It is with great sadness that the family of Mr. Thomas Grandy Collett announce his passing on May 16th, 2009, at the young age of 77 years. Tom was born and raised in Harbour Buffett and this was where he met the love of his life: Margaret, a young nurse from Great Britain. Tom swept her off of her feet and they were married in 1959. They moved to Montreal where they raised four children. Tom worked with Smith, Kline and French as a drug inspector by day, but had many other passions, one of which was hockey. He volunteered as a minor hockey coach and enjoyed passing the skills along to the younger players. A staunch Leafs fan, some say it was the sight of cheering Habs fans that eventually enticed him to move from Montreal where his own team\'s nemesis played. One thing was for certain, he was a competitive sportsman who excelled at everything that he put his hand to, including darts and fishing, and was a well-known and much-recruited softball pitcher in his local leagues. He also dedicated time to another of his passions, that of firefighting, and was a volunteer firefighter with the Roxborough fire department. When the family moved back to Stephenville in 1971, Tom took up his firefighting passion full time, and worked with the Town of Stephenville Fire Station until 1991, at which time he retired. Tom loved children, especially his own Sandy, Sharon, Myra and Paul. He was a fiercely protective father who loved them deeply and without reserve. A memory that will live on is that of Tom softly singing Old Shep to his kids when they were younger. He was especially pleased when his own children had children and the role of \"Poppy\" was bestowed upon him. He took the greatest pleasure in spoiling each and every one of them with sweets and promptly passing them back to their Mom and Dad! \"Poppy\'s revenge\" he would say with a chuckle! He also loved regaling his grandchildren with stories, as well as giving them personal tours of the trucks and equipment at the station. Tom was predeceased by his mother Ada, father Arthur, sisters Margaret (Norman) Pinhorn, Dorothy (Jack) Kirchartz, Maisie (Howard) Dicks, Ina and brother Rupert. He leaves behind a large family circle including wife Margaret, daughters Sandra (Eric) Nippard, Sharon (Craig) Stacey, Myra (Angus) MacKay, son Paul, brothers Art (Sheila), Lloyd (Ada), sisters Laura (John) Stratton, Helen (Charlie) Sweetland, and Rosalind (Ed) Lockyer and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. His presence will also be missed by friends Claude Smith of Stephenville Crossing, Wayne Russell whom he worked with at the Stephenville Fire Station, and the congregation of St. Mary\'s Anglican Church. His family would like to thank Tom\'s family Physician, Dr. Chaytor and geriatric physician, Dr. Soloman, for their care and concern. Thanks also to the nurses and staff of the Dr. Albert O\'Mahony Memorial Manor for their exceptional care and concern during Tom\'s brief stay. Their professionalism and attention to detail, as well as their respect for their patients, made our Tom\'s last few days that much more comfortable. Thanks are extended to all of the church groups who so fervently prayed for Tom\'s health over the last months. Thank you especially to Reverend Daphne Parsons and Reverend Nathan Cutler of the Clarenville Anglican parish, and Pastor Baine Andrews of the Clarenville Pentecostal Church. Your presence and prayer comforted him!