David Hugh Morse

October 24, 1984 - October 10, 2023

It is with incredible sadness that I announce the passing of a most beloved son, nephew, cousin and friend who came into the world with his fists up - left in the same way and became an incredible person in between.

David was born in Maple Ridge Hospital on October 24, 1984. He graduated from MRSS in 2002 and went on to obtain his Occupational Safety Officer certificate at BCIT, a Level 1 First Aid, a Class 1 Driver's Licence and any number of the "tickets" he needed to work in Environmental Services. He was a multi-talented guy, that David - someone who could find a fix for almost anything.

He was a kid who could always master new things quickly. First-time roller blades in the morning - circles on the pavement by afternoon. A fish in the water from the very start, baseball, bowling, you name it, he did it.

Growing up, hockey was his first real sports love and he returned to hockey for a time as an adult and loved that too (although the loss of two front teeth would have made his Grandad cringe). But once he discovered snowboarding and that was it. Time spent on the mountain became his greatest joy. And like anything else he tried, he became quite good at it.

Of course, in his words: "only being QUITE good means I'll be forced to go snowboarding a LOT - not my fault!". Always a quick comeback - such a great sense of humour!

David was in Merrymakers (of course he was) and he also did a lot of voice-over acting in cartoons while in elementary school. He was Pepito on Madeline and, had the cartoon not gone on hiatus for two years (just enough time for his voice to change!), that would certainly have continued but he did do a number of seasonal cartoon specials and, no surprise, he was good at that too.

As an adult, he was a very proud member of The Legion #88 and remained a member in good standing. His very favourite volunteer activity was working at the Maple Ridge Fair from the time he was very young right through to adulthood, he loved working there. Animals and kids genuinely loved him on sight - what a gift that was! All in all, he had a lot to be proud of and his life in pictures would be a pretty amazing collage.

Was his life all sunshine and light? Hardly. A person with that much imagination could always find a way to push the boundaries. But that charming, intelligent and very funny guy? He was always there. Even when, three years ago, a violent allergic reaction to an antibiotic left David with a debilitating condition that was extremely rare and beyond difficult to manage - life threatening on a daily basis.

So typical that, as with every other challenge in his life (falling off his bike would elicit a "I meant to do that" from a four-year-old), he used his incredible humour daily to make his way through all that he was dealing with.

Far too young to lose the chance of an active life again and way too young to be gone. We just know he is now off doing all those things he loved and more - happy, healthy and in charge of things - taking with him an endless amount of love. But he is already missed by his Mom, his family and his friends.

Celebration of Life will be held at Garden Hill Funeral Home Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 2 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the SJS Foundation. https://www.sjscanada.org/donations