yvonne facilitated a move back to Orangeville for him. He felt he could start over if he was back in familiar surroundings. At the Lord Dufferin home in Orangeville, he made fast friends with the other residents. He had a comfortable 1-bedroom apartment and for the first time in years he had some of his “stuff”. He was very popular with the staff, and we teased him about being the “young hot guy” in a retirement home.

Sadly, Duncan’s problems were not geographic, they were situational, and he just could not seem to find the right balance with food, supplements, and medication. Duncan fell asleep sometime on the early morning of June 15th while watching the coverage of the Formula one race in Montreal.

The resounding echo of Duncan’s life was that he was kind. I saw this often when we travelled but was most evident during his three stays in St Mike’s Hospital during the last 2 years of his life. Even when he was deathly ill and in great discomfort, he was unbelievably kind to all those who were trying to help him. The sign of a true gentleman.

Since he passed in June many friends have asked me if I am sad or if I miss him. Of course. But given the years of pain and mobility issues that were not going to improve I am relieved that he has been released from this existence. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.

Safe travels my friend, until we meet again.

Rob McTeague

August 10th, 2025

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