November 20, 1949 (Trail, BC) ~ November 21, 2015 (Merville, BC)
A great guy and incredibly dedicated husband and father was lost to us this week when Graham passed away peacefully in his sleep after recovering from a heart attack.
Graham grew up in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood of Vancouver with his parents Neil and Judy, and older sister Rosemary. He was known for his fierce tackles on the rugby pitch for Point Grey HS, and graduated in 1967 to a series of adventures. Surviving tree planting in Kelsey Bay and logging up the Coast, he became a doorman at the Hotel Vancouver where he had stories of all the celebrities - from the Premier to Bobby Orr.
Later, he often recalled trials and capers from his trans-Atlantic passage on the Russian liner Pushkin, and his two stays in London, England in the early 70s.
He met his love, Leslie, not long after his second return. They married in 1978 and settled down in Merville to raise their three sons, Jeffrey, Terry, and Keith.
In the years to come, he was a shop steward, Scout leader and youth soccer coach, always thinking up ways that he could help others.
A ticketed heavy duty mechanic, ‘Grum’ worked on the biggest machines - much to the amazement of his sons. After a back injury, he retrained as a parts man. In 1992, he joined North Island College in Campbell River as the tool room attendant. There he would dole out advice about keeping tools clean and working hard to successive crop of students.
After retiring, he made time for family, golfing with friends, and new Triumph and Bergman motorbikes. Riding up the old Island Highway on them, he looked just like he had thirty years before on his way to plant trees.
He is survived by his wife, three sons and daughters-in-law and four granddaughters - all of whom will miss him greatly.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, November 28, 2015. For more information please contact jeffgbell@yahoo.ca. Memorial donations may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation or a charity of your choice.