On November 30, 2016 at the age of 87, David passed away peacefully surrounded by family. David was predeceased by his wife, Rosemary, and is survived by his wife, Brenda; daughter Susan Bodnar (John), grandchildren Emma, Hamish, Isabel; son Rob (Donna) and grandchildren Connor and Brooke. David will be fondly remembered by his brother, Alastair (Sandra); as well as by Brenda’s sons and their families, Grant (Diane), grandchildren Dayna and Chloe; Colin, grandchildren Graham, Holly and Nicholas; Mark (Alison), grandchildren Noel, Calvin and Annelise.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, David immigrated to Canada in 1952 after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. David began his professional life with the CPR in Montreal. In 1956, he moved to Vancouver, B.C. and became a partner with McDonald, Currie & Co., (a predecessor of Coopers & Lybrand and PricewaterhouseCoopers). From 1973 to his retirement, he was the managing partner. Prior to retirement in 1989, he served briefly as interim Superintendent of Brokers. In 2010, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of B.C.
David’s commitment to his professional life was equalled by his service to the community. He was passionate about health care and served as a commissioner on the BC Royal Commission on Health Care. He served on the boards of the BC Children’s Foundation and the BC Parkinson’s Institute. David was chair of the BC Cancer Foundation as well as a trustee of the Vancouver General Hospital. He also served on the board of TRIUMF, a nuclear research project jointly conducted by the University of
British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria and the University of Alberta. In addition, David chaired the finance committee for the University of Victoria’s board of Governors and served on the board of the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C. In 1993, David joined the board of Cominco and chaired the committee of directors recommending the merger of Cominco with Teck Corporation.
David’s dedication to his professional life and philanthropic interests was balanced by his love of gardening, fishing and, most of all, golf. He was a long time member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, the Capilano Golf Club, the Kapalua Golf Club and the Victoria Golf Club.
A celebration of David’s life will take place in the spring.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the BC Cancer Foundation would be appreciated.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
11 Responses
Dear Brenda and family, my condolences and heartfelt thoughts & prayers go out to you and your family. The Dean river fishing group that David started back in the late sixties is still going strong. Our group is forever in his debt. Know that our traditions and friendships that were made through that week on the Dean are all due to David. We all have so many fond memories of our golfing and fishing trips together.