COCKBURN, JOHN (JACK)

Passed away peacefully in Lady Minto Hospital on May 27th, 2013. Born and raised in Ontario Jack moved to Salt Spring to be with his daughter in 2011. Predeceased by his wife Norma, grandson John Fidler, and sister Jean Smith; much loved by his daughter Dianne Fidler, granddaughter Lianne Fidler, and great-grandchildren Tara and Aidan Holmes.

Dr. Karen Marguerite Berg

July 5, 1958 to May 20, 2013

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Dr. Karen Marguerite Berg on Monday, May 20 on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia at the age of 54 years.

Karen will be dearly missed by her three cherished children: daughter Anora, sons Aren and Sam; sister Merrill Berg (Mark Doerksen) of Winnipeg MB.; brother Dr. Greg Berg (Krisha) and their children; Alexei, Adam, and Andrew of Sault Ste. Marie ON.; many extended family members, friends, patients, and professional colleagues.

Karen was born to Marguerite (Ramona) Campbell and Louis Alexander (Alex) Berg in Winnipeg, Manitoba on July 5, 1958. She was predeceased by her mother in 1993 and father in 2013.

Karen grew up in Transcona, a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She excelled academically and in many activities. She was an active girl who enjoyed being outdoors and participating in Brownies and Girl Guides. She loved music and took years of lessons in piano, dance, ballet as well as swimming. She worked in the Community Summer Education outdoor programs and for Via Rail. She was an adventurous teenager who participated in the Outward Bound Program and travelled by bike on the TransCanada highway to Ontario and to BC. She loved travelling and ventured across Canada and many countries including Scotland, Thailand, and New Zealand. She was a strong endurance athlete, running in half and full marathons, hiking mountains, participating in yoga and triathlons. She recently achieved her Brown Belt in Karate.

She enjoyed spending her summers visiting her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Quibell, Ontario, swimming in Blue Lake, canoeing at Edward Lake, and walking through fields of daisies, tiger lilies and forest groves (together with the mosquitoes and black flies) down to the falls.

At the age of 8 she knew she wanted to be a Doctor and achieved that dream, earning her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Manitoba in 1982. She completed Postgraduate programs in Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Science (1983) and Anesthesia (1984). She initially worked in many communities in Manitoba and Ontario.

At the age of 12, Karen knew she wanted to live in British Columbia and achieved that dream in 1989. She moved at first to Vancouver and then to Salt Spring Island in 1990 where she set up a Family Practice, which spanned 23 years. She also served in the Northwest Territories for short periods each year helping the northern communities. Over the course of her career she completed numerous professional courses and constantly continued to learn.

Karen loved life and lived it to the fullest.

She loved the world around her; taking walks on forest trails with her dogs, kids and numerous friends; having a snuggle with her cat; and hiking Mount Erskine to see the fairy doors. She took great delight in the fragrance of a spring rain in the forest and the beauty of flowers and trees. One of her greatest joys was having family and friends over to share a meal, a round of board games such as scrabble, and good times together.

Karen contributed to the wellbeing of the community, sharing the sadness, challenges, joys and triumphs of her patients. She celebrated the births of babies with many mothers. She cared deeply for the people in her life: family, friends, patients, colleagues. She was truly compassionate, generous, and joyful.

You are forever in our hearts dear Karen.

We love you. Rest in Peace.

Cremation has taken place. Celebration of Life will be held on Salt Spring Island in June, date and location to be determined. A Memorial service will be held in Winnipeg at a later date.

Eleanor Katherine Noakes

(nee Benard)

August 10, 1920 – May 19, 2013

It is with great sadness to announce Eleanor’s passing. She leaves her daughter Susan and joins her husband John. Eleanor was a loving and supportive mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and community member.  Born in Verdun, Quebec, moved to Vancouver in 1955 and to Salt Spring Island in 1979. Eleanor was beautiful in every sense of the word through her love, gentleness, kindness, humility, strength and her wonderful sense of humour – even in life’s most challenging moments. You will be in our hearts always. You are in God’s hands.  Love you mom.

Elizabeth Agnes Emily Bongie

28 September 1930 – 18 May 2013

Elizabeth (‘Bettye’) passed away at the age of 82 in Lady Minto Hospital on Salt Spring Island. She is survived by Larry, her husband of 54 years, her son Chris (Ishita), her brother William (Joan), and many cherished nieces, nephews, and cousins. Born in Victoria, the daughter of William and Alice Bryson, Bettye did her undergraduate studies at Vic College and UBC, winning upon graduation in 1951 the coveted Governor General’s Gold Medal. In the following years, she pursued doctoral studies at the University of Illinois and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, receiving her PhD in Classics in 1956. On her return to British Columbia, she was appointed the first woman tenure-track member of the Department of Classics at UBC where she taught until her retirement in 1992. The award of a Master Teaching prize was but one sign of the high esteem in which she was held by students and colleagues alike. In addition to her contributions to the teaching of Greek and Latin language, literature, and mythology, Bettye was a pioneering contributor to both the Medieval and the Women’s Studies programmes on campus. Over the course of her career, her scholarly and teaching interests ranged widely, from an early concentration on Greek paleography to an evolving focus on the spiritual lives of women in antiquity, well evidenced in her translation of the Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Syncletica. Widely travelled, most notably in her retirement years, she and Larry eventually moved from Vancouver to Salt Spring, where she had spent many happy summers as a child. Gardening, reading, and embroidery filled her days and even in the midst of increasing health difficulties she held true to the words of Julian of Norwich, one of her favourite medieval woman mystics: “All Shall Be Well, And All Shall Be Well, And All Manner Of Thing Shall Be Well.”

