Stanley Claude Shackell

Our beloved dad, brother, brother-in-law, grandpa, uncle, father-in-law Stan was born in Winnipeg on July 29, 1932. He was the youngest of Claude and Mildred’s three children, and according to his sister Marianne, he was the spoiled one.

Stan grew up in the St. James area of Winnipeg, and as a boy delivered groceries by bike from his dad’s store to customers around the neighbourhood. After earning a degree in Interior Design from the University of Manitoba he initially worked for the Robert Simpson Company, but quickly moved to open his own firm, Stanley Shackell Design Consultants Ltd. The firm eventually specialized in commercial kitchens - but dad also designed for churches, universities, and other institutional and commercial clients. He enjoyed telling the story of his first engagement - redesigning a Winnipeg hotel’s bar-room in exchange for free office rent in unheated rooms over the bar!

Stan met his lifelong partner Barbara Wilson in the fall of 1957 at the Badminton Club and the Canoe Club in Winnipeg, the hot spots for young professionals at the time. Barb’s parents had a cottage at West Hawk Lake, and with Barb’s help, Stan built his own cottage across the lake. Stan and Barb were married in December 1958, and enjoyed 62 years of marriage before Barb passed away in July 2021.

In 1973, Stan and Barb followed their dream of life on the west coast, and moved their four children to the Whytecliff area of West Vancouver. Always a sharp-dressed man, dad set up a sales agency and spent the next few years in the wholesale men’s fashion business. Although he had given up design as a profession, Stan’s person and surroundings always reflected his love of good design in cars, clothing, and buildings; his fetish for beautiful chairs resulted in a collection that never stopped growing!

A true entrepreneur, Stan was always thinking about how to ‘build a better mousetrap’. After testing out a few different business ideas (always with Barbara’s assistance), he bought an industrial embroidery machine in 1983 and set it up in the basement of their home. He was a pioneer in the logo’d apparel business in Vancouver, and the new business Logotex soon outgrew the basement and moved to Vancouver’s ‘garment district’ near Commercial Drive, where it remained a fixture for over 25 years.

Stan was involved in various business associations over the years. The Vancouver Executives Association (Vanex) and the Sales and Marketing Executives were favourites, and he stayed in touch with many members after retiring. In retirement, he was an active member of the RV ‘Trek’ Club, Probus, and the “Fit Fellas” at the West Vancouver Rec Center. He was always active in his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, and had life-long friends from University days.

Stan and Barb enjoyed many travel adventures during retirement - around the continent in their RV, and with excursions to Europe, Asia, India and the South Pacific. Dad was planning a 90th birthday bike/barge trip to Germany with his family when he became ill at the end of June. And yes, he was planning to cycle with all of us!

Dad loved family parties, reading books on business, golfing with friends, curling, and we could count on him to research anything we needed to buy. He succeeded at almost everything he touched, with the exception of growing rhubarb (aka beer dip!) and finding the perfect coffee beans for Mom. In 2014, Stan and Barb traded the responsibilities of home ownership for a more relaxed life in the retirement community at The Westerleigh in Dundarave, where they took an active part in all the goings-on.

On August 19, surrounded by his children, grandchildren and older sister Marianne, dad slipped away to join Barbara, his parents and his older brother Reg. We are sure the family dogs Fifty and Tijon were waiting for him as well. All who knew dad will remember his sense of humour, the flared nostrils when he was telling a tall tale, and his penchant for giving ‘raspberries’ to his grandchildren. We have big holes in our hearts right now, buffered by the love of a tightly-knit family that is Stan and Barb’s legacy.

Our thanks to the kind staff at Lions Gate Hospital and the North Shore Hospice. Donations to the North Shore Hospice would be preferred over flowers.

Anne (Glen Carroll), Jane (David McLennan), Boyd (Eileen Butt), Alison (Steven Scully) and our families.