It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Alan Day at the age of 92 at home in Victoria, BC on 3 January 2017. Born in Victoria in 1924, Alan was a World War II veteran who served as a wireless operator (encrypted Morse code) on a Royal Canadian Navy corvette during the Battle of the Atlantic, and later as a Royal Canadian Navy Physical Training Instructor (RCN-PTI). After the war, he returned to Victoria where he met and in 1946, married Jean Anne Maggs of Vermilion, Alberta, who became the rock of his life. That year, he became one of the first members of the Saanich Fire Fighter’s Union and later, set up an upholstery business in Oak Bay. Alan signed up for military service again for a three-year stint as a Royal Canadian Air Force Physical Training Officer at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Quebec. The family then returned to Victoria, where he again found employment as a military fire fighter. Over the years, Alan rose through the ranks to become Base Fire Chief of DND Dockyard, Esquimalt until his retirement in 1989. Despite the loss of Jean in 2004, Alan continued to live a remarkably healthy and independent life in the family home.
Always physically active, Alan had been an occasional amateur boxer and wrestler, but his real enthusiasm was weight training, an activity he first began in 1941 at the age of 17, and quietly practiced in his basement gym over the next 75 years. Extraordinarily, at the age of 91, Alan gained national and international fame as an elite senior athlete after entering his first powerlifting competition at the 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation Championships in Calgary where on June 5, 2016 he set the federation’s national and world records for the bench press in the 90-Plus Age Category. Appearing to be in remarkable good health and even improving on his record-breaking lifts, Alan continued his weight training with his coach Gary Abbott until about a month after his 92nd birthday. Then, days before he was to enter another powerlifting competition, a minor breathing problem was revealed as the onset of a rapid and fatal form of cancer that took his life just 90 days later. True to form, however, Alan passed away while exercising in his home gym.
Alan will be profoundly missed and lovingly remembered by his children David (Roisin), Brian (Pippa), and Patrice; granddaughter Tarot; brother Marvyn (Judy); sisters-in-laws Mary Maggs, Viola (Nick) Kashhuba; brother-in-law Doug (Gay) Maggs and many nephew and nieces. He was predeceased by his maternal brother Donal (Donna) Chadderton.
There will be a celebration of Alan’s life by family, friends and colleagues in the summer.
A bench press award is to be created in Alan’s name by the Canadian 100% Raw Powerlifting Federation.
Condolences to the family may be left below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
13 Responses
I only met Alan a few times while attending High School and University in Victoria with Brian, but invariably thought to myself what a spirited and caring individual he was. We can all take many positives from the strength of character that Alan showed in living his life the way that he did,an attribute that lives on in his loving family.
Thinking of you now. Loosing a parent is a wrenching thing, the true end of our childhood. Love vicki gabereau
Our condolences to your family. As stated, Alan was an original member of the Saanich Fire Fighters Association, International Association of Fire Fighters’ Local 967. His signature is on our certification as an IAFF Local and we are forever thankful for, and proud of his work with the Saanich Fire Department.
We are grateful for Alan’s long history of service to our country and to our city.
Thank you Alan, and with sympathy,
Brian Catinus
Secretary
Saanich Fire Fighters Association
IAFF Local 967