David Andrew Gaskin

Announcing the passing of David Andrew Gaskin, born November 24th, 1959 in Moncton, NB.  David passed away peacefully on February 18th, 2023, in Oshawa, ON following a short battle with kidney cancer. He is survived by his children, Vinton, Ella, Kiara, his siblings Cheryl and Mark, and his parents, Reginald and Doreen.

David grew up in Moncton, NB with his siblings and parents. They often frequented their grandfather’s farm, which is still in the family today. In 1971 they moved to Ontario for his father’s work, to the same house where his parents resided until 2019.

He worked delivering flowers in high school and later spent years working for Scarboro Movers Ltd where he met the godparents of his children, JP and Nella Dunn. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in English, and later returned to school to begin his career in fleet safety and insurance. He played football throughout High School and University.  David   later started playing hockey as well.  He worked for a few different companies throughout his career, but eventually founded Sirius Fleet Safety Ltd in 2019, an independent contracting company focused on truck and fleet safety, as well as insurance risk management. He had 35 years of fleet safety management and was incredibly passionate about his field.

Dave met his future wife, Sheryl, in 1981 at Melville Presbyterian Church. On October 15th, 1983, they had their first date, and married on the same day in 1988. They honeymooned in Niagara Falls, and in 1994 took a road trip through the West Coast of Canada and the United States. They moved a few times but ended up in New Brunswick, where they welcomed their first child, Vinton, in 1997. In 2000 they moved to Oshawa before they welcomed Ella, then had Kiara in 2002. Though they separated in 2015, David and Sheryl hold their memories very close to their heart and cherish all the years they had together.

David was passionate about many things. He was a die-hard hockey fan, specifically the Toronto Maple Leafs. He watched Hockey, football, basketball, and shared that love with his eldest, Vinton, and they often bonded over athletics through Vinton’s sports as well. He played hockey, football, baseball and more. David and Sheryl even did Karate lessons for years, gaining his brown belt in Wadō-kai Karate.

David was an avid reader, as most English majors are. Some notable favourite authors include Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Joe Hill and Dean Koontz. He loved crime novels, the supernatural horror, and historical novels, among other genres. He would often spend his time writing novels or telling those around him about ideas he had for books.

Potentially David’s biggest passion was music. He grew up often secluding to his room, listening to music and playing guitar, but would share his love for music with others. He was part of the Presbyterian Centennial Choir in his youth. David also wrote music, many songs inspired by those in his life.  After moving to Oshawa in 2000, he became a member of worship band Spirit Dot Calm, posted his music on his YouTube channel, and entered a variety of local music competitions. You would rarely catch him at family events without his guitar and playing some tunes.

He lit up every room with cheeky humour and dad jokes, while also being an introvert who loved his time alone. He would never take life too seriously and put his family and kids over anything else. He loved being on the road and often travelled for work. He loved talking about and sharing his interests with others, and everyone loved hearing about them. He was a loved man whose kindness did not go unnoticed. Words cannot describe how much he will be missed. 

Memorial information is still to be determined and will be shared at a later date.

We know you're flying high in the sky, 747. 

Messages and condolences may be left for the family at www.tricitycremations.com. Please visit David's obituary notice on Facebook.