April 2, 2022
It is with heavy hearts that the Hemingway family announces the passing of the head of our family (Brian) on April 2, 2022. Born January 19, 1929 in Leeds, England. Dad was predeceased by his parents, siblings and his youngest son Paul. Left to mourn him is his wife June of 69 years and his 4 children Alan, Neil (Sharon), Marie (John), Toni (Robert), Paul's partner Kim and nephew Harry (Arlene); grandchildren Nicole, Jennifer (Seth), Robbie (Lindsey), Miles (Kelly), Martin (Cara), Max and Simon; great grandchildren Samantha, Hunter, Georgia and Vance.
Dad lived his life on his own terms to the very end. At the age of 14 he finished school and went to work in a fish and produce market in Leeds. At seventeen and a half went into the RAF Regiment and serviced three years in Germany. Met my mom at a dance and that was that. After serving in the RAF, returned home and worked for a large produce wholesale company buying and selling.
During this time Mom and Dad got married, a year later Alan was born, Mom and Dad bought a lot, Dad scrouged used building materials to build their first home. After being in it for a short time decided to immigrate to Canada. Arriving in Richmond in 1956, dad proceeded to build homes for his brother Alan. Neil and Marie were born a year and a half apart. After a short time, dad started his own construction company and in 1960 we moved to the Comox Valley. Toni was born and then Paul. We had been in our new home on Buena Vista Ave for a short time and Mom and Dad decided to buy Butchers Road Nursery. This was a huge undertaking as the nursery needed a lot of work. Dad drove school bus to make extra money, built homes and found time to work on the farm. Mom was the backbone of the nursery, and we all had designated chores to do. The farm was a lot of fun, so much so when my cousin Harry came to work for dad, Harry nick named it the Hemingway Funny Farm. There was always something going on.
Unfortunately, after living there a few years, Dad took a bad fall off a horse and we ended up selling the farm.
Dad's next venture was into Commercial Real Estate. Dad also bought land and had commercial buildings built throughout the valley. As time went on our father branched out into land development with partners and they were responsible for some of the bigger developments in the valley back in the 70's and 80's.
Dad supposedly retired at the age of 60. Anyone that knew dad, knew that never really happened. He always had his fingers in something.
Mom and Dad spent time travelling throughout the years to Europe, England, Canada, USA, Cuba and most recently, spent 12 years wintering in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
This obituary was mostly about my dad and his life adventures and successes. If it were not for our mom, the majority of this would not have happened. Mom was always there to back up our dad and family.
In closing, I would like to say a huge thank-you to all the Doctors, Nurses, Care-Aids and anyone else involved with caring for our father and making his passing peaceful. Again thank-you. Words cannot express our gratitude. A special thank-you to our sister-in-law Kim for guiding our family through this.