Edward Abney
June 1, 2023
June 1, 2023
June 1, 2023
Edward Laurie Willis Abney (December 30, 1954 – June 1, 2023)
It is with
great sadness that we said goodbye to Edward Laurie Willis Abney on June 1,
2023, as he passed peacefully at Surrey Memorial Hospital. He will be forever
loved and missed by his wife of 26 years, Isabelle Abney, and his children;
Tammy (Sean) Coyle of Airdrie, AB; Laurie (Damien) Pearson of Didsbury, AB; and
Tracie Abney of Vernon, BC. He will be fondly remembered by his grandchildren;
Connor, Brayden (Suzanne), Kieren, Brianna, Alyse, Gavin, Ethan, Trevor,
Meghan, Lucas, Bethany, Austin, Devon, and Paige.
Ed
weathered the passing of both his parents, Myrna and Buster Abney, but is survived
by his six siblings; Susan (Norman) Doyon, Michael (Claudette) Abney, Richard
Abney, Jeanette (Clint) Levett, Dorothy (Leonard) Miller, and Raymond (Suzanne)
Abney. He was an uncle and great uncle to many as well.
Ed was born
in Vancouver in 1954 and moved to Lamond Ave in Richmond, BC, in 1958. He built
many happy memories growing up in his childhood home and would return to live
there for a few years as an adult as well. His childhood was filled with numerous
family camping trips to Tulameen and many hours spent at Richmond Sea Cadets, 195
RCSCC Bicknell, where he began as a cadet and then served as an officer. These
activities had a great impact on the man Ed became, caring, dedicated, and
ready to help others, and he continued these pastimes on with his own family for
many years.
He met
Christine Clements in Richmond and they were married from February of 1976
until 1993. Together they built a family made up of three girls whom Ed adored.
He invested a lot of energy into his work, including B&H Lumber in Richmond,
running B&E Woodworking with his father, Web Press Graphics for many years,
and finally SGS Canada in Burnaby, BC where he worked for the past 10 years. Ed
was a loyal, dedicated employee to every company he worked for and always took
pride in the company and great interest in the lives of those whom he worked
alongside. He was always willing to talk about the ins and outs of his work and
was adjusting well to being semi-retired.
In July of
1997, Ed and Isabelle were married. They lived together in Richmond, Delta and
finally Surrey, BC for the past 14 years. Ed loved driving Isabelle to work in
the early morning hours, and always took great pride in his vehicle. In the ‘90s,
he introduced all his girls to the CB radio, but no one spent more time
chatting with Ed, “Crash,” on it than Tracie, “Fender Bender,” did when he was
out on the road. Nowhere was ever too far for Ed to drive if he set his heart
on making it happen. He also enjoyed bowling, riding his bicycle, strolling
through malls, and going out to eat. He loved to dance and took up golf for a
time, though he clearly enjoyed playing golfing video games with Tammy &
Sean far more and far longer than the actual sport itself. He loved apples, coffee,
and bottled water, and spent his quiet hours listening to various types of
music and playing games on his iPad. Ed was always tackling home maintenance and
renovation projects and enjoyed the to-do list at Laurie and Damien’s with
every visit to Alberta. He loved working with his hands, especially when it involved
wood projects. Ed always showed up early for everything and had a wonderful
sense of humour and a distinctive laugh.
Ed leaves
us as a beloved husband, father, grandpa, brother, uncle, friend, and so much
more. He will be forever remembered.
You are invited to leave a personal message for the family.
What a beautiful obituary for an amazing man. I will always remember that when I had to sell my home in Surrey BC to move out to Alberta, Ed and Isabelle came out over and he crawled under the back deck and rebuilt a back porch for me to make the house more sellable. He was a wonderful dance partner, back in the day, and he had a love so strong for his children, siblings, and his parents. When he made a decision he followed through with it, Like when he first met Isabelle, and invited me for coffee, a short time later and let me know that he was going to ask her to marry him. I wish Isabelle, Sue, Mike, Jeanette, Rick, Dorothy, Ray, and of course all their family members, joy filled memories, and happiness and a knowing that they all had a special place in Ed's heart. Rest assured that if in God's house of many rooms, needs any work to be done, Ed will find it!
~ Christine Korosec
I was hired to replace Ed as shipper/receiver for SGS almost 4 years ago. Over the course of my warehousing career, I only can claim a few key people who were my mentors that contributed to my growth as worker...Ed was one of them. I came to SGS with considerable knowledge in receiving and forklift operation, but my knowledge of shipping was less developed. Ed taught me a great deal about shipping. I would not be the worker I am today without Ed's guidance. I am very grateful to him for that. Ed was a man of honor, integrity, and strong work ethic. I greatly admired and respected him for that. Additionally, Ed was a good man with a good heart. I did not know Ed well outside of work, but as co-workers we had many warehouse adventures together. We made a good team, and got through the toughest of work days. I often think about Ed and really miss working with him. I share his family's grief, and offer my deepest of condolences and sympathy for this sad loss of a wonderful man.
~ Lorne Kemp