Wayne was born in Regina, Saskatchewan to Delia Strandlund (nee Jordens) and was later adopted by Bert Strandlund. He spent his young formative years on the family farm in Broadview, Saskatchewan until August of 1962 when Bert and Delia packed up a station wagon with 7 kids, an uncle and the family dog and drove to Victoria, BC. Wayne resided in Victoria ever since.
Wayne’s pride and joy were his children, Jason (Hannah and Ty), Hali (Darren, children Cole and Nicholas) and Rafer (Vicky, children Chelsea (Katie), Jasmine and the newest addition great grandson Fletcher) who all worked together at the family company. Fisgard is a true family enterprise that he was extremely proud of.
Wayne was fortunate to have known many people but there were a few who wrapped their arms around him throughout various stages of his life. Terry Orr, Bob Herr, Lawrence and Diana Russel, the Paniz family (Umberto, Dawn and children Allissa, Jessica, Arianna and Kiarra), Tania Miller, Stephanie Ustina, Elena Markos and Lorraine Strandlund.
Wayne’s large family included five brothers and two sisters. Alvin (Lorri), Terry (Teresa), Darlene, Randy (Lori), Paddy (Sue), Trevor (Kim), and Gail, along with numerous beloved uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces.
Wayne was an entrepreneur at heart and a deep thinker with many interests. He was passionate about music, writing, mathematics, education, hockey, football (a proud coach of the BC Champion Victoria Hornets in the early 80s) and gardening. He loved cats (especially Moosh Moosh) and a good ol’ toasted bologna and cheese sandwich. While he enjoyed the simple things in life, he was complicated, emotional and always ready for a good debate or fight if warranted.
Not one to sit on the sidelines Wayne served as President and/or Director of numerous associations including the Victoria Real Estate Board, British Columbia Real Estate Board, Real Estate Council Of BC, the BC Notary Society and served as Chancellor of Royal Roads University, a position he was extremely proud of. His dedication also flowed to the arts and local community enthusiastically supporting the Victoria Symphony and many other related organizations.
Wayne was quietly proud of his Metis heritage. His great Aunt Marguerite Belhumeur was wife to Louis Riel, founding father of Manitoba and from Paris his 13th great grandfather, Louis Hebert, was the first apothecary of Canada and settler of Quebec. A very interesting family history.
There is so much more to share about this icon of a man and words can not describe how much he brought to our lives and how much he will be missed. His legacy will continue!
Please join us at 2:30 pm on Thursday, April 27, 2023, in the Sequoia Centre, at McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive, to celebrate the life of this incredible man.
Should you wish to honour Wayne’s legacy, donations can be made to the Wayne Strandlund Award for Indigenous and Metis Students at Royal Roads University or the Victoria Symphony Society.
https://www.royalroads.ca/wayne-strandlund-award-indigenous-students-0
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
59 Responses
My sincere condolences to the entire Strandlund family, the staff at Fisgard, and Wayne’s many friends and acquaintances who are feeling the loss.
Our heartfelt condolences go out to Hali and the Strandlund family.
On behalf of the VWR Capital Corp. family, we send our condolences to Wayne’s family.
Wayne was a committed community contributor and a devoted family man. He will be greatly missed by all those that knew him.
With our deepest sympathies,
Everyone at VWR Capital Corp.
My deepest condolences Hali to you and your family.
My condolences to the Strandlund family. I first met Wayne at UVic. He was passionate about mathematics and retained that passion throughout his life. We maintained a connection long after he left UVic. I was so proud of Wayne when he was appointed Chancellor of Royal Roads University. He was a kind and generous man. I was the fortunate recipient of a rosary from Wayne which I will treasure forever. Rest in peace my friend.
My loving condolences to the Strandlund family. Wayne was such a loving cousin to so many of us.
I am so thankful to Wayne for the gift of a beautiful Glory Beads rosary a few months ago….it feels all the more precious to me now!
Love you Wayne xo
Hali, I know how much you loved your dad. Sending you and your entire family all my love. You’re in my thoughts and prayers at this time. ❤️
Wayne and I crossed paths many times in our careers in financing, real estate and me as a notary public. I got to know him best during our time on the Real Estate Council of BC where his exceptional listening skills often resulted in perspectives that might have been missed in normal debate. I was fortunate to be on the receiving end of his mentorship and this enriched my experiences in my career and life itself. I am retired now but I suspect that Wayne never did hang up the shield. He was so very proud of his family and the business he built. I’ll forever be grateful for the time I shared with him along the way.
My sincere condolences to the Strandlund family on the loss of Wayne in your lives.
My heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the entire Strandlund family, especially Hali, Jason, Rafer, Trevor, Randy and Paddy. Wayne’s accomplishment as a father, son, brother, coach, friend, mentor and business leader/entrepreneur and philanthropist will always be underrated. He was far more influential and impactful than he even realized – he inadvertently taught this immigrant kid the power of listening at the age of 18 and I’ll never forget how encouraging he was when this lightweight tried out for the Hornets… RIP Eternal Coach Strandlund.
Brings me great sadness and a heavy heart to hear of Wayne’s passing.
Wayne was such an inspiration, kind and extremely knowledgable.
I enjoyed listening to him and working with him. He was truly a mentor.
Not all people that come into one’s life make such an impact. Wayne just had that knack of making all people feel good about themselves. Wayne listened to people and he would look at things with a different perspective. Give solid and sound advice.
Truly an inspiring man