Kenneth Richmond Coupar Appleby

It is with sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Kenneth Richmond Coupar Appleby, peacefully, with family by his side, at Trillium Lodge in Parksville on Thursday,September 24, 2020.

He is reunited in heaven with his wife of 64 years, Isabella Kydd (Holmes) Appleby, who he loved dearly and missed intensely during the last eight years.  He is also now with his mother Veronica and his grandson Michael.

He leaves behind, to celebrate his remarkable life,  his two children, Raymond Appleby (Lois) Calgary, Kathryn Miller, Qualicum Beach and his daughter-in-law Gloria Appleby, Cape Breton.  His grandchildren, Jason Meredith, Natasha Meredith (Inga), Allissa Blondin (Ben), Ken Appleby (Liz), Richard Appleby (Trisha), Heather Appleby, Natalie Miller, Kellie Hebert (Jacques) and Wade Miller (Lena), Chris Gray (Dana) and Robert Gray   He is also survived by 11 great grandchildren and 5 great great grandchildren. He also leaves behind several relatives in Scotland and many friends that he and Mom made, from around the world, during their extensive travels.

Kenneth was born in Kilmuir Easter in Scotland and lived mostly in Dundee, Scotland  until his immigration to Canada in 1957 when the family settled in Timmins, Ontario, moved to Brampton in 1969 and finally to the Parksville area in September 2011.

Kenneth was a very intelligent and charismatic man.  He was a self-made man.  He left school to begin work at the age of 14 but continued to be a life long learner.  He was a ship's plater, a reserved occupation during the war years, and so served with the Home Guard during WWII.  After the war, the ship building industry declined and he got a job at the Hollinger Mine in Timmins, Ontario and the young family emigrated to Canada.  He only worked underground for a year or so, but being a salesman at heart, he began that new career, and worked selling insurance, radio advertising and finally as a travelling salesman for the Libby, McNeil and Libby food company.  In 1969, he was awarded a promotion to Account Manager at head office and moved to Brampton.  He retired from Libby's when they were taken over by Nestle's.  Not content to be retired, he became a Clerk at the Court House in Brampton and enjoyed working there until he retired at 75.  Still not content to be completely retired, he worked at the Adesa Car Auctions a few days a week until he and Mom moved to Parksville in 2011. 

Dad was always physically active, an avid golfer during his younger years in Scotland, an avid curler during his time in Brampton.  He was also my mother's "garden gnome", which meant he did all the heavy garden work and continued to mow their lawn and shovel the winter snow off the driveway until he moved to Parksville.

Dad was also a conscientious citizen, being an active Rotarian during his time in Timmins and a Mason while he was in Brampton. In 1984, he was sworn in as the Master of Ionic Lodge #229 in Brampton.

Ken loved a good joke and there were always plenty of laughs when he was around.  Our family were always keen to play board games and cards. He was a big fan of Trivia Pursuit and watched Jeopardy every night. Dad loved to play the card game Wizard when he was introduced to the game after arriving in Parksville. After my mother passed away, until he became ill, he lived in a condo at the Gardens in Qualicum Beach where he continued to play Monday night bridge at the Legion, and walked uptown to get his groceries and borrow books from the library.

The last nine months of his life, he lived at Trillium Lodge in Parksville.  The family would like to sincerely thank all of the staff at Trillium. We are extremely grateful for the kind, compassionate, loving care he received from the staff.

A family service and celebration of his amazing life will be held at a later date.

In Lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Society in Kenneth's Name