Douglas ‘Doug’ Alan Skeates

Skeates, Douglas Alan (Doug), passed away at Matthews House Hospice in Alliston, on January 3, 2025 at the age of 93, beloved husband of Anne Elizabeth Grant (Wilson). Loving father of Diana Elizabeth (Braden), Robin (Lisa), Geoff (Dana), Karen-Anne (Tom), Colin (Yuka), and grandfather to Christopher (Whitney), Sarah (Josh), Scott, Chelsea, Jaysen, Ryan, Kirra, Jay and Ai, great-grandfather to Sofia, Lucas, Jackson and Isabelle. Forever in the hearts of brother Robert (Bob) Skeates and nephew Dwight (Neil), and of his extended family and Church friends
and forestry colleagues. Pre-deceased by parents Fred and Marion.

Douglas was born in Farnham, Quebec, into a family with deep Canadian roots. His parents moved he and his elder brother Robert to Toronto in the early 1940s. He graduated with the class of 1953 from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and went on to become one of Ontario’s 21 district foresters for the Provincial government – his in the District of Geraldton — working on the forest resource inventory that was being developed to continue reforesting previously harvested provincial lands.  An extraordinary scientist, he was likely the last of his kind as a Provincial Government Silviculturalist (a forester who applies the theory and practice of managing the growth, health, conservation, composition and quality of forests to meet the needs of communities).

As his son Geoff would say, “If you heard the sound of a tree falling in the forest, Doug could tell you its make and model.” Doug loved social fellowship and joined the local United Church and choir wherever he lived.  When Doug met Anne in the United Kingdom and subsequently asked her to come to Canada and marry him, Anne also chose to join the church community and choir – a dedication they continued in partnership from Geraldton to Kenya, and from Willowdale to Tottenham.

Doug and Anne had moved to North Bay in 1961 before receiving a three-year federal initiative in Nairobi, Kenya as a “Bridge Professional” liaising the research work of soon- to-depart British foresters and upcoming local foresters in training.  These were some of Doug and Anne’s happiest times in life and they enjoyed travelling to Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, Israel, and Jordan to name a few.

In 1967, Doug, Anne and their three children moved to Oxford, England, where Doug undertook graduate courses at Oxford University before returning to Canada to complete his Master of Science degree with a Major in Forestry by the end of the1960’s. During this time they also had two more children and from 1968 to 1989 the family settled in the Willowdale (North York) area of Toronto.

Doug’s two-decade assignment for the Ministry of Natural Resources as a Research Scientist in Silviculture was based at the research centre in Maple, Ontario. Travelling throughout northern Ontario, he collected seeds sourced from 200 forested sites. In 2019 an astonished group of research scientist from the same research center, now located in Sault Ste. Marie, sent a representative to Doug‘s house and collected all of this information to input into their computers. Doug’s data, compiled with current readings, contributed evidence into how these trees managed climate change despite being from various locations across the province.  The group wrote a paper on climate change based on the information Doug provided from 12 of the 16 sites.

Doug also did extensive work with Indigenous people, continuing from Kenya to Ontario and later in Guyana. He led one of four community forestry projects undertaken by the Ontario Government in the early 1990s when they chose Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island and subsequently travelled to Guyana as a consultant on a twinning project with Indigenous people from Wikwemikong to help the Indigenous people of Guyana on the Berbice river. This project was to improve access to clean drinking water and developing sustainable forest harvesting practices.

Following retirement, Doug went on to have a successful consulting business in sustainable forestry working internationally in Costa Rica, the Philippines, Guyana, Suriname, China, and many others. Doug and Anne moved to Thailand for two years where Doug was the Senior Forestry Advisor of the ASEAN/Canada Forest Tree Seed Centre where he co-managed the Forest Research and technology transfer programs in four of the ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

Shortly after their return, Doug and Anne moved to Loretto, Ontario. At their home on ten acres, Doug planted trees on their back five acres to create a newly forested area out of what was then sandy wasteland.  He began to grow small trees for his “Trees for Shelter” program to raise money for the women’s shelter, My Sister’s Place, in Alliston – a program that is still in place through Dave Johnson’s devoted partnership.

Doug also engaged in Stewardship initiatives for the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, helping with their tree planting program and spending many hours planting trees with and within his community – an application of the “teach a person to fish” philosophy of empowering others with action. Doug strongly believed that grassroot organizations are essential to the growth of the global community and that solutions were found at the community/local level no matter where you are in the world.  He advocated for the Boreal forest’s role in both carbon sequestration and its integral role in preserving fresh water sources.

For over a decade, he was a weekly and then monthly contributing columnist for The Orangeville Citizen and Tottenham Times offering his global perspective on communities and environmental topics. He was a devoted fan of the Blue Jays and, naturally, the Maple Leafs!

As for his family, Doug’s children will tell you that memories of their father stem from the annual Miles for Millions Walkathons, the special weekends tobogganing down the hills at his workplace in Maple, the many Saturdays playing hockey at Goulding Park Arena, the cold nights when Doug wore his snowshoes pulling one or more of his children on a toboggan while tamping down the snow to create a backyard rink before standing out there for another hour spraying water every night for over a week. There were trips to go fishing up at the cottage and flagstones to be collected to build stairways there, and trips throughout northern Ontario on winding log roads. Amongst so many memories, these actions of love will never be forgotten.

The Skeates Family would like to thank the extraordinary staff of Stevenson Memorial Hospital and of Matthews House Hospice in Alliston for the devoted care and support.

Arrangements entrusted to Rod Abrams Funeral Home, Tottenham. An Honouring of Life service will be held at Tottenham United Church (26 Mill St E) on Saturday, February 15 at 2pm with a reception of fellowship to follow, also at TUC. If desired, a donation may be made in Douglas Skeates’ name to My Sister’s Place ‘Trees for Shelter’ program, or to Matthews House Hospice. Online condolences and memories may be left for the family at www.RodAbramsFuneralHome.com.