January 4th, 1974 – July 19th, 2019

It is with great sorrow that the family of David Jonathan (Jon) Wandler wish to announce his sudden passing from complications of metastatic bladder cancer at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, BC.

Jon will be sadly missed by his loving wife of almost 18 years, Nathalie (nee Leger), his son Tristan (16) and his daughter Brooke (14), his mother Trudy King-Skynner (Peter) in Ontario, father David Wandler (Marjorie) in Nova Scotia, brother James (Jennifer) and nephews Robert and Thomas in Ontario, mother-in-law Francine Leger in New Brunswick, brothers-in-law Martin in NB and Luc in BC as well as many other aunts, uncles, cousins and close friends spread across the country.

Jon was born in Toronto, Ontario. He spent his childhood in Markham, Ontario where he played many high school sports including basketball and football. He spent many summers at his family’s beloved cottage on Koshlong Lake in the Haliburton Highlands. He became a camper and then a counselor at Camp Wanakita which is a YMCA camp located on their lake. He was thrilled that a few years ago his own kids had the chance to experience camp life the same way he did.

In 1996, Jon packed up his Isuzu Impulse and headed West. He visited many of his Wandler relatives in Saskatchewan and Alberta on his way to Kamloops where he landed a summer job at Chapters Viewpoint restaurant. He loved living in the mountains so he decided to enroll in the Bachelor of Tourism Management program at the University College of the Cariboo (now Thompson Rivers University). In 1997, he met the love of his life, Nathalie, while rowing on Shumway Lake and their incredible life together began. Four years to the day they met, they got married in Nathalie’s hometown in Shediac, NB. Shortly after that, they bought their first home in Sahali. Tristan was born in October 2002 and when Brooke arrived in August of 2004, their family was complete. Jon worked very hard to support his family, working long hours at Chapter’s Viewpoint, TRU and Costco before eventually starting his career, 13 years ago, as a real estate appraiser for BC Assessment, a job he truly enjoyed.

Jon was a very friendly, kind, warm, fun loving person as well as a devoted husband, father, son and friend. He was so proud of his children and was always present at their many sporting events, music recitals and school activities. He shared his love of the cottage with them during many fun family vacations in Ontario. He also insisted on the kids staying connected with the Wandler side of the family by making the long trek to Saskatchewan to attend the Wandler family reunions every few years.

Jon had many interests including home renovations, hunting, camping, cooking, traveling, and attending rock concerts. He developed many close friendships over the years while pursuing his interests. He loved and enjoyed making gourmet meals for his family. When he would sit down to eat one of those meals, he would look at his family and say “This would be a $40 dollar meal in any restaurant but we get to enjoy it from home”. He liked to keep busy and was always working on his next project, home renovation or repair. There wasn’t much he didn’t know how to do. He recently added a fantastic deck onto the back of our new downtown home so he could sit out and enjoy the sunsets over the mountains.

Jon was always our hero but he proved to be more than that since his horrific diagnosis 11 short months ago. He fought courageously, going through numerous rounds of chemo and immunotherapy in order to stay with us as long as possible. While receiving treatment, he insisted on continuing to live his life to the fullest so he kept doing his renovations, working out when he had the energy and spending time with his family and friends. He was thrilled to have been able to go to Maui with us in April when he was still feeling good. Some of our best family memories were made on that trip and they meant everything to him. Just one month ago, he made it back to his favourite place, his cottage in Ontario, where he spent a week with his mum, enjoying the sights and sounds of his special place. Just prior to his passing, he enjoyed one last family adventure in Whistler Village which included a trip up into the mountains he loved so much to ride the Peak to Peak gondola.

“Love you forever and always”

Jon’s family wishes to thank all the doctors, nurses and other health care professionals who were involved in his care over the last year including everyone who was present during Jon’s last few hours. The kindness and support we have received from family, friends, coworkers at BC Assessment and Royal Inland Hospital will never be forgotten.

As per Jon’s request, no formal service will be held. A celebration of life will be held in September. Details to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Jon’s memory may be made to the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation- Cancer Care or to the charity of your choice.

Condolences may be expressed at www.drakecremation.com

• Date : 2019-07-29
• Location : Kamloops, B.C.