Joseph Eccleston

Dad/Grandpa Joe passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family. He was predeceased by his parents Alfred and Mary, his brother Alfred, wife Catherine (Kate) and son-in-law Stephen. He is survived by his sister Mary in England, four children; Jane, Louise, Christopher(Chantal) and

Damian(Cher), nine grandchildren; Victoria (Dave), Tristan(Sara), Adrian(Robyn), Grace, Martin, Allison, Kieran, Liam, Noah and three great-grandchildren; Evangeline, Liliana and Cohen.

Joe was born and grew up in Manchester, England. He attended Mt.Carmel R.C. School and went on to St.Gregory's, Ardwick. He completed two years of National Service where he trained as a signalman.

Joe met his future wife Catherine while on holiday on the Isle of Man in 1956. They were married in April 1959 and lived first in Denton and later in Heaton Mersey, Stockport where they started raising their family. Joe worked as a lab technician/chemist in Manchester before making the big decision with his wife to emigrate to Canada in 1969. Kate was the driving force behind this move and the family settled in Abbotsford, B.C. During this time Joe was a member of the local cricket club and also became a soccer coach with the MSA Soccer Association. He was a volunteer driver for the Canadian Cancer Society for a few years after his wife passed away.

Joe's sport of choice was golf which he enjoyed playing with friends as often as he could once he retired. He once challenged himself to play a game of golf every month for a year and when he wasn’t on the golf course he could often be found hitting golf balls in the fields at the Abbotsford airport. He was also a soccer fan and a lifelong Manchester City supporter.

Joe & Kate had many opportunities to travel over the years with a favorite destination being Hawaii. They also enjoyed cruises to Alaska and made several trips back to England to visit family.

Joe’s other great interest was astronomy. He had a small telescope when the kids were young and would set it up at night if there was a planet in the sky or a lunar eclipse to look at. He loved watching the meteor showers that appear every August and was delighted to have been able to observe Comet NeoWise last July while on holiday in Parksville. Anytime he was out at night and the sky was clear he would point out constellations and planets to anyone who was with him.

He will be remembered for many things including his great English breakfasts and bacon “butty's" , for driving around Abbotsford airport side roads with a grandchild perched on his knee “driving" the car, for his $1 payment for any bald eagle or whale spotted on trips to Vancouver Island, for his apparent frustration that none of his children could understand their math homework, for his slightly cheeky sense of humor, for his loving rendition of Happy Birthday sung to each of us-usually on the phone and for his many stories about his life growing up in Manchester.

He was a part of our lives as Dad and Grandpa Joe for so long….we will miss him and remember him with love.

A Memorial mass will be held on Friday October 8th 2021 @ 10:30 a.m. at St.Joseph's Catholic Church

32550 7th Ave, Mission, BC, V2V 2B8