Richard “Rick” Harling Wearing

Rick Wearing passed away peacefully at Algonquin Grace Hospice in Huntsville, Ontario on April 16, 2026 at the age of 70. Rick was surrounded by his loving family after a hard-fought battle with cancer for over three years.

Rick will be lovingly remembered by Sandra Parrott, his cherished spouse of 30 years; his children Casey Cruise (Matt), Jamie Johnson, Drew Wearing (Kelly) and step-children Michael Parrott (Theresa), Lauren Parrott and Stephanie Parrott; grandchildren Clara Cruise, Preston Cruise, Georgia Johnson, Violet Parrott and Bodhi Parrott; his sister Daphne Taleski, niece Sarah Taleski (Calvin) and nephew Doug Taleski (Lindsay); sister-in-law Esther Wearing, niece Alison Wearing (Mathieu) and nephew Ben Wearing (Jenn); brother-in-law Jeff Deane (Sherrylou); his granddogs Winston, Tucker, Vivian and Hank. 

Predeceased by his beloved brother Robin Wearing and parents Dr. Morris Wearing and Jane Wearing.

Rick was born on February 1, 1956 at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario and attended Ryerson Elementary School (where daughter Jamie now works), then went on to attend  London Central Collegiate Institute where he was, in his words “an okay academic but a pretty good athlete”, excelling at hockey, baseball and football. Rick attended the University of Western Ontario with “successful scholarly results” and graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Social Science. 

Rick valued hard work and relationships, fondly remembering his first summer job at the construction company in London owned by the father of Jim Forbes, his oldest friend of 60 years.  During his summers while attending Western, Rick started working for Greig Clark  (great friend for 50 years) at College Pro Painters, first as a painter, then franchise manager before being promoted to VP of Ontario after graduation and then President of College Pro Canada and US. 

Rick enjoyed connecting with homeowners, so when his time with College Pro came to an end, a career in real estate was a natural next step. Rick obtained his real estate license in 1985 and a decade later he and Sandra combined their real estate businesses and their families. Rick and Sandra were a dynamic duo for the next 30 years, spending the majority of their real estate partnership at Royal LePage Lakes of Muskoka with award-winning results, something that Rick was very proud of.

Rick was a fixture in the community, joining the Port Sydney Chamber of Commerce when he first moved to the area, then becoming Treasurer of the Hill & Gully Snowmobile Club. Rick was also involved as a Beaver Leader at Trinity United Church, volunteered with Huntsville Minor Hockey and was President of Huntsville Minor Lacrosse for a number of years. Rick was involved in a number of fundraising efforts over the years, including golf tournaments to assist in the building of The Fairy Vista Walking Trail. He and Sandra later joined the Huntsville Curling Club and were on the inaugural committee of the “Rocks to Ridges” golf tournament, raising funds for the Club. Rick was also a member of the Huntsville Parks and Rec Committee for a number of years, a member of The Huntsville Sports Hall of Fame Committee and a Terry Fox Team member. Perhaps Rick’s greatest community work occurred when he joined The Rotary Club of Huntsville and was an active member for the past five years. Rick often mentioned that he wished he had joined Rotary many years sooner after witnessing first-hand the value of Rotary’s work in the community and meeting and working with so many wonderful Rotarians. Rick and Sandra have also been longtime sponsors of The Festival of the Arts and have been blessed to be members of Trinity United Church. 

Rick cherished the time he spent with his family and looked back fondly on all the fun trips he took with his children and grandchildren, including trips to California and Florida, taking all the grandchildren on their first visits to Disney World. Rick also enjoyed telling the story of an epic road trip adventure to Prince Edward Island in the early 2000s with four kids and two adults packed into the minivan, stopping to visit his brother Robin and family in Montreal along the way. More recently, Rick treasured winter months down south with Sandra escaping the cold, along with other getaways abroad.

Rick enjoyed being active, playing hockey, golf, curling, biking in Algonquin Park and Hilton Head, camping, canoeing and skiing. 

Rick will be remembered for his kindness, generosity, sense of humour, charismatic personality and great love of family and community. To Rick, no one was a stranger, making friends and connections with everyone he met.

Rick put up a valiant fight against cancer, receiving treatment at Huntsville District Memorial Hospital and Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie. Rick’s family would like to thank all the doctors and nurses involved in his care, including Dr. Morcos, Dr. Veitch, Dr. Harrold, Dr. DuFour, Dr. O’Halloran, ParaMed nurses Jaime and Rena and the amazing staff and volunteers at Algonquin Grace Hospice who ensured Rick’s final days were as comfortable and peaceful as possible. Special thanks to Rev. Diane Knowles for her unfailing love and support. 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Timothy 2:4:7

In lieu of flowers, donations to Algonquin Grace Hospice or the Huntsville Hospital Foundation would be greatly appreciated. 

A Celebration of Life for Rick will be held on:

Tuesday, May 19th at 1:00 pm at The Algonquin Theatre 

37 Main Street East, Huntsville

Reception to follow at the Active Living Centre

20 Park Drive, Huntsville