August 27, 1946 – April 1, 2026 

On April 1, we lost one of the truly good ones. 

Douglas John Ringer passed away in Berkenthin, Germany. He was born at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops on August 27, 1946. He is remembered fondly and mourned by his wife Heidi, his children Sylvie and Julian, his grandchildren Alma, Joni-Sage, and Kuba-John, his brother Jim (Sharon) and Buddy (Helen), his cousins and other relatives and many friends from all over the world. He was predeceased by his father John Alfred Ringer on December 7, 1957, and his mother Susan (nickname Day) Ringer on December 16, 2008. 

Doug was only 11 when his father passed and he became the man of the house, always helpful to his mom and a great role model for his younger brothers. He had a typical 1950’s childhood, enjoying all the adventures and misadventures that we all went through. He embraced the 60’s and all that they offered and all the other decades that followed. Doug really enjoyed life and all that it offered. 

An example of his adventurous spirit was when he and some of his buds were planning a trip to South America while in high school. Some how that didn’t pan out, but in May of 1967, he left for New York on his way to England (by ship). As planned, two of his closest friends Don and Joe, joined him a couple of months later when they met him in Glasgow, Scotland. That year of living on the cheap while hitchhiking through all of the European countries was a profound experience that changed Doug and his friends in ways they could never imagine. Since Doug was always a bit of a historian, the boys had a cultural awakening. All the great museum, churches, and all historical sites were visited 

 On August 15,1969, Doug and his two friends decided to continue travelling with a two-week drive to Mexico City in a decaying 1955 Chevy van with balding recapped winter tires. Just south of Seattle ,they heard of a concert in Woodstock, New York but decided to continue on to Mexico. Upon returning to Kamloops, the three amigos decided to attend UBC. Doug got his BA with English as his major, and a few years later he got his teaching degree, although he never taught in Canada. His European adventure wet his appetite for travelling, and in 1975, he and his friend Colin set off for Europe and Africa. Somehow, they ended up in a kibbutz in Israel and this is where his life took another wonderful turn. 

In January 1976, at the kibbutz, he met a lovely young lady from Germany, Heidi Holdorf, and the biggest adventure of his life began. He must have been smitten as he moved to Germany. On April 7, 1978, they were married in Hamburg, Germany. 

Doug is the epitome of a Canuck. He always loved Canada, so from 1979 to 1989 they lived in the Kamloops area of B.C. and Halifax. Both his children Sylvie and Julian were born here in the early 80’s and he became a very proud papa. Heidi wanted the children to learn something of their German heritage, so they moved back to Germany. It was there that they moved first to Ritzerau, then Panten, and finally Berkenthin. In the first few year Doug did a variety of job, one of which was selling his friend Colin’s Nova Scotian lobsters to high end restaurants in northern Germany. 

From 1995 to 2011, Doug finally put to use his teaching credentials when he taught English at the elite Berlitz school. Although his love of Canada never diminished, he came to appreciate all that Germany and Europe had to offer, and he took full advantage of the situation. He started to enjoy the food and the beer and wine that accompanied the meals. After retirement from Berlitz, he would sit in his garden patio with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. He was “fluent “in German and enjoyed the morning paper, although Heidi and his children joked about his new language skills. Another benefit of living there was that he could travel anywhere in Europe at moment’s notice, with yearly trips to all parts of the EU. He and Heidi always travelled and even made a trip to Australia where he visited some friends from their kibbutz days. 

Doug was truly a renaissance man, a man for all seasons. He was a gregarious, fun loving party animal, and a continuous lifelong learner. “Joie de vivre” is a perfect description for Doug. There were no subjects that were beyond his ken. He was generous to a fault and would never pass by anyone in need of money on the street or buskers without giving them money. 

Although he and his buds from Kamloops considered themselves “country bumpkins,” Doug would go on to become a very literate and artistic person. He was a voracious reader on all subjects, with poetry and history always at the forefront. He also dabbled in painting and pottery and had quite the creative mind. Heidi is also an artist and took some art courses at Cariboo College (TRU) while living in Magna Bay. He loved to display Heidi’s artistic pottery and ceramics in their garden and house. Their daughter Sylvie has had her paintings exhibited in places like Rome and tiny Port Hardy, B.C. His son Julian is a documentary cinematographer and played a mean guitar and sang with his “punk-metal” band. He and Heidi were incredibly supportive of their children’s artistic endeavours. Attending all of Sylvie’s art shows and never missing any of Julian’s many concerts as a teenager and through adulthood. He bought any art book that Sylvie or her friends created. He also watched all the documentaries and movies that Julian made. 

Doug regaled us with some of his poems with nature always at the forefront. He even wrote a three-page poem about the Peterson Creek Falls in Kamloops that captures the rugged beauty of Kamloops. Although Doug was never what one could call a “handy” man, he did build some very creative artistic walls in his garden in Berkenthin. With Heidi’s help they created a beautiful garden, and their house is like a museum with all of their artwork on display. Many people visited them over the years,and they all were awestruck with the beauty and peacefulness of their house and garden. Everyone that visited had to write something in their visitor’s book, and most entries are of the beauty of their place and what great hosts that Ringer-Holdof’s are. They had to redo his library room many times over the years, as the books seemed to multiply every day. 

Here is a poem that Doug wrote that captures his essence. 

It’s Fall and the fallen leaves behind the car I’m following dance most incredibly it’s in wake, makes me giddy like life should be they dance to nature’s tune nothing organized no bands, no orders they frolic, cut-reel ascending and descending in magic swath Musicale 

He had a great sense of humour and I will always remember his raucous laughter. Whenever Doug told a story, one could understand it better by watching his face and hand movement. Yes, he was very eloquent, but in some ways, he was very Mediterranean, as his hand and face moved like an orchestra conductor. I think he would have found it really funny that he should pass away on April Fools’ Day. He had friends everywhere, and all the years he spent in Germany, he would always come back to Canada almost every year and sometimes twice a year. Heidi, Sylvie, and Julian would join him on many of these visits, and he would take them to all his friends and special places from his youth in Kamloops. 

Doug was the glue that held his family and friends together. After moving to Germany, he would send long letters to friends and family everywhere, and they had better respond in kind. In 1999, his family purchased a computer and joy of joy he discovered email. Since most of us had not taken typing in high school, it was quite laborious, but with the one finger hunt and peck method we managed to communicate, somewhat. 

Somehow over the years between him and his friend Tom, our little email grew, and as of his passing, at least 15 of us would email each other almost daily. I have over 7,000 emails from our little group, and until 2011 they are all from him. 

Doug was the ultimate people person, and he meant the world to all his friends. Above all else, Doug was a true family man. He loved Heidi, his children and grandchildren immensely. They had a wonderful life with him, and he could never stop talking about them. 

Doug, we all miss you and are incredibly sad about your passing, but your memories and good nature will stay with us until we are all gone. 

A celebration of life was held for Doug on April 24, 2026, in Germany. On August 7, 2026, his family and friends will gather in Kamloops for his Canadian celebration of life. 

The event will be held between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. at the Unifor Union Hall, 427 Lansdowne St., V2C 1Y2, Kamloops, B.C

• Date : 2026-04-01
• Location : Kamloops