Patrick Joseph “Paddy” Brennan

With sadness we announce the passing of Paddy, who was born in Patrickswell, Limerick, Ireland, on April 15, 1923, and died in Victoria on July 23, 2009. He is survived by his wife Alice, daughter Kate and her husband William, daughter Jude and her husband Steve, son Pat and his wife Anne, and grandsons Adam and Evan. Paddy was an adventurer. On his nineteenth birthday he joined the British Army and was delighted to find himself in the Irish Guards, a regiment of which he was immensely proud. He was a tank man whose most memorable experience was participating in the liberation of Holland. After the war he served for two years with the Palestine Police, during which time he saw Israel become a nation. He then spent two years with the Malayan police, leading anti-terrorist patrols into the jungle. In 1951, Paddy and Alice married and moved to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), where he worked as a copper miner. In 1954 they emigrated to Canada, deciding it was the place to be. Paddy so enjoyed his 32 years of surveying BC that he never considered it work. He approached life with curiosity, always describing people and things as interesting.” His Irish charm made him friends wherever he went. His family is grateful for the exceptional care Paddy received from Dr. James Stockdill and his wife Debra Stockdill.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, July 30, at noon at Saint Patrick’s Church, 2060 Haultain Street, followed by a reception at Paddy’s beloved Uplands Golf Club, 3300 Cadboro Bay Road. In lieu of flowers, Paddy’s family would be grateful for donations to the Canadian Cancer Society or to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon.