DONALD RITCHIE STRACHAN

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DONALD RITCHIE STRACHAN December 25, 1927 to November 6, 2008 It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Don Strachan, suddenly on November 6 in hospital in Kelowna, BC. Don was predeceased by his parents, Almira Elizabeth (nee Pachal) Strachan in 1973 and Andrew Ritchie Strachan in 1980. He will be greatly missed by his wife, Rose Patricia (nee Jackson), and his children: Susie and husband Bob Martin, and children, Duncan and Liam; Ritchie and wife Kali Li, and children, Graydon and Ella; Jamie and wife Andrea Dixon and children, Timothy and Graham; Jerry and wife Kim, and children, Steven, Jacob and Jordan, and great-grandchild Victoria. Don was born in Winnipeg at the old Grace Hospital, the first of siblings Doreen (Bob Briggs) of Ancaster, ON, Robert (Dee) of Gimli, and Beverly (Ian Sissett) of Vancouver / Kelowna, BC. He attended Laura Second School and Kelvin High School, and won several Winnipeg Music Festival awards for piano. He spent his summers at the family cottage in Gimli. He studied chartered accounting, then geology at the University of Manitoba and also architecture. In the early 1970s, when Pat and Don moved to Richmond, BC, Dad ran a cucumber farm near Abbotsford, and built a camper from a bread truck. Moving back to Winnipeg in 1972, they took us tenting to places like Lightning Gulch and Skunk Hollow. Just kidding, Dad. He loved practical jokes, and being born on Christmas, he loved getting presents. He loved to carve, working with teak to make small carvings and large masks, which adorn the walls of many of his relatives. He always had a dog: Lucky, Pixie, Dusty, Michelle and Mr. Tucker have gone on before him. Don was self-employed and ran businesses out of the house, as well as being the bookkeeper for Pat's medical practice. His main enjoyment for 14 years was building the cottage at Clearwater Bay, ON, and what a gem it turned out to be. He loved the lake and would live there from early spring to November. He helped renovate Zig Zag Yacht Club, and ensured all the kids learned to sail, swim and drive powerboats. He taught us carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring and other skills. He scared the heck out of us by pretending to be a bear one day. He bagged a real bear, when it broke into the cottage one autumn when he was at the lake by himself. And we'll never forget the day he live-trapped a skunk, and then had to figure out what to do with the beast. After retirement, Don and Pat travelled in their motorhome to Baja, Mexico and Quartzite, Arizona. They moved to West Bank in BC a decade ago, building a new home in the Sun Village seniors neighbourhood. Sadly, Dad spent the past two years in a nursing home, due to his progressively worse Alzheimer disease. Donations may be made in Don's memory to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, at www.alzheimer.ca. A memorial of Don's life will be held on Tuesday, November 25 at 2:00 p.m. at the Cropo Funeral Chapel at 1442 Main Street at Inkster, in Winnipeg. 586-8044.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 22, 2008