Tribute

Cliff passed away June 19, at the age of 89, in Willingdon Creek Village, and will be greatly missed by his family and friends. Cliff was a warm, funny and passionate father, husband and friend who loved deeply. He was also a wonderful storyteller and his wit, curiosity and tenderness left an indelible stamp on all who knew him. Born in Canterbury, UK, in 1930, Cliff was too young to be enlisted during World War II, but served in the RAF Regiment (infantry) shortly after the war, stationed in Germany for a while. He married Lucy Hardaker, from Liverpool, in 1951, and worked installing central heating around Canterbury, then later as a pipe fitter in a small paper mill. Lucy worked as a secretary. Their first son, Chris, was born in 1957. A few years later, wanting to expand his horizons, Cliff took night school to become an instrument technician and accepted a job at a copper mine in Bancroft, Zambia, moving there with family in 1965. He considered his time in Zambia as some of the best years of his life, and their second son, Paul, was born there in 1968. The family remained in Zambia until 1970, then moved to Powell River, where Cliff was an instrument technician at the local mill, eventually becoming supervisor of the instrument department. Cliff greatly enjoyed the creative camaraderie of his work, and was very well liked and respected by his crew. In those years and after his retirement, Cliff and Lucy travelled to the UK, France, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and the Caribbean. Lucy was healthy and active most of her life, but died of cancer in 2009 and Cliff was devastated. Despite this, in time Cliff regained his enjoyment of life, and kept very active socially. In his early 80s, Cliff was diagnosed with vascular dementia. He remained living at home, with home support and family help, enjoying friendships and community, and then moved into Willingdon Creek Village in February 2018, where he quickly endeared himself to staff and fellow residents. He loved a wide variety of music, read voraciously until dementia precluded that, and loved, perhaps most of all, chatting with pretty much everyone, anywhere and having a good laugh. Cliff leaves behind two sons, Chris (Eve) and Paul (Leah), grandchildren Kyran, Alexis, Brishan and Cassandra, beloved sister Marcia (Bob, UK), and brothers Ivan (Mary, Australia), and Rod (Val, Spain). He was predeceased by his brother Tony. Cliff also leaves behind many lovely nieces, nephews, and cousins in Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and many friends, everywhere. Many thanks to Dr. Jacques Du Toit, Powell River Home Support, and the wonderful staff of Willingdon Creek Village for all the thoughtful care given to Cliff these last years.