"When my brother Lorne first told the world that our Dad had left us, he wrote:
WLB our loved and loving father passed away early this morning
We are very sad.
This picture is from a week ago when C&S went out for a visit.
He was very happy.
Whether you knew him as family or as friend
As a pilot, photographer or proud father
As musician, inventor, or regular at Tim Horton’s
Beyond the things that he achieved,
Remember how he made us feel.
We knew a man with a ready smile who made us feel at ease.
(That was especially nice when we kids introduced him to some strange dates over the years. He welcomed them all, because he always knew we’d find the right one.)
We knew a man who would listen to our tales and our troubles, from my earliest memories of sitting down with him saying, “Daddy have a chat?”
And we knew a man with a giant heart, who we looked up to when the going got tough and who cheered for us in our triumphs.
When my sister Karen once asked him, “what one piece of advice would you give me?” his first response was, “Be very kind to yourself.”
In a world where we’re often our own toughest critics, what a lovely gift that would be.
In closing, Dad’s love of music opened his life to many friendships and created a special bond among all of us. When my brother Dave heard the news about Dad, and raced from Victoria home to Calgary, he picked up his banjo on the way here, because he knew instinctively that we would want to honour Dad in song. I hope our musical selection – one of Dad’s favourites – will keep his spirit fresh in your heart. "
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