Dad was a true Burns Laker. He was born here, and with the exception of a few years that he spent in the air force and in various locations throughout B.C., he lived his life in Burns Lake. He was always involved in sport of some sort. As a young man he skated, skied and played baseball and basketball. As a parent he was particularly involved in baseball and he worked hard as a coach and as an executive for the Babe Ruth Association. One of his happiest accomplishments was being part of the creation of the ball field downtown. Dad was also involved in the Kinsmen Club and was even president for a time.
Mom grew up in Telkwa, attended college in Prince Rupert, and as a young women she moved to Burns Lake and worked for the department of highways. She had a very successful career there and was proud to have been one of the first female office managers in the department. Mom belonged to the Rod and Gun club and she target shot for many years and earned all kinds of trophies. The only way whe would shoot at an animal though, was through the lens of a camera. She was always taking pictures.
Mom and Dad met in the sixties while they were both working for the department of highways. They were married in 1964. Dad had been married to Sheila previously, and he brought two daughters into the marriage with Mom - Cindy, who passed away three years ago, and Jayne. Together Wayne and Connie had three more children - Marianne, Roberta and Daniel. They have since been blessed with eight grandchildren - Jessica and Christopher, Christy and Melissa, Elizabeth and Jared, Timothy and Rhiannon.
As with most couples starting out in life together they had struggles. They were busy building a house, a family and a business all at once. Mom and Dad’s journey as business owners began with the Panhandle and got busy building a thriving service station business. Many young men in town had their first job learning the meaning of service and how to clean restrooms! And everyone in town knew Wayne and Connie.
Finally in 1983 after fifteen years of 17-hour days while raising a family, Mom and Dad decided to hang up the nozzles and Wayne’s Shell was closed. After retiring, Mom and Dad worked hard at their hobbies, like developing flower gardens and fishing. Mom expecially loved taking pictures - she took hundreds of pictures of her grandchildren and the flowers and animals around her yard. She loved being at the picture-taking end of the camera.
The last few years saw Mom and Dad at the rivers. Dad fishing and Mom taking pictures of every fish that he and Daniel caught. Dad and Daniel always had proof that the big one didn’t get away!
During this past week we have been blessed with so many recollections from friends and family about Mom and Dad’s life.
As Mom and Dad lived, so they died! Throughout their lives Mom and Dad were together for everything, they worked together, raised a family together, traveled together, and in the end they left for heaven together.