Don passed away peacefully on April 23, 2024, at the age of 90. The son of Gladys and Roy, he was predeceased by his sister Sonja (Douglas). Don is survived by his family who adored him: his wife of 56 years, Helen; daughters Jane (Allen) and Catherine (Jeff); and granddaughters Ava, Sara, Alexa, and Claire.
Don was born in Vancouver but much of his youth was spent on the Coast of British Columbia (Ramsay Arm/Squirrel Cove/Stuart Island/Sonora Island) where he preferred exploring the wild outdoors to the tedious instruction inside the classroom. He returned to Vancouver in 1950 to complete his Grade 12 year and soon thereafter began his pursuit of higher – and what was hoped to be more engaging – education. He obtained his BA (English and History) from the University of British Columbia in 1955 and followed that with his completion of a teacher training program.
In 1956, Don began his 42-year teaching career in Mission City at Mission Secondary School. In 1959, he travelled to the UK as part of a Teacher Exchange Program and taught for a year at Gosport County Grammar School. Upon his return to British Columbia, he taught at Columbia College and in the school districts of Courtney, Mission, North Vancouver, Langley, and Vancouver. He staunchly advocated for teachers’ rights and best interests both in and out of his role as a staff representative to and AGM delegate for the Teacher’s Union. A beloved master English teacher and admired colleague, he was forced to retire, under the School Board’s mandatory retirement policy of the time, which he did from Vancouver’s University Hill Secondary School in 1999.
Don’s love of learning and teaching, along with his strong desire to make learning meaningful for his students, continued throughout the rest of his life. In his retirement, he tutored high school and university students until he was well into his eighties. The COVID pandemic restricted his lessons to his backyard and to close family only. His granddaughters Ava and Sara reaped the rewards of those “restrictions”. Don never stopped teaching. Anything he wrote – from poetry to essays to handwritten personalized notes – was a master class in technique and etiquette. He was, quite simply, brilliant.
In addition to teaching, Don, a longtime member of the Arbutus Club, enjoyed his tennis with close friends. He loved doing crossword puzzles, playing cribbage, and travelling to his cherished Maui. But, above all, he loved spending time with family and, especially, being a papa to his granddaughters. He was a gentleman, respectful, thoughtful, and devoted. He undoubtedly enriched the lives of all who knew him and will be deeply missed.
In Don’s memory, please share with someone something that he taught you so that his legacy of teaching and learning will live on.