TORONTO

Peter Worthington, the legendary founding editor of the Toronto Sun, has died at the age of 86.

One of Canada’s most prolific and well-known journalists, Worthington witnessed history unfold during a career that spanned many of the wars, conflicts and news events that shaped the 20th century.

“Sometime during the night, he slipped away peacefully,” said his wife, Yvonne Crittenden.

Peter John Vickers Worthington was born at the Fort Osborne Barracks in Winnipeg in 1927, named after the famous Vickers machine gun, and grew up the son of Gen. Frederic Franklin Worthington.

He joined the navy as a 17-year-old during the Second World War, served as a platoon commander with the Princess Pats in Korea but found a career and calling as a journalist after the war as a reporter, eventually landing at the Toronto Telegram.

Along with J. Douglas Creighton and Don Hunt, he founded “The Little Paper That Grew” with 60-plus former staffers from the Tely after it folded in 1971.

“The Sun succeeded for three reasons — (iconic columnist) Paul Rimstead, (legendary sports editor) George Gross and Peter Worthington,” Hunt recalled Monday. “The rest of it were people who put things together and made sure Peter didn’t go off too far in his right-wing feelings.”

Worthington was admitted to Toronto General Hospital May 2 and diagnosed with a “virulent and evil staph infection” that compromised his heart, kidneys and other organs. He died shortly after midnight Monday in hospital, spending the last days of his life peacefully, surrounded by his wife of 44 years and other family members, including his grandchildren.

Across the nation Monday, politicians, journalists, business moguls, commissioners, and sports CEOs mourned an irreplaceable loss to journalism and our country.

Don Cherry called Worthington the “last of a special breed of journalists that they don’t make anymore.”

“He was never politically correct and always told it as it was in a take-no-prisoners style,” Cherry said. “Boy, am I going to miss him. We won’t ever forget Peter Worthington.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper tweeted that he was “saddened to hear of the passing of Peter Worthington, a true Canadian patriot. Rest In Peace.”

“We have lost one of our best in Canadian journalism,” Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said in a tweet of his own while Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak issued a release recalling he “grew up reading Peter’s work in the pages of The Toronto Sun.

“Peter Worthington was there for many of the significant events of the 20th century — and he told us about them vividly,” Hudak said. “These experiences forged one of our country’s most insightful minds and prolific careers in newspapering.”

Toronto Sun publisher Mike Power called Worthington’s death a “tremendous loss.” Power’s office was next to Worthington’s and for the past four years, the pair would often exchange stories about the ever-changing newspaper business.

“He was one of the greatest journalists Canada has ever seen and will see,” Power said. “His contributions to the founding of the Toronto Sun and ultimately to the Sun newspaper chain is hugely significant.”

Paul Beeston, President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, chuckled while recalling the times Worthington had the opportunity to throw the first pitch at home games.

But what Worthington truly wanted was for Lucy, his Jack Russell, to sing the Canadian national anthem at SkyDome — and he wrote numerous columns trying to sway Beeston to allow him to do so.

“That was 20-25 years ago, and he continued to write about that I promised him his dog could sing the national anthem, that I never delivered,” said Beeston, noting Worthington was a devout Jays fan.

Journalist Allan Fotheringham, 80, was a contemporary of Worthington’s. The two studied together at University of British Columbia and their paths often crossed during the next 50 or so years, including a 10-year stint at the Sun together.

“He was a remarkable bugger — and I use that term knowingly and in the confidence he would have approved of it,” Fotheringham said.

From his bedside before he died, Worthington spoke with son-in-law and journalist David Frum about his life and perilous times.

“In all the situations I was in, I never felt fear,” he said. “I felt nerves sometimes. And of course you want to be cautious. You feel that you want to do your best. You tense yourself — and then you wait to see what comes next.”

During his career, Worthington won four National Newspaper Awards, a National Newspaper Citation and was also named to the Canadian News Hall of Fame. He was editor-in-chief at the Sun for 12 years and helped launched the Sun’s sister publication, the Ottawa Sun, in the late 1980s.

He is survived by Yvonne, who called him her “rock,” children Casey Worthington, Guy Crittenden and Danielle Crittenden, and six grandchildren.

— With files from Joe Warmington and Simon Kent