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Oct. 12, 1937 - Oct. 27, 2012

It is with great sadness and heartbreak that we announce Dale’s passing. He passed away peacefully with his family by his side after a hard and dignified fight with abdominal cancer.

He leaves behind to mourn him Carol, his wife of 48 years; sons: David and Glenn; daughter-in-law, Stephanie; and two grandchildren: Elias and Baiya; sister, Janet (Larry) Brown; nieces and nephews: Sheryl, Laurie, Eileen, Barry, Christina; and their children, sister-in-law/brother-in-law Linda and Tony Shapkin; nieces: Leanna and Cathy and their children, brother-in-law/sister-in-law Jack and Janet Serne, nephew and niece James and Julia. He was predeceased by his father Gordon in 1963 and his mother Bernice in 2007.

Dale was born in Castor, Alberta and lived for a while in Gadsby, Alberta. During the War, the family also lived in Edmonton, Gadsby, Red Deer, then settled in Calgary. At age 16 while in Red Deer, he joined the Royal Canadian Navy, Submarine Corps and served for seven years, travelling the world. He met Carol, the love of his life, in Calgary and they were married in 1964. Dale was a steamfitter by trade and travelled around Canada with his work, Carol joining in some of his travels. They made a good life in Calgary, had two children then decided to get out of the big city by moving to Chilliwack in 1990. They fell in love with and settled in the Chilliwack River Valley. They enjoyed gardening and day-tripping around the Lower Mainland and just below the border discovering all the little back roads and the beautiful scenery.

Dale was a real handyman/builder, could fix anything and was a super renovator, redoing his whole house. He was always helping and trading with the neighbours. He worked at the military base for a number of years and made many friends in Chilliwack. He enjoyed his large greenhouse full of tomatoes and equally large garden where he grew great garlic. He worked for and loved his family most of all.Through the pain and the sickness, Dale never lost his sense of humour. He will be sorely missed by all.

Many thanks to Dr. John chow, the doctors and nurses in Emergency who were always there for him, the lovely and caring nurses in Ambulatory Care (IV Room), the wonderful Palliative Care team, Kim particularly and the thoughtful considerate care in Hospice. All worked hard to make Dale comfortable in his final days.

A Celebration of his life will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 17, 2012 at the Coast Hotel in the Fraser Room.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Chilliwack Hospice Society or the BC Land Conservancy.



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