Departures

LEN CARMICHAEL
June 9, 1931 – April 29th, 2020

Excerpt from the North Shore News:
Len was born and raised in Chilliwack, British Columbia, a community always close to his heart, with many family and friends to remember him fondly. He was one of 7 children. Len and Bernice were married at Cultus Lake and embarked on their journey together on April 10, 1952. Len worked in the coastal tug industry, towing logs, from and to many points, scattered along our wild west coast. Len and Bernice settled in North Vancouver after he trained as a Barber. He owned two shops on the North Shore, during his 6 decade long career. The first on Marine Drive in West Vancouver, the second in Edgemont Village in North Vancouver, where more than 50 years later, the shop still operates under the guidance of Bernice and daughter Brenda (also a Master Barber in the tradition of her father). He was a champion of his Trade throughout his career, holding Executive positions in the Barbers’ Association of British Columbia, Trade Examiner and Licenser of the Trade through 4 decades of service. He will be remembered by many Barbers throughout the Province for his persistence and perseverance in upholding the professional standards of the Trade. Always a loving and dedicated family man, Len will be remembered as the patriarch of a large, wide spread clan, often referred to as the “glue” that bound the clan together. His wisdom was never far, always available and will be sorely missed. He leaves behind Bernice, his 3 children, 6 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

At the Centre:
Len joined the NSSRC in January 2002 following a stroke in 2001 affecting primarily his speech. He was a man of few words but could share lots of stories through his handy notepad he kept in his shirt pocket. He loved to share his travel experiences through the many maps he brought to the Stroke Centre and he always had an opinion about varied topics published in the Wednesday North Shore News. Len and Bernice were regulars at our Christmas and Summer lunches and our annual Strides for Strokes. We are happy we got to know you, Len and we will miss seeing you in your regular spot at the Centre.

~ Gail Snelling

 

CHARLIE HOPE
Oct 19, 1929 – April 29th, 2020

Charlie was such a pleasure to have at the Stroke Center over many years. He always enjoyed music and great times of sing-ing. He was known to wow us on many occasions with his vast knowledge of Trivia.

One of my favorite memories was the day he grabbed his black coat before getting on the handydart. He couldn’t find his bus ticket in his jacket pocket so I hopped on the handydart and “frisked” his pockets looking for the ticket. The ticket was nowhere to be found and … neither Charlie nor I noticed it wasn’t his black coat at all that is until I went to go home at the end of the day and found my black jacket missing and Charlie’s hanging on our coat rack at the Stroke Center!! He reminded me of skateboarders on many occasions when he took off down the slope toward the road to get on the handydart in his wheelchair. Always made me nervous, but he never had an issue when he reached the edge of the road and quickly drew to a stop dragging his shoes to brake!!

Charlie’s cousin Patricia has shared a little bit more of Charlie’s history.

Charlie was born in Banff, Alberta at the beginning of the Great Depression, and despite hard economic times he spent a happy youth there with his family, including three brothers and numerous cousins. He always looked forward to returning there.

Charlie trained as a surveyor/draftsman and worked making detailed technical plans/drawings for various municipal engineering departments along the west coast, spanning Burnaby to California. He also produced technical aeronautical drawings at Boeing in Seattle and California, but he returned to municipal engineering as his preferred area of drafting and ultimately retired after working for many years at the West Vancouver Municipal District.

Charlie enjoyed travel and photography during his working years, and he especially loved capturing the beauty of Hawaii, Mexico and the deserts in the American southwest. His favorite local subjects for photography were the ships in Vancouver’s harbour and classic cars.

After retirement Charlie stayed closer to home, mainly travel-ling to Vancouver Island to see his brother Bill and family (especially his niece Trish, her husband and their children) and exhibiting his Trivial Pursuit expertise. Charlie liked to spend his spare time reading, and he had a particular preference for western novels by Louie L’Amour. In later years, he was fond of watching the TV news, as well as reruns of western shows and classic movies. He also enjoyed years of cooking classes and the camaraderie of a ‘Men’s Group’ associated with a north shore community centre.

Following a serious stroke, Charlie began attending the North Shore Stroke Recovery Centre at North Shore Neighbourhood House. His twice-weekly visits to the centre (for therapy and companionship) became his favourite activity for the next 16 years. Although he moved to a care home (Cedarview) in 2016, he was happy to still be able to attend the stroke group for a couple more years after that move.

~ Sue Carabetta and Pat Fairey (Charlie’s Cousin)

 

Download our current June 2020 Turtle Soup Newsletter here.