He wore many hats during his 83 years on Earth: affable man-about-town, friend, community-minded volunteer, dignitary, politician, and many more

But for his three sons Warren, Blair, and Ian, it was Tony WhitfordSA国际影视传媒檚 role of being a dad that meant the most.

Whitford died on Sept. 16 in Yellowknife and a state funeral hosted by the GNWT was held at the legislative assembly on Saturday.

Born of M茅tis heritage in Fort Smith, his work and volunteerism sent him across the globe, meeting and befriending the many people he met along the way with his sociable demeanour.

SA国际影视传媒淭here's the work side of Tony, and then there's the actual dad side of Tony, or grandpa,SA国际影视传媒� said Blair Whitford, his son. SA国际影视传媒淥ne thing about my dad is that he didnSA国际影视传媒檛 bring the politics home with him. When he was in the house, he was my dad, so the boys havenSA国际影视传媒檛 followed in his footsteps as far as being politicians is concerned."

Blair said he does take after his father in terms of his traits and personality, however, as it is also in his nature to talk comfortably with anyone he meets.

SA国际影视传媒淚 did get to meet, through my life, people of state, important prime ministers, the Queen of England back in the day, and so, by association, I got to hear about them, got to meet them. But as far as the politics, very rarely was it raised in the household,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Blair said through their father, each of his three boys did learn about serving the community, however, and each of them now work in some form of civil service.

Dad jokes, bad jokes

Blair laughed as he recalled his fatherSA国际影视传媒檚 ability to consistently tell very bad SA国际影视传媒渄ad jokesSA国际影视传媒�.

SA国际影视传媒淭hat's kind of funny because he used to do that all the time," he said. "He used to practice those for the family. And he would lay it down for you, and then we would bring out the groan-o-meter. Sometimes heSA国际影视传媒檇 get a zero, sometimes he would get a three out of 10. Those are the ones that he really liked the best, because he figured that would get the biggest reaction from people.

SA国际影视传媒淗e loved his granddaughter, my daughter, and he also loved his grandson, David. And he used to lay those jokes down on them, too, just to see how they would react. That's the kind of thing that did happen behind closed doors. There is that Tony who had that sense of humour. He passed it on to the boys, and Ian is the better deliverer of the bad jokes. Myself, I don't. I just groan at them still. That's what we do."

Generous spirit

Blair said one memory that stands out about his father is that he was always willing to donate his time for any cause.

SA国际影视传媒淚f you asked him, he would donate his time, and that's one thing the family's been thinking about since he passed," he said. "But we are amazed, and continue to be amazed, at how one person was able to do so many things."

The multi-faceted Elder was also emcee at numerous events, was a Rotary Club member, a justice of the peace, a social worker and a builder of many fine birdhouses, added Blair.

Denise McKee, executive director of the NWT Disabilities Council, said she recalls those colourful birdhouses very well throughout the years Tony volunteered for the council.

SA国际影视传媒淗e was a very strong advocate and voice for people with disabilities. He also made these amazing birdhouses, which he would auction off, which was always great, because they were sentimental as well as meaningful to him as an auctioneer. And no one could resist bidding on them, especially with him calling for the bids,SA国际影视传媒� McKee said.

For many years, not only was he the auctioneer at their annual fall event, but he was also emcee during the annual Disability Awareness Tea and awards ceremony, McKee said, noting that he himself was awarded the Minister Responsible for Persons with DisabilitiesSA国际影视传媒� Award for Accessibility and Inclusion in 2016.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd just his ability to be in different communities, his wealth of knowledge, his personal lived experience with disability, both himself and within his family and his connections really gave a voice to the understanding and the importance of inclusion and accessibility in the territory," she said. SA国际影视传媒淗e was just very caring and kind. My memory of Tony is just being a very kind individual that was always trying to help, and would always do what he could for other people.SA国际影视传媒�

Leading the way

Blair said as a youth, he was at times astounded at his fatherSA国际影视传媒檚 ease around people.

SA国际影视传媒淗e loved being in public and he really enjoyed leading the Canada Day parade,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭hat's something that endures in my memory, because he had that suit, the Canadian flag suit. And I used to be mortified as a kid, or young man, I guess, to see my dad walking around in public with that thing. We were just, how do you get up in front of 3,000 people in a flag suit and speak to them as if there's nothing different about you? And my friends thought it was cool, and I'm like, SA国际影视传媒榦h my god, dad,SA国际影视传媒� but I laugh at it today."

Tony the Kid

Another endearing memory for Blair was at his 50th birthday party celebration, one which had a hard rock, heavy metal theme.

He said his father flew to Calgary to join in on the fun, arriving at his door in a most unexpected fashion.

SA国际影视传媒淢y dad made his way down to Calgary and put on a Hard Rock T-shirt and had his hair picked up and coloured with red hair dye for this party, kind of just being one of the guys," he said. SA国际影视传媒淎nd walking around, giving you the horns for the hard rock. He would really blend in with my friends in Calgary and he did that, no matter where he went. He would bring everybody in, definitely a centerpiece when it came to social events, just that kind of guy."

Lasting legacy

Blair said he and the entire family appreciates the person Tony was.

SA国际影视传媒淲e prefer to think of our father as SA国际影视传媒榟e's my dadSA国际影视传媒�," he said. "He's accomplished. Yes, that's great for the world, and that's great for the Northwest Territories. And again, I admire the fact that he did what he did. But for us, we don't necessarily think of those accomplishments. It's more about Tony just being our dad."