A Toronto family of four who perished in a fire that leveled their Peterborough-area cottage early Christmas Eve is remembered for being close and loving, by mourners who are still processing the tragedy.

Geoffrey Taber, his wife, Jacqueline (Jacquie) Gardner, and their two sons, Scott and Andrew, along with the family’s two dogs, died after the blaze destroyed their 4,000-square-foot cottage in the McCrackens Landing area of Stoney Lake.

“Geoff Taber was a generous, vibrant and wonderful person, a legal visionary and beloved partner at Osler,” Dale Ponder, a managing partner and chief executive at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, said in a statement Monday.

“There are no words adequate enough to express the depth of sorrow we feel.”

Taber, born in 1960, had a 30-year career with the law firm where he began as an articling student in 1985.

He was at the forefront of understanding the importance of the technology sector to Canada, advised many companies and investors, and encouraged entrepreneurship, the statement said.

Gardner was also an “exceptional” corporate lawyer at Osler before moving to Altamira Investment Services where she served as general counsel and secretary before raising her sons full-time, the statement said.

But first and foremost Taber and Gardner were “loving parents to their two remarkable sons. We will miss them terribly.”

An Osler spokeswoman said employees of the firm were “deeply grieving” and unable to comment further.

One of the boys, Andrew, played hockey with the Toronto Titans minor bantam team, according to the team’s website. The site reported that Andrew was 13 and Scott was 15.

Scott Taber was a student at Montcrest School and graduated in 2015, while Andrew Taber was in grade 8 at the same school, said David Thompson, head of the school in an email.

“Andrew was a wonderful and pleasant boy from a strong and loving home. He was a great team member who worked hard to be the best he could be,” Eric Cella, the team’s general manager, wrote in a statement.

“Our community mourns the loss of #92 and his family. We wish everyone peace in this difficult time.”

The family lived in Toronto’s Riverdale neighbourhood south of Danforth Ave., east of Broadview Ave.

Taber was the leader of a cycling group called the Riverdale Riders. The Osler statement said Taber had a “passion for adventures including biking some of the world’s most challenging terrain.”

Neighbour Gordon Cheong said the group met early Christmas morning for a tribute ride in their friend’s memory.

“He’s a giver. He gives all year round,” Cheong said. “When everybody or anybody needed help or anything, he was always there.”

The couple was planning to permanently move to the cottage when they retired, Cheong said.

A neighbour at the cottage told the family’s Riverdale neighbours that there had been an explosion at the cottage.

Volunteer firefighters of Douro-Dummer Township first responded to the fire on Hamilton Drive North just after 4 a.m Christmas Eve. The structure collapsed into the basement and leveled the structure, police said.

Investigative efforts continued Monday but may have been slowed by freezing rain, OPP Const. Jason Folz said in a press release.

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All victims have been recovered by emergency services workers, the OPP press release said.

Three of the four bodies have been transferred to the office of the chief coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Services in Toronto, the OPP said.

The OPP is awaiting results of post mortem examinations to assist in the formal identification.

With files from Hina Alam