Dave passed away on Friday March 21, 2025 surrounded by family at the Lady Minto Hospital on Salt Spring Island.
We have lost one of the good guys. Dave said that he wasn’t afraid of dying but hated to leave. Dave chose his time which was a gift to all of us.
David Earl Blizzard was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia. When he was three years old his family moved to Montreal and then, eventually to Greenfield Park, Quebec.
He was predeceased by his father Ronald Blizzard, mother Eva (Gates) Blizzard, brothers Ronald, Allan and Carl, and sister-in-law, Helene Thifault.
Dave is survived by his wife of fifty years Carolyn (Walker) Blizzard, daughter Emily, son Andrew, {wife Brieanna and his adored best buddies, grandsons Sebastian and Rowan} and son, Ian. He is survived by his sister Carolyn Blizzard DeYoung, her husband, Allan and nieces and nephews, Laura (Chad), Adam (Susie), Allison (Sean) and Nick (Joelle) plus all of his wonderful great nieces and nephews. Dave is also survived by his brother, Ken Blizzard (Helene), his mother-in-law, Sylvia Walker (Tom), brother-in-law, Robert Walker (Rose), niece Sarah Kooijman (Maarten) and their lovely children, Astrid, Beatrix and Finnick. Family was everything to Dave.
Dave and Carolyn left Greenfield Park in 1975 and moved to Kitimat, British Columbia where Dave worked for Alcan until 1979. Dave then worked for Chevron in Calgary and Kuwait for thirty years. He and Carolyn built their retirement home on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia after falling in love with the island during a visit.
Dave made friends wherever he went and loved nothing better than sitting on his deck sharing food, drink and stories with them. Having always played baseball or racquet sports, when he moved to Salt Spring he joined the local tennis club. The rumour is that at the net Dave played a version of both sports. Even through chemo and radiation, he managed to play a modified version of tennis once or twice a week thanks to his tennis buddies.
Dave loved board games and that is a bit of an understatement. At one point he owned around 5,000 of them. He loved introducing people to games and teaching them how to play. For many years he was involved with a Calgary board game convention called FallCon and had gaming friends around the world.
Dave’s battle with prostate cancer started in April 2018. He researched treatments and medications often surprising his doctors with his knowledge of cutting edge treatments. Throughout this fight he was optimistic and willing to try any treatment even though we knew there would be no cure. He would want me to tell anyone with a prostate to get a baseline PSA test and a digital exam.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to his doctors, Dr. Atwell, Dr. Pai, his primary care physician, Dr. Applewhaite, to our friends Dave and Marnie for always being there for us with an offer of help and Dave’s tennis friends who checked in on him and boosted his spirits. To doctor Holly Slakov who was with us at the end, thank you so much for your support, compassion and serenity.
There is no memorial planned at this time. Donations to Canadian Cancer Society are always appreciated.
My sincere condolences to the family. I was fortunate to work with Dave at Chevron in Calgary and truly appreciated his friendship and guidance.
May he rest in peace.
Deepest condolences to you and your family for your loss. Dave was a gaming legend in Calgary. He will be missed. God bless.
Dave was a terrific person and someone whom I truly enjoyed working with at Chevron. Not only a leader at work, but also our best home run hitter on our baseball team. I always remembered when he came to work one morning, said he had purchased a new vehicle and the next day he and his family drove non-stop to Quebec to surprise his family for Christmas.
Special thoughts and prayers to Dave’s family.
On behalf of the Chevron Retirees Association we wish to express our condolences on the passing of member Dave Blizzard.
Sincerely,
John Abramchuk, Past President
Chevron Retirees Association