December 15, 2011
In memoriam — David Stevenson Somerville
David Somerville
With partner John Somerville, he helped develop Somerville Nurseries, which is now the largest grower of natural Christmas trees in Canada.
On June 27, 1928, he was the first baby born in the original Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston. He was the second son of David Wilmot and Marjorie Ann Thomson, and younger brother of John (Jean).
He attended Pickering College, where he met his future wife, Shirley King. The couple, married in 1949, had four children: Chuck (Ann), Dan (Adele), Cheryl Jiiva (John) and Richard (Lei). The family grew to include seven grandchildren: Jason (Kayla), Kelly (Ken), Joni (Andrew), David, Stephanie, Aaron, Austin and three great-grandchildren, Ariah, Allie and Reena.
Somerville began his working life at General Steel Wares in the production department, before moving north to Kearney, where he joined the family lumber business. He eventually moved from lumber into Christmas trees, moving back to Alliston in 1960.
He believed in community service, serving Rotary International, which presented him with the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award. David Somerville also enjoyed activities, such as driving his Harley across Canada to B.C; canoeing in Algonquin Park; managing his pheasant hunt club; camping with family; snowmobiling; and wintering and golfing in Florida.