April 26, 1920 – May 1, 2017

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Morris Burton “Burt” LeDuc on May 1, 2017, just five days after his 97th birthday.

Burt was born in 1920 to Catherine (Dunne) and Thomas James LeDuc, who was a Major in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War I. Burt’s parents were both from pioneering families in the Armstrong area where Burt, his older brother Thomas (Tom), and younger sister Lorraine were born. 

Burt’s paternal great grand-parents were Augustus and Catherine (O’Hare) Schubert who were Overlanders in 1862. Their daughter and Burt’s grandmother Rose was the first non-Indigenous child born in the B.C. interior. His mother’s family, the Dunnes, settled in the Larkin area where Burt’s mother Catherine was born in 1888. Prior to marrying Thomas, Catherine was a milliner.

Burt and his siblings grew up on the family homestead on Otter Lake Road. As a teenager, he logged with his father and brother Tom on Swanson Mountain and on their woodlot in the Irish Creek area. Burt liked to tell the story about how he accidentally shot his mother’s rooster and blamed its demise on a fox. (We doubt that Granny was fooled!)

During World War II, Burt enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed in interesting places like Nanton, Alberta and Holberg, Vancouver Island. He was an engineer who worked primarily on Mosquito and Catalina airplanes. Flying with gifted pilots and working on planes led to Burt’s lifelong loves of being aloft in an aircraft and tinkering with engines.

After the war, Burt went to Forest Ranger School in Vancouver and worked for the B.C. Forest Service for over 30 years, mainly in the Kamloops region. His forestry experience made Burt an excellent judge of Christmas trees. He also made many longtime friends. Most importantly, the Forest Service is where Burt met his future wife, Barbara Jackson, who he married in 1958.

Burt and Barb had four children: Catherine (Pat), Karen (Keith), Bud and Heather (Mario). The family was rounded out with a cat named Tootsie, and a collie-cross named Mr. Pup who Burt trained to flip cookies off his nose and catch in his mouth. 

Later, Burt was blessed with three granddaughters: Alicia (Dave), Jacqueline (Matt) and Robyn (Drew), as well as a great grandson, Greysen, born in 2016 (Jackie and Matt’s baby). Burt loved his wife and was proud of his children and grandchildren.

After retirement, Burt took up farming on the ancestral property until he was 83. Burt was also meticulous about his yard and mowed his own lawn (and his neighbours) up to age 95.

He will be remembered for his many stories; his loyalty to family, friends and neighbours; his sense of humour; and his affinity for animals, which he passed on to his children.

Burt’s family is grateful for the care and kindness that he received in his later years from health care workers at home and at Ponderosa Lodge, nurses and doctors at the Royal Inland Hospital, and the staff at Berwick on the Park.

Burt died of old age, peacefully in his sleep and with family at his bedside, in Kamloops. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Burt’s memory to the Variety Club (http://www.variety.bc.ca).

Friends and family are invited to an afternoon of remembrance for Burt on June 10, 2017 from 2 pm to 4 pm at the St. Peter’s Church hall in Monte Creek.

Arrangements under the direction of First Memorial Funeral Service, Kamloops, British Columbia.
 

• Date : 2017-05-01
• Location : Kamloops, B.C.