John "Paddy" Patrick Bartle Langran

He was at home overlooking the garden he loved, with Mary-Adele, whom he had cherished for 60 years, the family he treasured and his dog, Hamish.

Paddy was born on November 10, 1925, in Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to Joan Henrietta Langran (née Rodwell) and Bartle ‘Mick’ Langran. His childhood stories were of playing with his younger brother, Mike, swimming with turtles and of his mongoose ‘Rikki Tikki Tavi’. At eight, Paddy began school at The Old Ride, Canford Cliffs, Dorset, England and at 13, on the eve of WWII, he entered the Royal Naval College Dartmouth. In January 1943, at 17, after the death of his mother and grandmother in an air raid, the Royal Navy showed great humanity in sending Paddy back to Colombo on HMS Sussex to be reunited with his father – an eventful trip on which they sunk a German submarine support ship.

Thereafter, Paddy continued serving in the Far East. At one point he was involved in the landing of British commandos on the Irrawaddy while under fire. On his appointment to HMS Campbell in 1944, Paddy served in the English Channel, then, in the Baltic where he helped return members of the Norwegian royal family to Norway. Later he accepted the surrender of German units from Oslo to Bergen.

After the war, Paddy remained with the Royal Navy. Highlights included serving as squadron commander of MTBs (Motor Torpedo Boats) and being the RN officer in charge of the reserves on HMS Caroline, Belfast. While there, he met the love of his life, Mary-Adele, whom he married in Singapore in November 1961 while serving on HMS Hartland Point. They were blessed with three children, Henrietta, Alex and Rory. Paddy’s last appointment was to the RCN in Victoria BC as Royal Naval exchange officer. After two years, he retired and began his long career in the BC Ministry of Health. At the end of his working life in 1989, Paddy filled his days as a marriage commissioner, a driver for the BC Cancer Agency, and a Board member of St Margaret’s School. Also, he travelled widely and was a supportive ‘Bampa’ to his grandchildren.

Paddy was a gentle knight with an old-fashioned chivalry which made people feel protected and valued. Devoid of sarcasm and cynicism he was kind and gracious and had a joie de vivre that was infectious. He was both interesting and interested in others, loving to hear peoples’ stories. He shared his home and life generously with a diverse group of friends of all ages. In essence, however, he was a family man. Always keen to bring his immediate and extended family together from near and far, he was its anchor and, in Paddy-style, provided all with safe moorage.

Paddy was a firm believer in community and in the goodness of humanity. His adoptive country was hugely important to him, and he wore a Canada-flag lapel pin until his final days. Latterly, dubbed ‘Mayor of Monteith’ (his street), Paddy greeted passersby cheerfully and welcomed visitors enthusiastically, sending them home with a final wave.

Paddy will be missed by many friends and family: Mary-Adele, their children Henrietta (David), Alex (Kelli) and Rory (Pippa), and grandchildren Adele, Madeleine, John Patrick ‘Jack’, Georgina and Beatrix, his sister Deirdre and brother-in-law Roger, sisters-in-law Susan and Carol, as well as extended Langran, Callaghan, Duffin, Nelson and Granger families.

A celebration of Paddy’s life will take place at a later date when this ‘blasted virus’, as he called it, is perhaps more under control. In the meantime, when the sun is ‘over the yard arm’, please raise your glass to toast this gem of a man and to a life very well-lived.

The family wishes to thank David Round, the members of Victoria Hospice Palliative Response Team and Drs. Ted Rosenberg, Fiona Manning and John Patrick Shaw.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Salvation Army (salvationarmy.ca) and the BC SPCA (spca.bc.ca)