Thomas George Heppell, B.Ed., M.Ed., died on January 13, 2011 at home in Victoria with his family by his side. He was a native Victorian, born on January 6, 1931. Predeceased by his brother, Mike (Mary) and sister, Mary (Clarence) Tayler; Tom is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, Lois; children, Janice (Klaus) Vogel, Robin (Cindy Miklic), & Patrice (Fred) Patterson; grandchildren, Lorenz, Victoria, Haleigh, Troy & Faith; and many relatives in Victoria, Ontario, and England. He will also be missed by his many close friends and former students.
Tom was a teacher in Greater Victoria for 25 years and continued to teach (and learn) even up to his final days.
His favourite hobbies included fishing, telling stories, socializing with old and new friends, reading history books, working in his garden, and traveling – although Victoria was his paradise. Tom will be especially remembered for his love of his dogs, but above all – for his love of his family.
Visitation
Family and friends may pay their respects at McCall Bros. Floral Chapel, Monday, January 24, 2011 from 7 to 8 pm.
Funeral Service
Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 11:00 am at McCall Bros. Floral Chapel, Johnson and Vancouver Streets. Interment at Royal Oak Burial Park.
Donations
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tom’s name to the Greater Victoria Retired Teachers, Scholarship Foundation, ℅ Brian Tetlow, 81 High Street, Victoria, BC V8Z 5C8.
Condolences for the family may be offered at
www.McCallBros.com
Victoria, BC
Audio Recording of Funeral Service
Audio Recording of Tom Heppell’s Funeral Service – MP3
Tom Heppell Video Tribute
Tom Heppell Video Tribute – MP4
Memorial Folder for Tom Heppell
Click on the image to download Folder.
82 Responses
Dear Lois, Janice, Patrice, Rob and family,
I shall always remember the time we spent at Victoria celebrating Janice’s and Klaus’ wedding with Tom accompanying us during the stay. Whenever we had the opportunity to talk he reminded me of how silly I looked as a disguised Chinese… It is in those shared moments that he will live on in our memories.
Nos sincères condoléances
Thomas, Halima & Sammy
Dear Janice, Klaus and Family,
I was so sad to hear of your Father’s passing, Janice, and my most sincere condolences. Although I met your Father only on a few occasions and those were many years ago, my memories of him are fresh and they are of a kind, warm, decent man who raised a wonderful family and treated excitable teenagers as adults and listened to what we said (and trusted us not to do too much damage to his house!). He was a man that made you want to leave a good impression.
Words are so insufficient and please forgive the informality of an e-mail, but my thoughts are with you all and I will celebrate Thomas’ long and happy life and the mark that he has left on those that he touched.
Sincerely yours,
Mark
Dear Lois, Janice, Rob, Patrice & family,
Thank-you for sharing with us the lovingly written letter and obituary. It comforts the heart to know that Tom had a very good life …and a fabulous and wonderful family. His joy for life and education was very evident in the wonderful conversations that we had the pleasure to share with him. His enthusiasm and love of life will be greatly missed by all who were fortunate to know him. Tom was a very generous man and shared much of himself and his passion for storytelling and education.
Madison and I will always cherish our memories of the Christmas dinners that we were so kindly invited to share with your family when we had no family nearby …and those wonderful Christmas-card place-mats! Tom and all of you made us feel like a part of your family.
We will all miss him dearly,
Rebecca, Andreas and Madison
Liebe Janice,
wir möchten Dir und Deiner Familie unser tiefes Mitgefühl zum Tod Deines Vaters ausdrücken. Die Eltern sind ja die Personen, die wir am längsten kennen, und sie gehören zu dem kleinen Kreis, mit dem wir am vertrautesten sind. Solch ein Verlust wiegt schwer. Es ist unser Gebet, dass Ihr alle Kraft und allen Trost erhaltet, die Ihr brauchen werdet.
In Gedanken sind wir bei Dir und Deiner Familie.
In verwandtschaftlicher Verbundenheit mit herzlichen Grüßen
Karl-Theo & Gudrun
Dear Lois, Janice, Rob, Patrice & family,
I sincerely thank you for sending me a message. I have just returned to my duty station in Samoa from my home leave in Tokyo and looked at the message. I am so sorry and sad to hear about Tom’s passing away. I still remember him (with his boat) during my days in Victoria. I pray for the repose of Tom’s soul.
Sincerely,
Masa Izumi
Dear Lois and family,
What a sad time this is for you.
Tom was an important part of our “Uplands family” . He always loved to share what was going on with his family and he was interested in what was going on in ours.
He truly valued his friendships and was so pleased to meet up with acquaintances.
Our thoughts are with you.
Bernie and Roné Sinclair
Dear Lois, Patrice and Family
Bob and I extend our deepest sympathy at this sad time.
We will always remember Tom for his love and kindness to us and taking us to many a Robert Burn’s Party. We have been blessed to have known Tom
Love Fiona and Bob
I am sorry I will not be able to come to the service on the 25th
Liebe Janice,
zum Tod Deines Vaters sprechen wir Dir und Deiner Familie unser tiefempfundenes Beleid aus. Wir begleiten Euch in dieser Zeit der Trauer mit unseren Gedanken und Gebete. Möge Gott Euch viel Kraft und Trost spenden, aber auch Freude in Erinnerung an den vielen schönen Stunden, die Ihr mit Eurem Vater erleben durftet.
Herzlichst
Clara, Christoph, Alexander, Mariví und Johannes
Dear Janice and Klaus, Dear Lois and family,
it is difficult to accept the finiteness of life having lost a wonderful father, husband, family member. You are in all our thoughts during this difficult time.
It is good to know that all your family is caring for each other.
With our deepest sympathy.
Erhard, Ann-Kristin, Jan-Hendrik, Lukas, Benedikt, Justus and Magdalena
We just wanted to convey our sympathies to you, Rob, Paul and families.