1916 – 2018

Sunday afternoon January 14, Dad passed away peacefully at 101 years old. He joins his wife and constant companion of 69 years, Patricia, who passed away in 2016.

He is also predeceased by siblings Harold (Gladys), Carl (Annie), Alma (Les) Moss and Ida (Jack) Helmerson, as well as by his great-grandson Dylan Richard LeBlond.

To cherish his memory, Dad leaves behind siblings Alice (Gary) Lamb and Grace (Homer) Stevens. He also leaves his children, Rosamund (Barrie) LeBlond, Russell (Louise), Michael (Carol), Edwin (Pamela) and Caroline (Michael). He is also survived by eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews with extended families.

Dad was was the eldest of seven children born to Finnish/Norwegian homesteading parents in Eastend, Saskatchewan. After the ‘Great Depression’ the family resettled in Webster’s Corners, British Columbia where Dad worked on the coast as a logger and a miner.

When WW2 broke out, Dad volunteered for the Artillery Division of the Canadian Armed Forces, assigned at first as a trainer and later deployed to first Britain and then Belgium. It was in England that he met our Mum, Patricia May Ramsdale. He returned to Canada after the war but soon went back to marry her in 1948, brought her to British Columbia, and they spent the next 69 years together.

Dad took on a new life as a gillnet fisher on the Fraser River out of Albion. He bought his own boat “The Chinook”. Summers he would head up the coastal inlets after good fishing and was away from his family for long stretches.

In 1962 Dad took a position as a Federal Fisheries Conservation Officer in Bella Coola. He patrolled both the Douglas Channel and the many salmon spawning rivers and streams. In 1965 Dad transferred to Kamloops where he protected an area from Blue River to Okanagan Falls. He remained in Kamloops the rest of his life.

Dad was an avid outdoorsman and environmentalist, and loved to fish the many lakes around Kamloops and every fall he would go on an extended hunting trip with his brothers and sisters. He was a long-time member of the Thompson Valley Rock Club, and he and Mum made many friends and made many excursions to various sites exploring the scenic backcountry of British Columbia.

Dad enjoyed a challenging game of cribbage or chess or scrabble, and seldom lost. When he couldn’t find an opponent, he liked to challenge himself to solve all kinds of the most difficult puzzles. He had a keen analytical mind.

Dad celebrated his 100th birthday in 2016 with a large gathering of his extended family and friends. Over 100 people from far and wide attended to help him celebrate this impressive milestone.

Our family would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Sara from Interior Health, Kathy (both a housekeeper and a friend), the nurses and staff of 6N Royal Inland Hospital, the nurses and staff of Pinegrove Care Centre, and Dad’s personal physician, Dr. Kraig Montalbetti.

We will miss you Dad. You were honest, hard-working and taught us fair play and responsibility. You were a man of principle, although you didn’t get to 101 without being more than a little stubborn.

A service will be announced later this year when all of Dad’s immediate family will be able to attend.

Condolences may be expressed at www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com

• Date : 2018-01-14
• Location : Kamloops, B.C.