Mel was born in Windsor, NS and moved to Vancouver at age 7. He was educated at Lord Byng High school and went on to get a commerce degree at UBC. After graduation he had several jobs, finally settling at the BC Ministry of Health where he worked until retirement. Mel was very active his whole life and loved sports and the outdoors. He enjoyed racquet sports, lawn bowling, rugby, basketball, swimming, biking, and hiking. He was a devoted husband, son, and brother, and a proud father, grandfather and uncle. He will be missed by his loving wife Gillian, son Simon (Barb), daughter Trina (Steve), grandchildren Liam, Torin, Tiana and Owen, as well as several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Habitat Acquisition Trust for the purpose of protecting a 49 acre urban forest next to Mel’s previous home; where he loved to hike. www.mountainroadforest.ca.
A Funeral Service with immediate family only in attendance will be held in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens on Monday, January 25, 2021 at 10:00 am. All others are invited to attend virtually via Zoom by clicking the link below. Please use your video camera when joining so that family in attendance can see you and feel your support.
https://zoom.us/j/99126047924?pwd=TU5aSU9pWG9hL1ZPM08wR1p1UDZOdz09
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
34 Responses
Love and hugs to you Gill, and your family. I liked Mel for his quiet way, I didn’t know him all that well but I found him easy to talk to and a pleasure to bowl with.
Always hard to say goodbye to a loved one and I’m sure you have a lot of memories of tennis, trips and family to bring a smile.
Love Gail Medeiros
Gillian and family: So sorry to hear of Mel’s passing. In the short time together we have come to know you as integral members of Central Saanich Lawn Bowling. Already I had come to admire Mel`s dedication to perfection, his analytical mind and his concern for the welfare of the club: all qualities we will miss very much. We join you in your grief and hope you call on us at any time. Love, Pat and Ron Hlady
Dear Gill and family
We want to extend our sympathies to you on the passing of Mel. We really enjoyed his company and conversation during our Friday morning walks and the occasional social gatherings through the walking group over many years. His quiet demeanor and broad knowledge base always gave us a variety of interesting topics to discuss with him.
Mel was a great conversationalist. He showed interest in us by asking questions about our day to day lives. We will miss him and his gentle kind nature.
Peace to you all, Susanne & Bill
I was very sorry to hear that Mell had died. My husband (Roy Ralfs) worked with Mel and they very often played tennis. My sympathy to you Gill and family
So very sorry for your loss Gill. Thinking of you and your family during this difficult time.
Our thoughts are with you at this time. I connected with you after working and met you and Mel at Lakehill Lawn Bowling. I always found Mel to be helpful and patient as I was trying to learn the techniques and rules of Lawn Bowling.
So sorry to hear of your loss, Gill & really appreciate you letting us know. So many are being called home…I sense God is gathering His faithful. My Victoria roommate, Linda, passed Dec 08. It is 55 years ago that we 1st met. St. Joes Hospital had just lost a Miss Boyd who became Mrs Lightbody when a new Miss Boyd arrived from the prairies. You & Mel were so welcoming & hospitable. So amazing to be in touch all of these years over the miles.
Praying for your & your families comfort & peace.
Gill – Donna and I were saddened to read of Mel’s recent passing. Hoping you will be sustained by many good memories over the years – our thoughts are with you and your family.
Joan
Our thoughts and love are with all of you during this difficult time. They say grief is the price of love, and we know as a husband, father (in-law), grandfather and friend, he was well loved. May your memories bring you comfort always.
We met Mel through Gill about 14 years ago. Over these years, we have had many happy times together, with mutual friends, either in our garden, or theirs in the summer. Mel was a very pleasant friend, and we had many good conversations. I remember one about Mason Bees, which he was very interested in, as were we. Apparently when they moved to their existing house, the Mason Bees didn’t arrive, so we put up a Bee nesting house in our garden, and then once it was full, we gave it to him. We always had a good chat about gardens.
We will miss Mel, and feel blessed for having known him.
Our condolences go out to Gill, and the family.
Ann & Alan.