David Elliott Fletcher died peacefully on March 23, 2025, at the age of 83, with dignity and grace. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 58 years, Elizabeth “Bonnie” Fletcher (née Love), and his four children, Sarah (Martin Rochon), Dan (Fiona Dalrymple), Rebecca (Murray Elliott), and Victoria (Alex Favreau). He was a cherished grandfather to Emma, Luka, Cecilia, Frederick, Frances, Beatrice, Findlay, Aiden and Chloé, who brought him immense joy.
David was predeceased by his parents, John Edwin and Muriel Fletcher of Onchan, Isle of Man. He leaves to mourn his deeply adored sister, Anne Stone, of London, UK, his nephews Jonathan, David, and Nicholas, and their families. He will be greatly missed by his large Canadian family, to whom he was a beloved uncle and brother-in-law, and by his many friends and colleagues from around the world.
Born in Cheshire and raised on the Isle of Man, David was educated at King William’s College and Douglas High School. As a young boy, he had a beautiful singing voice and was head choir boy. At that time, he also developed his talent as a pianist, and he carried that deep love of music throughout his life, thereby eventually gifting it to every one of his progeny. Later on, as a young man, he helped establish a bird ringing station on the Calf of Man to better understand migratory birds, which is still in operation.
In 1960, he won a scholarship to Merton College, Oxford, where he pursued his studies with intellectual curiosity and rigour, reading Chemistry. There he also developed his passion for jazz piano, and sowed the seeds for deep friendships that would last a lifetime.
While completing his ACA in London, he met the love of his life at a party. David was instantly captivated by Bonnie, a fun loving Canadian whose vivacious laughter famously could be identified in a theatre of hundreds. David and Bonnie were married in London and continued to live there until they boarded a ship for Brazil, to begin David’s new job in corporate finance. Their life together was one of many such adventures, filled with exotic landscapes and spontaneous fun!
In 1971 they would return to the UK, where David would get his MBA at Cranfield Institute of Technology. A job with CIL brought David and family to Montreal in 1974, followed by an opportunity to become CFO of a subsidiary in Ontario in 1982. He later accepted a job as president of Laser International, which brought the family back to Quebec, this time to Hudson.
After leaving Laser International, David began a much more entrepreneurial and environmental chapter of his career. Through his new ventures, he authored 8 patents in the fields of electro chemistry / plasma, Hydrogen production, power electronics, power supplies, inverters and power factor correction. As hardware and software developers he and his team achieved much over twenty years, in collaboration with McGill, RMC, MIT and UC Davis. They engaged more than twenty post doctoral fellows. These efforts culminated in the 2 facilities he conceived and brought about in Vaudreuil’s industrial park. Many will remember him from those days as an incredibly fair and hardworking boss; a leader using technology and local talent to improve the world.
An exceptional thinker with an inquisitive mind, David approached both professional and personal pursuits with dedication and ingenuity. He was very adept in conversation and debate, and eagerly searched out opportunities to interact and connect with people. His love of friends, family, birds, nature, music, poetry, science, and his general passion for life and the expression of beauty, made his generous, kind soul instantly likeable. Friends and guests of the many dinner parties held over the years at some of the Fletcher family’s favourite locations such as the lakeside house in Hudson, the house on Roslyn, and various cottages in Knowlton, will remember these warm traits dearly.
His legacy will endure in the many lives he touched through his wisdom, patience, and unwavering kindness, culminating in the book he worked on with passion until the end; The Solid Carbon Economy. It is our greatest wish to bring this life’s work to light. The posthumous publication of his vision for carbon, will hopefully yield further revelations.
Science, music, nature aside, David’s greatest love was Bonnie! She lovingly cared for him daily over the past year throughout his illness, and his will to live through much discomfort was hugely motivated by her. Theirs was a lifetime of true love and dedication.
The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the staff at the Montreal Neurological Institute, both the Montreal General and Lakeshore General Hospitals, and Manoir Harwood.
A service will be held at St. Mary’s Church in Como, Sunday, May 25th at 2 p.m. in celebration of David’s beautiful, well lived life.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following organizations in David’s memory.
Creek 53 Conservancy Trust in Hudson
https://creek53.org/collections/frontpage
Manx Wildlife Trust – The Calf of Man Bird Observatory
https://www.mwt.im/donate In order to have donations in David’s name it must be by cheque payable to the Manx Wildlife Trust, addressed to the attention of Steve Wright, Head office and Wildlife Shop, Peel, 7-8 Market St, Isle of Man, IM5 1AB
We Rise Again – St. James Church
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