Born in Carlisle, England and passed away peacefully at the age of 85 in Victoria, BC. Survived by his loving family, wife Lorraine, son Dean (Jennie) and daughter, Ainsley (Damon).
Throughout his life, Keith was independent and adventurous. He immigrated to Canada in his early twenties, briefly returning to England to complete his Engineering education before heading to Vancouver and finally settling in Victoria in the 1970s.
Keith had a varied career as a Professional Mechanical Engineer with many years at BC Sugar Refinery, then in the marine field (including designing a sailing mast for a submarine), and finally in commercial and residential building design.
He was a longtime lover of the sea starting as a Sea Scout dinghy sailing in the North Sea. Determined to sail the sea but unable to afford the purchase of a suitable vessel, Keith built his beloved Ferro cement ketch, Sea Mouse, in his backyard. With Dean and Ainsley in tow, he cruised from BC to Mexico and to Hawaii and back. The offshore ocean sailing was followed by many years of local cruising in Sea Mouse and Flyte with Lorraine as his cook and navigator. With a zeal for sailing, swimming, fishing and scuba diving, he loved being on the water, in the water and under the water. In 1984, Keith joined the Royal Victoria Yacht Club (RVYC) and was honoured to serve a term as Commodore. There he enjoyed sailing adventures, camaraderie, shared a love of the sea and developed many lifelong friendships. As President of the BC Marine Parks Forever Society, he advocated for the creation of new marine parks.
Music brought him much pleasure as a listener and piano player. As a young adult, Keith played jazz piano in a small seaside town in England and later continued entertaining friends whether they wanted to listen or not. With great enthusiasm, he enjoyed acting and piano playing in the Royal Victoria Yacht Club’s pantomimes. Cycling, hiking, skiing, travel and love of animals (especially a certain cocker spaniel named Dustin) rounded out his passions.
Keith will be greatly missed by family and friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Keith’s memory to BC Marine Parks Forever Society.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
16 Responses
Look at you look at me
Like two birds up in a tree
Sharing friendship sharing time
Feeling happy feeling fine
Thanks Keith for all the great memories
Your pal Paul
Dear Lorraine,
Bruce and I are so sorry for your loss. Even though we didn’t see much of you and Keith, it was always fun when we did get together. Keith told some great stories and I will always remember him proudly showing off your backyard pond to us. He always had a smile and was a good man and good friend. We will miss him.
Always thinking of you. Big hugs. Take care.
Lots of Love,
George (Georgina) and Bruce Hunt.
I am so sad to have lost Keith – we’ve cruised together in California and Mexico, as well as many trips together from the San Juan Islands to the Broughtons and everywhere in between. And for several years we all skied together on Mt. Washington. We will miss his company, his wit, and his talented piano-playing. All our love and condolences, Lorraine and Dean and Ainsley.
Dearest Lorraine,
So many decades spent enjoying yours and Keith’s company have created a treasure trove of memories. One of the earliest was Keith pulling me aside to assure me that he was the right man for you and would take good care of you. He certainly excelled as your soulmate.
Felix and I were privileged to witness his varied engineering prowess. With enthusiasm and professionalism, he redesigned our pool’s very defective circulation system. Another time he spied our defunct brewing machine, rescued it from the scrap heap and by some engineering miracle resuscitated it. Then there is your wonderful backyard pond enjoyed by wild life and humans alike…nothing seemed too big or too small for his attention.
Keith not only loved the sea, but he was so willing to share this love with others, even to the extent of leaving a novice helmswoman to navigate his precious Sea Mouse through the BC ferry route while he went down to ensure his first mate was making his tea. To his credit, he did quickly emerge to take charge when the ferry’s horn sounded.
His competitive spirit will always be remembered whether it was watching him race his bike down the slippery snow-covered Myra Canyon Trestles (before the current safety rails were installed) or his creative spelling of words in order to land on the Triple score spot in Scrabble. Even with health issues he carried on.
His enthusiasm for photography, both as photographer and as the subject of photos has left us with many precious and often humorous visual memories. Seldom did he appear in a photo without a smile upon his face and a sparkle in his eyes.
Through the decades we have shared many walks, cycles, sails, conversations, meals accompanied by various fine spirits and after dinner piano concerts. Through we grieve for Keith’s passing our memories of times shared will forever keep Keith in our hearts.
Our deepest condolences
Margaret & Felix
So sorry to hear of Keith’s passing. My most sincere condolences to you and your family.
Dear Lorraine.
I was very saddened to hear of Keith’s passing. I have very many wonderful memories of the times we all spent together and will always remember that special twinkle in Keith’s eyes. He was a true gentleman. He will be missed