KEW, Dr. John Edward Michael (Mike) in Vancouver, BC, November 22, 2020, with family present. Born 1932 in Quesnel, BC. Predeceased by sister Donna Marie, parents Sarah Beatrice (née Strand) and James Edward Kew, and his first wife Dellavina Francis (née Charles) of the Musqueam Nation. Survived by his wife Barbara Williamson, sons Nathan and James of Musqueam, sister Eileen Seale of Quesnel, and a large extended family. Mike taught Anthropology at the University of BC and was Acting Director of the Museum of Anthropology during Dr. Michael Ames’ sabbatical year 1991-2. His early career included community development work in Cumberland House and Saskatoon, research at indigenous nations including Musqueam, Nazko, Kluskus and others, and work for the BC Museum of in Victoria (since 1987 the Royal BC Museum). Following his retirement in 1998, Mike and Barbara lived on Gabriola Island, moving to Vancouver in 2013. Following a private family service at St. Thomas Anglican church in Vancouver and once we are free of Covid-19, further memorial gatherings will be announced. The family thanks management and staff at Braddan Private Hospital, Kearney Funeral Services in Vancouver, and the Memorial Society of BC with its related Canadian organizations. ln lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Broadbent Institute or to an advocacy organization of your choice.
We are on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nation.
Mike and I found helpful and interesting words to read when thinking about death in an essay that is published online at https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/BAS.pdf on Pages 565-569. It precedes the forms for funeral services in the Book of Alternative Services published by the Anglican Church of Canada in 1985. The essay is about beliefs and ceremonies for the dead used by humans in contemporary and ancient cultures. (note from Barbara added 21-02-19)