provinces and territories (except Nunavut), making it as far north as Tuktoyaktuk. In 1987, Deacon was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 2003, he was presented with the Order of Prince Edward Island and was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada. Exactly one week prior to his death in September 2003, Deacon was interviewed by Shelagh Rogers on CBC Radio's Sounds Like Canada. It was her first interview in a series about Order of Canada recipients. This moving conversation, which Rogers often replayed as one of her favorites, included Deacon recounting a defining moment with a close friend in the final hours of World War II. Deacon and his friend were sitting on top of their Scout cars, waiting as the infantry cleared out a machine gun nest along the road ahead. They asked one another how the horrible waste of life that they had just survived could be prevented in future. The two men agreed that all they could do was to go home, raise a family of caring individuals, contribute to the lives of others in their communities, and encourage everyone they met to travel the world so they could experience and gain respect for other cultures and people. Their conversation ended as they were given the all clear. His friend started his Scout car, proceeded down the road ahead of Deacon and was killed instantly as his vehicle passed over an anti-tank mine. The war ended two days later. Deacon carried that conversation and commitment with him throughout his life. Deacon died of leukemia at a hospital in Charlottetown in September 2003. He was 83. References External links 1920 births 2003 deaths Politicians from Toronto Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian Army personnel of World War II Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers Members of the Order of Prince Edward Island Officers of the Order of Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Military personnel from Toronto