ADLER, Joseph William Phillip 'Phil' - Filed his final story and passed away peacefully on September 23, 2021, at 90 years of age.
Phil was predeceased by his father Bill Adler and his mother Cecilia Metz.
Phil is survived by his wife, Irene Ruth (Glenn), children Glenn and Silvia (Trampus), David, Douglas and Sandra (Scott) and Nancy (Adler) and Grant Love, two grandchildren Joseph and Silesia (Sutherland) and three great-grandchildren.
Phil always said writing an obituary is an art form, which he had plenty of experience with given that it was part of his first job as a reporter at the Kingston Whig Standard.
Journalism, and more particularly the print medium, was his first love. He started as a copy boy, became a reporter, an editor, editor-in-chief and then Bureau Chief for The Canadian Press, before moving into management at Broadcast News.
The stories that were never written included his special relationship with the Ba'hai faith, his brief stint as Diefenbaker's press secretary, searching through phone books in cities he visited looking for possible Adler relatives, and his first and last one-day experience as a farmer.
While in an Edmonton hospital in 1955, recovering from a ruptured appendix, Phil met the second love in his life (after journalism), his then nurse, Irene Glenn. Phil and Irene recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.
He worshipped in a Catholic Church and attended Catholic school in Montreal but lived with his father and stepmother in a Jewish household.
He was opinionated but indecisive. He had an amazing command of the written language but often had difficulty communicating verbally. He only argued with people whom he considered to be his closest friends.
His life was rich with stories about political figures and social events, but he preferred to spin tales about his latest billing dispute with his internet provider.
You will be missed but will remain in our hearts.
Cremation in Markham.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Doctors Without Borders Canada Medecins Sans Frontieres Canada.
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