March On! ...the history of the
Toronto Optimists Drum & Bugle Corps
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Timothy Valentine Roussel
Corps: Golden Monarchs, Scarborough Firefighters, Toronto Optimists
February 14, 1953 — September 15, 2008
Tim played baritone his entire corps career, starting with the Golden Monarchs of Toronto (1965-1966), Scarborough Firefighters (1967), and finally with the Toronto Optimists (1968-1970). He was noted for his fine playing and his assortment of rusting land cruiser vehicles, many of which allowed you to see the road passing inches below through the rusted floorboards.
He loved the corps very much in his youth. After he’d moved to British Columbia in the early seventies (a province that he truly enjoyed), he continued to ask about the corps and its activities. It was here that he found his real fulfillment and undertook his greatest personal achievements. He started a family and several businesses geared to automobile and truck salvage and recovery and prospered to the point where he spent the last ten years of his life out and about on the golf course far too often for a mere duffer, which he definitely was not. He was especially proud of his golf game and carded a round of 71 (one under par) only months before his untimely death. Other than his family, he regarded that as his greatest achievement.
He is greatly missed by his wife Denise and son Curtis, and by his sister and four brothers, three of whom played in the Optimists alongside him – Ray (Baritone 1967-1969), Rick (Snare 1969-1971), Den (Baritone 1967-1970), sister Mary of Calgary, and brother Lawrence of Vancouver.
Rest well, bro.
Tim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We Remember!