His laugh was enormous and went on forever. It carried across the room and sometimes further, bringing smiles even to those who did not know the tall, mighty looking man sitting next to his petite wife who gazed at him adoringly, in admiration and amusement. He was surrounded by his brood of six laughing children- sometimes embarrassingly all dressed in the same outfit to make sure no one was lost on a family trip.
He was the dad who could be phoned at any time of the night to pick us up from anywhere, with all of our friends, and drive everyone home. “Thank you Mr. Dokken” they would say, and he would reply with a smile “well, you’re welcome!” as though he had not been woken in the middle of the night before trying a big case the next morning. Nothing was more important than his family and he always made us feel his unconditional love.
His Saturday chili con carne was famous with the many friends who filled our happy home, as were the waffles that he made in his waffle iron by the dozens for those who were still hanging around the next day.
Having been raised on a farm in Saskatchewan, our father enjoyed the simple life, yet he made sure our mother had a life of beauty. Despite his career success as a Queen’s Counsel and President of the Saskatchewan Bar Association, dad remained humble. He enjoyed chatting with anyone and everyone and saw what was good and interesting in each person, without judgement.
It could not have been easy for him to lose his own father when he was only a young child, yet he honoured his memory and that of his mother, by living a good life. He read the only set of books they owned, the encyclopedic Books of Knowledge, in their entirety, from cover to cover, by the age of eleven and his lifelong love of knowledge never stopped.
He met our mom Aileen on a hayride in 1947, after which mom went home and wrote in her diary “Today I met the man I’m going to marry! His name is Maynard Dokken.” And so they did, in 1955, before moving to Melfort to build their life. They made many lifelong friendships there. Together they would open six law offices across the province while dad simultaneously and passionately served as Crown appointed counsel for the Indigenous communities of Northern Saskatchewan.
Thank you Dad. Thank you for giving us the most wonderful life. Thank you for showing us what it means to have a respectful, loving, fun-filled life partnership, as you had with mom. Thank you for your unwavering love and for letting us know that the most important thing in life is to be true to your beliefs, to love and to be kind. You have many, many friends who will miss you beyond words, along with your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and all those to follow. You and mom will live on through all of us.
Mom loved to sing while you played the piano, her beautiful soprano voice so clear and lilting. At times you would join in with your gorgeous baritone voice. And then the two of you would dance. And now you are dancing together again and we hope mom is singing one of her favourite songs with you:
Lilacs in bloom, fragrant perfume
Shows me the waiting has ended
Springtime is here, soon you’ll be near
When all our heartaches are mended
Close in my arms, fond embraces
Once more in happiest places
Jeanine, I dream of lilac time
Your eyes, they beam in lilac time
For you and I, our love can never die
Jeanine, I dream of lilac time
Survived by: Aurora Dokken (Lawrence House, Frazer House, Michael House, Nealia Knight nee House, (Evan Knight, Iselin Knight, Francis Knight), Fenton House, Ziru House, Stephanie House) Maynard Dokken (Mikiko Fujisawa), Dennis (Danny) Dokken (Julie Chant, Donovan Dokken, Anabel Dokken) Allanna Kliman nee Dokken (Brian Kliman, Morgan Lee Hiscox nee Kliman, Stephen Hiscox, Jesse Kliman, Jessica Kliman nee Greenside, Quinn Kliman) Aarrynne Dokken-Isgar (Stephen Isgar, Henry Dokken-Isgar, Namarra Dokken-Isgar) Nammarra Dokken George (Bert Barr, Mackenzie George, Aaron George, Ava George)
Pre-deceased by: Lien Dokken, Ruth Kneeland nee Dokken, Campbell, Roy Kneeland, Aileen Dokken nee Connelly
Cremation July 29th, Private Celebration of Life
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