March 20, 1946 — October 15, 2007

Brian Stewart King passed away peacefully Oct. 15 at Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare, South Muskoka Memorial Hospital site in Bracebridge, with his loving wife Lynn Roberts at his side.

Brian was born in Aberdeen, Scotland on March 20, 1946, the son of Thomas Wallace and Catherine May King (née Duffus), who met and married while serving in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy. In 1950, the young family immigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto’s Beaches area.

Brian loved the Beaches and spent 40 years there, enjoying Queen Street East, Kew Park and the boardwalk. The tales of his childhood always evoked great laughter, especially those involving a homemade go-cart with feet for brakes, his brother Ron, the Silverbirch Avenue hill and the Queen streetcar tracks. He took great delight in introducing Lynn to the area and transforming her into a Beacher. Together they spent 15 years on the shores of Lake Ontario, watching life on the beach and the boardwalk from their deck overlooking the water. The full moons were magical.

Brian’s entrepreneurial spirit was awakened early and he enjoyed his time with a Star paper route. The highlight of the week was a stop with his earnings at Willow Fish and Chips, the best in the neighbourhood.

A head for figures and a fascination with technical analysis led Brian to the investment industry, becoming one of “Monte’s boys” at the slightly irreverent boutique Draper Dobie and Co. One of his favourite stories was of how Conrad Black wrote his first book while sitting in Brian’s chair. It was a great chair — a banker’s chair, covered in red leather with brass adornments and oak arms. It came from an antique store but was really far too big for his office; however, it suited Conrad just fine. Plus he got a personally autographed book, for which he gladly paid the 25-cent signing fee.

When Dobie “took over” Dominion Securities, Brian was part of the merger and he became one of the founding members of the DS President’s Club. He later spent several years as a vice-president with Prudential-Bache Canada and was a member of the Canadian and International Honours Council.

When the pressures of the market began to lessen the fun, Brian formed his own company specializing in helping new businesses, formulating business and marketing plans and sourcing start-up capital. He loved interacting with people and his sense of humour and wonderful smile are remembered by many.

Brian was predeceased by his parents and sister-in-law Gwyn Nagy. Left to mourn are his wife Lynn, brother Ron and nieces and nephews: Kimberley King; Tamara and Scott Bricknell and sons Zachary and Branden; Terri and Shane Hewitt and their children Jaeden, Spencer and Carter; Tracey Thisdelle, husband Kevin Cicansky and daughter Meghan; Tia and Travis Ehman and daughter Gillian; Jamie and Lisa Nagy and daughter Kaitlyn; Wendy and Mike Guthrie and children Amanda and Tommy; John and Karen Roberts; Andrea and Paul Wilson and their children Connor, Erica and AJ.

Brian was a quiet, gentle, thoughtful man with beautiful blue eyes, a wonderful sense of humour and a tremendous smile. His belief in God was complete and his wish was to serve him throughout eternity. The memory of Brian’s love will warm the lonely days ahead until we are together again. Forever.