The family wishes to thank Dr. James Franklin White, the Home & Community Care nurses of Salt Spring, and the nursing staff at Lady Minto Hospital for their unstinting care and assistance. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation or to a charity of choice are welcomed. A private memorial will be scheduled at a later date.

RUMSEY, Arthur George

April 25, 1921 – May 11, 2013

Art passed away peacefully, on Saturday, May 11, 2013 with family by his side.

Survived by wife Lou, daughters Sue (Don) Michiel, Judy (Joe) Battista, Pam (Paul) Hinton, and Debbie (Wayne) Derksen as well as grandchildren Jason (Christie), Spencer (Dawn), Mike (Suzanne), Donato (Angela), Andrew (Chelsey), Simon, Jeremy (Michelle), Sabrina (Dan), and Caroline (Steve) and great grandchildren Nate, Jack, Aria, Morgan and Maxwell.

He was predeceased by parents Lionel and Violet, brothers Jack and Roy, and daughter Wendy.

Art served as a member of the Canadian Militia during World War II in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. It was during that time that he met and married his wife of more than 65 years, Lou.

Art worked with BC Telephone Company in Vancouver for many years and then was transferred to Salt Spring Island in 1970. It was a dream come true for he and Lou, and they enjoyed many happy years together there. Dad especially loved his garden, stained glass projects, woodworking, and his art classes.

People who knew him remember him as kind, gentle, reliable, extremely honest (sometimes more than necessary!), and always loyal. His cheerfulness and “unique” sense of humour will never be forgotten.

The family would like to thank the very kind and caring staff at West Vancouver Care Centre, Dad’s “home” for the last year.

A private family service will be held at a later date.

MURRAY SUMPTON

December 2, 1925 -May 8, 2013

He spent his final days at home on Salt Spring Island surrounded by loving family and looking out at his beloved ocean and garden view.

Murray was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and moved with his family to Vancouver in the mid thirties. He graduated from North Vancouver High School in 1943 and from UBC as an electrical engineer in 1948. He began working at Wismer and Rawlings Electric in 1956. He became president of that company in 1973 and continued in that role until his retirement in 1993.

Murray was predeceased by his first wife Anna and his daughter Elizabeth. He is survived by his second wife Laurel Gordon and children Christopher Sumpton (Beverly Dywan),Sue Ann Burns (Cameron), Erika Harrison, Kevin Harrison (Alexandra Hounsell) and six grandchildren, Bryn, Christina, Graham, Riel, Samuel and Avery.

Celebration of his life will be held at St. Andrews United Church in North Vancouver on June 8, 2013 at 3pm with reception following In lieu of flowers please consider donation to www.saltspringislandfoundation.org in memory of Murray.

GORDON RICHARD (DICK) MATTHEWS

April 20, 1931 – May 6, 2013)

Dick Matthews passed away at home on May 6, 2013, surrounded by his wife of 55 years, Diane, and their 5 children. Always determined, he stared down cancer briefly and then decided not to linger.

A perfect day for Dick started before dawn trolling for salmon in the waters around Salt Spring Island. His crew was Diane, who watched for ferries, his son Gord, and a daughter or two (under duress), and perhaps a son-in-law and a grandchild. He would triumphantly sound the number of fish in the catch on the boat horn on return to the Tin Hut. One long blast of the horn announced that they had been skunked and he was ready for a Caesar.

Dick lived in Aklavik, NWT, until he was 7 years old. His family then settled in Vancouver. He attended Point Grey Junior High, Magee High and UBC. In between football games, soccer games, and dates with Diane, he earned a Bachelor of Arts (Econ.) and a Bachelor of Laws from UBC. He was an excellent athlete, earning Big Block letters in football and soccer. He was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.

Dick articled with the law firm Andrews, Swinton & Smith and went on to a successful career as a businessman and a lawyer with Columbia Cellulose, Trans Mountain Pipeline, Rayonier Canada, and Western Forest Products. He was a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve, serving as the gunnery officer at HMCS Discovery. He had a huge work ethic at home and in the office.

In 1957 Dick and Diane were married. They built a home in West Vancouver where they raised their children. In 1970 Dick and Diane bought property on Salt Spring Island on which they placed the Tin Hut. The summers were great fun for our family and the friends whom Dick and Diane loved to entertain there. In 2009 the Tin Hut had done its time so Dick and Diane built their dream beach house. The family loves to gather there for special occasions and for ordinary ones.

Dick and Diane loved to golf. They had many enjoyable vacations on Maui, in Palm Dessert, and further afield; some of their favourite holidays were with their good friends Beth and Bob Weese.

Dick loved words: he often invented new words and phrases such as “uggle buggle juice” and “hotchastrosnia”; he had a tendency to unilaterally change the pronunciation of existing words to make them more apt; and he used nicknames for most people (sometimes without their knowledge). He was a genius at crossword puzzles.

Dick was fiercely loyal. His family was extremely important to him. No favour was too big to ask; no support was too great for him to provide. He had broad shoulders and we leaned on them often. He is survived by Diane and their children: Dana (Greig), Leslie (Paul), Nancy, Gordon (Barb) and Sharon (Rob); his grandchildren: Matthews, Gordon, Hayden, Larissa, Christopher, Nicole, Natasha, Mariah and Cruize; nieces and nephews and his cousin, Bill Robertson. He was predeceased by his parents, Gordon and Molly, and his brother, Mike.

We already miss his broad shoulders but we learned from him how to give our own to each other and how to work hard. No gifts could be greater.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church, 1068 Inglewood Avenue, West Vancouver. A reception in West Vancouver will follow. The family gratefully declines flowers. Those who wish could consider a donation to the BC Cancer Agency or the BC Heart and Stroke Foundation.