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FULTON, Albert William (31525)

Parents

Birth

  • Born on April 08, 1938 in Truro, Colchester Co., NS

Death

  • Died on July 17, 2008 in Toronto, ON

Marriages

Children

Notes

  • Occupation: Teacher
  • Obituary: ALBERT WILLIAM FULTON JULY 17, 2008 Albert William Fulton was born in Truro, N.S. on April 8, 1938. He died in Toronto on July 17, 2008. Albert was the eldest child of Neil Seidmen Fulton (1900 - 1944) and Evelyn Jane (nee Wood) (1906 ­ 1985). He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Emily (nee van der Vaart), their sons Alexander of Toronto and Nathaniel of Margaretsville, N.S., his brother Laurie of Truro, his wife Mildred, and their children and grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sister Laurel (1941 ­ 1986). Albert enjoyed his schooling in Stewiacke and Amherst, N.S. and graduated from McGill University in 1958. He taught high school math and science in Carleton Place, Russell, near Ottawa, where he met the love of his life in 1961. Albert taught mostly math at Weston Collegiate Institute, retiring in 1988 to pursue historical interests. He was delighted to attend the 150th anniversary celebrations at the school last October. During the summers, until 1967, Albert enjoyed riding his bike down the hill to U of T to mark the grade 13 departmental exams, an experience which resulted in his own students being better prepared to write exams. Albert's first historical project was the mounting of an exhibition by past and present Wychwood Park artists to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Park in 1888. The subsequent half year was spent researching and writing, with Keith Miller, the 300-page book, The Art of Wychwood, copies of which are in the Toronto Public Library system. Albert's next project involved traveling to the Maritimes and New England to research his own family history. Two of his direct ancestors had arrived in Plymouth, Mass. in 1620 on the Mayflower. His research eventually led to an extensive library of the Mayflower and UEL descendants and 32 binders on his direct ancestors, mostly through about 10 generations. Albert was extremely proud of his parental grandfather and namesake, Albert David Fulton (1867 - 1936), the Town of Stewiacke voluntary photographer and historian who published the definitive history of the town in 1907. Some of Albert's most prized possessions were AD's photography equipment and glass plates, and AW always strove to follow in AD's footsteps, albeit in a different location. Aside from his wife and sons, Albert's two passions were collecting and preserving the history of the two Toronto neighbourhoods which he considered to be the most interesting and the most beautiful ­ Toronto Island and Wychwood Park. After considerable effort, he and Emily were successful of acquiring a house on Algonquin Island in 1980 and a duplex in the Park in 1982. For many years Albert opened the Toronto Island Archives to the public on Sunday afternoons and the Wychwood Park Archives on Wednesday evenings, and he published an 8-10 page historical quarterly newsletter of both neighbourhoods. Albert hoped that both of the vast collections would find homes in the proposed City of Toronto Museum. A private funeral took place. If interested in making a donation in Albert's memory, please send a cheque to McGill University, c/o The Scholarship Fund.
  • Death: Accused Wychwood attacker disappears Albert Fulton, head of the Wychwood Park neighbourhood watch, was charged with mischief and criminal harassment. Myriad charges laid against Albert Fulton, missing since Thursday Jul 19, 2008 04:30 AM Albert Fulton dropped a note in his house. He took the car and hasn't been seen or heard from since Thursday, police said yesterday, and they're concerned for his safety. Fulton is a long-time resident of Wychwood Park, a quiet hamlet near Bathurst St. and Davenport Rd., and head of its neighbourhood watch. He has been depressed, area residents said, because he's facing a raft of criminal charges. Foul play isn't suspected in his disappearance, officers said. "We've checked a few different addresses and he's not at any of them," Const. Tony Vella said. For nearly two years, area residents had awoken to find their tires slashed and threatening notes left on their cars. Bad blood in the community, stemming from the incidents, has pitted neighbours against one another and led to at least one defamation lawsuit. Video surveillance in the area has captured the image of a man wearing a black balaclava. In May, Fulton was arrested in connection with the attacks. He faces criminal harassment charges, 10 counts of mischief, and one charge of wearing a disguise with intent in connection with several incidents. In addition to being a retired math teacher, Fulton is the unofficial archivist of the Toronto islands. He also owns a home there, on Algonquin Island, which he shares with his wife Emily. Fulton was last seen near Davenport Rd. and Bathurst St., police said yesterday. He drives a Daewoo Lanos with licence plate ALFM 413. Remember Albert Fulton's many good works for Wychwood, wife urges By Matthew Coutts, National Post Emily Fulton said her family and Wychwood Park neighbours were helping her cope with the death of her husband, Albert Fulton, who police confirmed today was the man found along the Queen’s Quay pier this week. “I’m managing. I’m holding myself up and my kids are helping me of course,” Emily Fulton said in a phone interview. “It’s all the good vibrations from people who really loved and respected Albert for all his hard work.” Her husband, who had recently been linked to two years of targeted attacks of vandalism in the exclusive west-end neighbourhood of Wychwood Park, had dedicated much of his life to archiving the histories of the residential park and Toronto Island, where the couple had homes, she said. “He was just a gentle old fellow, and did so much for the community,” Ms. Fulton said. “He gave [the park] his life, you could say.” Mr. Fulton’s body was recovered by police marine units yesterday morning, after a person walking along the pier reported seeing something floating in the water near Queen’s Quay pier, near York Street, not far from where his vehicle had been abandoned last week. A post-mortem confirmed the body’s identity to be that of the 70-year-old retired math teacher. A statement released by police said foul play was not suspected in the death. Mr. Fulton disappeared on July 17, after reports surfaced that the neighbourhood watch captain was connected to a series of slashed tires in Wychwood’s private gated community. The perpetrator was allegedly protesting street parking along the thin, winding road by puncturing the tires of cars parked overnight, police had said. Ms. Fulton said her husband became depressed after he was charged with 10 counts of mischief over $5,000, one count of criminal harassment and one count of disguising himself with intent to commit a crime. Some time before he disappeared, he quoted her a line from Othello, she recalled. “He loved unwisely and too much. This is how he quoted himself a few weeks ago. He said he loved unwisely, and too much. This is perhaps how it all ended up,” she said. This afternoon, Ms. Fulton appealed for people to remember the good-hearted, generous man who had spent countless hours researching the history of his communities and offering his time to anyone who wanted to look through the historical documents. Half of their home had been dedicated to his archives, she said. “He really cut himself off from a social life so he could devote more life to his archives. And gather more information and file it away and write his newsletters,” she said. “He lived in the past. He had so many pictures.” A private funeral will be held next week. As for Mr. Fulton’s archives, Ms. Fulton said she would keep them intact for as long as she can. “I don’t know for how long. I’m not nearly as good as he was, of course. But I will try just to keep the legacy alive and not let all his work just fade away.”

Sources

  • Newspaper Obituary: Obituary July 19, 2008