June 10, 1924 – May 31, 2012
“Reluctantly returned imperfect”, is the epitaph Don selected. Known as “Grandpa Don” by many and “The Reverend” by his Dept of Fisheries team. Don lived a full life and was young at heart and sharp of mind when he passed away on May 31. He was cherished by many and will be sorely missed by his loving family; wife, Frances; sons, Stephen (Susan), Dean (Sherry), Craig (Catriona) and his beloved grandchildren, Lauren, Savannah, Duncan and Euan; his nephews and many cousins.
Born in Vancouver, Don grew up in Dunbar with his sister, Joan (d 2011), attended Lord Byng High, received his BSc in Agriculture (1948) from UBC, and made many connections at St Philip’s Anglican Church. Don met Frances at their friend’s wedding where he was the Best Man and she was the Maid of Honor. In 1950 they married and had 62 wonderful years together.
Don had a successful career, receiving many accolades. In 1952 he was appointed as a Dairy Inspector and later became a partner in a dairy enterprise. From 1966 to 1985, Don’s career moved to the Dept. of Fisheries, retiring in 1985 as Field Director Pacific Region.
Don and Frances moved to Sidney, BC in 1994 and built a home at Roberts Bay, calling it “Kildala” and fulfilling a dream to live where Frances had spent so many summers with family and friends.
Don loved to entertain, he was gregarious, a gentleman flirt, a true friend, an adventurous and accomplished cook, a man of great integrity, a prolific builder, a piano player, and a lover of poetry. Don faithfully maintained contact with a large network of friends via ‘The Christmas letter’, cards and birthday notes, many lunches with ‘the old boys’, coffee at McDonalds, dinners at his favorite eateries, and his wonderful friends that visited “Kildala”.
A Service to Celebrate Don’s Life will be held in MCCALL BROS. FLORAL CHAPEL, Johnson & Vancouver Streets at 2:00 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallbros.com.
As Don would sometimes quote
“I must go down to the seas again
to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way
where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn
from a laughing fellow rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream
when the long trick’s over.”
15 Responses
We were greatly saddened by Don’s passing and we extend our sincere sympathy to Frances and her family. Don will be sorely missed. It was both a priviledge and a pleasure to work for many years under Don’s leadership in the in the Vancouver Inspection Branch of Dept.of Fisheries and Oceans. He was well respected in the DFO and in the fisheries industry.
Sorry to learn that Don has passed away. I first met Don at a fisheries conference in Bergen Norway in the 1970`s
and we have remained in touch for over 30 years. We stayed with Don and Fran and the boys when we visited BC in 1976. We have the fondest memories of that visit.
Don was a real gentleman,an excelent host and and a true friend. We shall miss his Chritmas messages.
Our condolences to all the extended family.
My sincere condolences to the entire family with the passing of Don.
I have always considered Don a good friend and I know that he assisted many of his friends with investing their money.
He will be sorely missed by many..
I was very sorry to hear of Don’s passing. I have known him since I started with fisheries and Oceans in l974. In fact, I stayed in BC for several months training for my job as Chief of Quality Control in Ottawa. The major part of my training was with Don in Vancouver.
I certainly enjoyed knowing Don and am forever thankful to him for his assistance during my raining days and I enjoyed dealing with him on a multitude of matters that came up during my employment at Fisheries.
Although after my retirement I didn’t have that many contacts with Don, I shall miss him deeply as many others, both in the Department and the industry, will as well.
Once again, my deepest condolences on you loss.
Don was a kind man, full of integrity. He was instrumental in me securing a position within DFO when I was desiring to come back from Calgary and a job in the oil patch. Because of his determination to respond personally to correspondence sent to him, we made contact. He was one of the best when the department was a close knit community and he was one who gathered men and women to the fold. So sad to lose him.