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A 54-year-old worker in Bell Canada whose death at work is being investigated by the Federal Department of Labor was a humorous and hard-working man with a “huge heart”, his daughters say.
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Calvi Leon • Local Journalism Initiative reporter Paul Totten, 54, of Woodstock, is remembered by his daughters as a hard-working and humorous animal lover who cares deeply for others. He is holding his granddaughter Luna. Totten died Monday after falling from a ladder while working for Bell Canada in Tilsonburg. (Photo sent)
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A 54-year-old worker in Bell Canada whose death at work is being investigated by the Federal Department of Labor was a humorous and hard-working man with a “huge heart”, his daughters say.
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Paul Totten of Woodstock died Monday morning after falling a few feet from a ladder while working on a Delevan Crescent utility line between Second and Third Streets in Tilsonberg, southeast of London. Totten has been an employee of Bell Technical Solutions, a subsidiary of Bell Canada, for more than 20 years. He was a “hard worker” who liked to help customers, said his daughter Shelby Schneider.
“When I think of my father, I think of how hard a worker he was,” she said in a telephone interview, her voice choking with emotion.
His other daughter, 23-year-old Emily James, remembers when her father came home from work “brilliant” because of the compliments his clients made.
“They loved him,” she said. “He provides amazing services to everyone he has worked for.”
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It wasn’t just a technician, she said. – It is much more for him.
Neighbors at Delevan Crescent in Tilsonburg laid flowers in memory of Paul Totten, a 54-year-old Bell Canada technician who died after falling from a ladder on Monday while working on utility cables in front of one of the homes.
Emergency crews responding to a “non-traffic accident” in Delevan shortly after 11 a.m. Monday found the technician working on site “injured by a fall,” the Oxford OPP said.
Totten, 54, was taken to hospital where he died.
Employment and Social Development The Canadian Labor Program investigates death, a requirement under the Canadian Labor Code when it comes to a federally regulated job, a spokesman said.
“The Government of Canada expresses its deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the victim of the fatal incident,” said Marie Terien.
A Bell Canada spokesman said the company was “deeply saddened by the sudden death” and “is working closely with authorities to investigate the incident”.
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Described as a “complete animal lover,” Tottenham lives in Woodstock with a cat and two dogs. “He absolutely adored his dogs. He may have liked them more than people, “James joked. Asked about her father’s personality, James pointed out his sense of humor. The last two things Totten told her — once in text and another time in person — were both jokes, she said. “He always made jokes and made people laugh.”
Totten was respected among his colleagues, said Nick Haber, who has worked with him for three years.
“He was a good man and always seemed to enjoy life,” Haber wrote in an online message to The Free Press. “We lost a brother, if you will. All of Bell is affected. “
Whether it’s a job, a family or a close-knit community he created while playing Pokemon Go, his favorite hobby, Tottenham left a lasting impression on everyone he met, his daughters said.
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“We knew he had touched many lives. . . but we didn’t realize how big that population was, “Schneider said, noting that it became more apparent after his death. “He didn’t show it as often as he probably should, but he had a huge heart. I think that attracted a lot of people to him. “
Totten’s relatives are grateful for the support from his friends, union and colleagues. They plan to hold a public service – what his daughters hope will be a “celebration of life” – for him over the next few weeks.
cleon@postmedia.com
twitter.com/CalviatLFPress
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
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