David Douglas

December 23, 2020

It is with heavy hearts and lots of tears that we had to say goodbye to a kind and wonderful husband, father, grandfather, cousin and friend. David B Douglas PM passed away in Surrey BC on the 23rd of December 2020.

Dave leaves behind his loving wife of 50 years Helen. Their 4 children, Vernon, David (Sara), Laura (Robert), William (Jillian).  Their 8 grandchildren, Curtis, Brianna (Brandon), Ryan, Jamie, Matthew, Elyse, Lillian and Billy and 2 greatgrandchildren, Brayden and Brielle.  Several cousins and in-laws.

Dave is predeceased by his parents Bill and Lee Douglas, his daughter-in-law Valerie, all his aunts and uncles and 4 cousins.

Dave was born in Vancouver on the 13th of November 1943. He grew up on Commercial Dr and loved his neighbourhood. He always had a story or two of what they did as kids and all the exploring he and his friends did down near Clark dr.  In grade 10 Dave attended Vancouver Tec and took a chef training course and subsequently ended up with a job in a bakery.  He enjoyed working in the bakery. From there he worked a Britannia Mines for a short while. Till he found himself down on the waterfront working as a longshoreman. With his hook in hand, he would unload ships by carrying goods off the ship. At this time, it was all manual labour and hard work.  As he moved up the board and entered the union Dave finally settled in as an industrial first-aid man. He enjoyed looking after his fellow workers. Dave was also very active in his union the ILWU local 500. He held different positions within the union and loved being on the sick and visiting committee, where he would visit sick members at home or in the hospital. 

Dave was also very active in the Masons and was a Past Master of Caledonia lodge 136 and a member of Capilano Lodge 164. He achieved his 32 degrees in the Scottish right. Dave was very active with his sons and daughter while they attended DeMolay and Jobs Daughters. Dave was a past chapter dad of Beaver Chapter and a Past Associate Guardian of Bethel 62. He was also a Past Master of the Orange Lodge as well as the current Worshipful Master of Premier lodge 1610.  Dave was also a 50-year member of both the Eagles Lodge and a member of the legion.

Dave and Helen loved to travel.  In their younger years, they would hook up their trailer and head to Alberta. Helens grandparent's farm was the destination. And with kids packed into the back seat out, they would go. It was always an adventure with those two. They have driven across North America several times and usually have other family members in tow. The last couple of road trips they had were to the Maritimes and the Southern/ Eastern US. Which Dave really enjoyed and was so happy to have had the opportunity to go to Graceland.  During these trips, his backseat travel companion Elyse was there to keep him on his toes. While Helen and Laura navigated and planned all the stops. Dave and Helen also loved to go on cruises. They travelled from the South Pacific to the Atlantic down to the Panama. There are not many places that they have not visited.

When Dave and Helen retired, they found themselves at Guildford Mall a few mornings a week for the walking club. Here they met many wonderful people that they would walk around the mall with. These friendships have been such a wonderful part of their lives for so many years.  And Dave will be missed by so many friends and his presence will be noticed by so many as he was the unofficial welcoming committee as he would greet anyone who walked by.

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