“The mountain will give and I will take.” Dick Mannion Mt. Annapurna Nepal 1978

Wilfred Richard (Dick) Mannion 95, of Almonte Ontario, passed away on April 9, 2026, at the Almonte General Hospital. A singular man. He was an inventor, entrepreneur, raconteur, polyglot, poet, sailor, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend, and projects manager. He impressed upon all who met him “never give up,” cultivate curiosity and always carefully (or not) question status quo. He will be deeply missed by all for his persistence, love of books, history, languages, and thought-provoking conversation.

Wilfred Richard « Dick »Mannion was born on January 31,1931 in Eastview (Vanier/Ottawa), Ontario, to Emma Mannion (nee Doherty) and Richard Mannion. He was the sixth of ten children and the last surviving member of that family. He was predeceased by his siblings Paul Desmond, John, Robert, Eileen, Sheila, Helen, Jimmy, Frances, and Bernard.

Dick belonged to a generation that built things with their hands and learned by doing. After attending Ottawa Technical High School and studying briefly at McGill University, he returned to Ottawa, where work quickly became vocation. He worked as a salesman for Myers Pumps and with Ontario Hydro. In 1951 he opened Mannion Pump Service (later The Pump House) where he spent more than five decades as president serving Ottawa and Quebec with determination and endurance. In 2002, long after most would have retired, he partnered with his son Sean at Mannion Petroleum, Almonte Ontario.

Dick was married to Constance Jean (nee Bogart) for 25 years, and raised five children: Shannon Lee, Vicki Lynn, Leslie Brenda, Cynthia Ann, and Sean Richard. His grandchildren include Liam Mannion Roney (Kelly Roney), Emily Mannion Roney (Cody Schunicht), Dylan Mannion, Ryan Mannion and Tristan Mannion von Sierakowski. Dick was delighted with the arrival of his great-grandchild, Finnegan Charles Mannion Roney. Beloved uncle and best friend of Melanie Young.  Dick was predeceased by his sixth child, Liam Closs Mannion in 2009 (Mother Catherine Closs).

To know Dick was to encounter a man of relentless curiosity. His interests did not narrow with age; they multiplied. He was an avid skier, canoeist, motorcyclist, and hiker who sought out distant places not for comfort, but for discovery. His travels carried him to the Galapagos, much of Europe, Petra, Victoria Falls, Easter Island, Namibia, Tanzania, Liberia, South Africa, and throughout the Canadian Rockies and Northwest Territories.

Language fascinated him. French remained his great affection, but he also spoke German, Italian, Serbo-Croation and Spanish, studied Mandarin, and in his final year had begun learning Punjabi. For Dick, knowledge of language itself was another way farther into the world.

His workshop reflected the workings of his mind: inventive, ambitious, unfinished in the best sense. He designed tools, modified machinery, explored solar technology, and had working solar panels, imagined and constructed ultralight aircraft, and constantly sketched improvements to the ordinary objects around him. No garden hose was safe.

Dick loved classical music and Gregorian chants, sharing the latter enthusiastically with his family who listened less enthusiastically. Yet that was part of Dick’s character, he pursued what moved him deeply and invited others along for the journey.

He treasured longstanding friendships formed over decades of work, travel, ideas, and conversation. Among those closest to him were Richard Cotnam, Richard Gorbutt, Bill Clifford, Dennis Carr, Bruce Smart, Dave Drummond, and Dinesh Vijan. He also mourned the passing of dear friends Don Lahey, Mike Poirier, Peter and Thelma Hopwood, David, and Norah Hanson, among others.

In his later years, Dick was sustained by the kindness and constancy of many people: Richard Cotnam, Eric Pryor, Charlie Wiseman, Victor Dorey, Dave Drummond, June Wilson RN, Mariam Eldihimy and Yury Vlasenko pharmacists, Dr. Laurel Kredosky of the Almonte Family Health Team, Emily Balinger RPN, Brenda B. friendly visitor, Dr. Michael Ong oncologist, and neighbours Dianne and Jeff, whose visits with their dogs brought companionship and joy.

Dick lived as a man in continual motion — intellectually, mechanically, and geographically. He leaves the enduring impression of a life driven by curiosity, independence, resilience, and wonder.