June 17, 1941 - March 24, 2023
In loving memory of~
It is with a profound sense of loss and grief that our beloved Tom passed away peacefully, on Friday, March 24, at the Cowichan District Hospital, after four years of increasing pain and ill health.
Tom was born in a little borough of Manchester, England. He came to Canada by boat, with his parents when 7 years old. He was brought up in the company seaside village of Bamberton on the Saanich Inlet.
On his first day of elementary school, in the little schoolhouse in Bamberton, his mother had clothed him in British tradition: short pants, white shirt, tie, cap, oxfords (shoes) and Knee socks. The other children couldn't believe what they saw so his first day was rather tough. The second day he was happily outfitted in Canadian clothes and has been a happy Canadian ever since, especially when he received his Citizenship certificate.
He wanted to be a pilot and joined the Canadian Air Force but as luck would have it, he got airsick so was asked to stay on as ground crew but decided to pursue another career and choose Accounting. He apprenticed with a Chartered Accountants firm and Ken Hill became Tom's mentor and friend for life. Tom had a successful practice of his own for many years until Ken asked Tom to rejoin his firm again. Tom did and we were able to take annual holidays and free from work weekends - well except for income tax time. Tom had the good qualities of a person of very good character. He had a great sense of humour and was fun to be with. He liked animals. He welcomed any hungry stray cat that insisted on taking over our home. He enjoyed curling, especially bonspielling, car rallies, watching sports and camping with family and friends or just being with his wife and kids.
Tom's good humor, politeness, respectfulness, and appreciation of the people who took care of him endeared him to so many people. His family will always hold him close to their hearts and never cease to love him and so will his dear friends that loved him too. He has now travelled to another realm. He was predeceased by his beloved son Derrick.
Those of us that will miss him so much are: his wife Bev, daughter Sonia (Paul), daughter-in-law Taryn, grandsons Bradley, Aaron, Sebastian, Fraser (Kayla), step-grandsons Nicholas (Amanda), Matthew, granddaughter Megan and step-granddaughter Melissa (Gordon), great-grandchildren Bentley, Chloe, Emily and Aria. His brother Phil (Linda), sister Sue (Dan), nephews Brian, Russell and Joel, nieces Sandy (Alan), Shelley (Graham), Andrea (Grant). Sisters-in-law Shirley (Gary) and Marlene (David).
We are so grateful to all the doctors that treated Tom so well, especially Dr. Ann Thompson who took such good care of his medical needs for 33 years until her retirement. Many thanks to Dr. Al-Kutbi, who replaced Dr. Thompson, for caring so much and worked so hard to give Tom everything that modern medicine could provide to give him the best of care. The staff at the Coleman clinic showed such kindness and patience. To the nursing and care staff at the Hamlets for their loving care and patience as Tom's health deteriorated. To Rick, thank you for your care and kindness to Tom. He really enjoyed your friendship. Thanks to the greeters at the Hamlets for the kindness they showed to Tom and his family, I consider them friends. Thanks to the kitchen staff who prepared meals for Tom that he could eat. On his last days in the hospital in the intensive care area, thank you to the nurses and LPNs who were incredibly kind and took such excellent care of Tom. Special thanks to the nurses who helped us so much over his last day.
As Tom would like, there will be an immediate family gathering at his burial service and the family is planning a Celebration of Life in the summer.