Born July 25, 1930, Mark Draibye died on June 20, 2104, following a long battle with skin cancer and other debilitating conditions. Mark Draibye spent most of his life devoted to the Canadian Navy. He left home at thirteen and started his career working as a dishwasher while living on the streets of Montreal. He later worked at a logging camp in northern Quebec and for the merchant marines – but he found his true calling and love when he entered the Canadian Armed Forces. A natural leader, following his service in the Korean war and a number of positions on warships and a minesweeper, he became a deep sea clearance diver and later the Executive Officer for the Diving Unit in Esquimalt, lead the western team to victory in the Navy Gun Run competition for the Queen’s visit in 1979, and ultimately rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander as the Deck Officer on the Supply Ship, Provider. Following retirement he became the Commander of the cadet camp at HMCS Quadra in Comox, B.C., a position he was immensely proud of, and one he often said he felt he had worked towards for his entire life.
Mark Draibye loved beauty and he spent much of his life creating beauty – whether it be creating the perfect meal, bringing an exquisite flower to life, or sculpting the character and abilities of young cadets, he worked tirelessly, always aiming for perfection. A man who had experienced poverty, he was well known for his generosity. Mark Draibye is survived by his wife of sixty years, Joan Draibye, with whom he fell in love the first time he saw the auburn haired beauty in her green Eisenhower jacket standing across the room at a dance in Montreal.
Mark is also survived by his three grown children Kathy (Jim), Sandra, and Gordon (Lucie); five grandchildren, Renee (Doug), Sarah (Steve), Andrea, Elizabeth and Sebastien, and six great-grandchildren, Brandon, Ryan, Jonathan, Ethan, Sophie and Cooper.
He will be missed.
The service for Mark Draibye will be held at 11am on Saturday, July 12, 2014 at "Our Lady of the Rosary Parish" on 798 Goldstream Avenue in Langford, B.C.