D. Murray Galbraith

His departure was quick, without much fuss, just as he would have wished. Christened Donald Murray Galbraith, he was known to friends and family as Murray, Dad, Uncle Murray, and most often these days, Grandpa.

Grandpa was born and raised on a homestead in Saskatchewan and regaled many with his tales (mostly true) of a happy childhood featuring his sister and three brothers (Jean, Clare, Bruce, and Gordon), harsh winters, hard work, good friends, and the occasional wolf.

In the mid-fifties, after graduating from engineering school, he joined his sister Jean in Vancouver, both to start his first engineering job, and to get away from cold winters. Not long after a successful blind date, he proposed to Andree Paris, and they began a life together that would last 64 years.

Murray and Andree raised four children. They were all the parents that four kids could ask for. Even before having his own children, and for many years after, Grandpa and Grandma acted as stand-in parents and grandparents to nieces, nephews, assorted relatives and family friends, opening their house and dinner table to many (some of which took months and even years to leave). A spot at the dinner table was always sure to involve many laughs and some very bad puns.

Grandpa was a man of simple tastes. He loved his wife, Andree. They could be seen, as recently as last week, walking hand in hand on their daily walks. He loved his children (Murray, Danielle, Renee, and David). (Though we suspect he loved David the most, as evidenced by family photos.) He doted on his grandchildren Saskia, Nikita, Alex, Matthew, Alexandra, and Kieran.

Grandpa was the original "superfan." His social life revolved around attending his offspring's soccer, football, rugby, baseball, karate, band, choir, and dramatic performances. He could be seen regularly on the bleachers at Lambrick Park and we know that he will continue to cheer us on from the sidelines.

Grandpa kept his sense of humour to the end, trying to make those around him comfortable with his favourite Woody Allen quote, "I am not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens."

A celebration of life will be held at a future point when it is safe to do so. Condolences and memories for the Galbraith family may be shared below.