Mr. David Clinton Pegg

On July 21, 2015 at the age of 76, David C. Pegg, a third generation Vancouverite, passed away at home in Kerrisdale. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather; a true and loyal friend to many; a successful entrepreneur; and a caring and generous person who believed in giving back to his community. He was a great supporter of the arts as well as athletics, particularly youth athletics.

David was the first born son of Howard and Doreen. His brother, Roddy, was born a few years later. David attended Athlone School for his early elementary years while his father was training in Ontario with the Canadian Armed Forces and his mother and younger brother accompanied him. While David was attending Athlone, he spent many weekends with his Grandma and Grandpa Cottingham, who loved him dearly. He also spent weekends on his grandfather Pegg’s farm in the Fraser Valley and this is where his love of country life began. David completed elementary school at Lord Kitchener. He attended Lord Byng High school and then graduated from Magee High School. In his youth, David was an avid horseman and accomplished rider winning many titles with his beloved horse "Bullfire". David also played football for the Meraloma’s and was known as “twinkletoes”.

David attended the UBC School of Commerce and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. While he was at university, he worked with horses at the racetrack and broke a horse named “Feasible” whom he always loved. He worked as a ranch hand on the Bar Q guest ranch near Ashcroft, BC. It was there that he first met Judith Gilley whom he later married. After graduating from UBC, David worked at the Bank of Montreal. He then articled as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand. David left Coopers when an uncle of Judi’s passed away and asked that David become involved in the management of his estate (Wescorp Industries). This gave David the opportunity to become the entrepreneur that he always wanted to be. Over the years, David successfully diversified and grew his business, eventually doing business internationally. He was a member of the Vancouver Board of Trade and the Canadian Tax Foundation.

David and Judi had three children: Lauren, Stuart, and Adam. Stuart was following David into the family business when he died tragically in a skiing accident, a profound loss for David and the rest of the family. Lauren and Adam remember David as loving and supportive dad. Special memories include Sunday brunch at Grandma and Grandpa Cottingham’s, family drives in Southlands, big family celebrations at Christmas and Thanksgiving (with turkey that he always stuffed himself), many family vacations (Crescent Beach, Bar Q, Lake Kalamalka, Hawaii, Palm Desert, Australia & New Zealand, Lake Tahoe), swimming and tennis at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis Club, weekends at Snowater with skiing at Mt. Baker (and Kentucky Fried Chicken on the way home Sunday night), boating in Howe Sound, the Gulf Islands, and Desolation sound, and fishing trips to Campbell River and Haida Gwaii. David was always proud of his children’s accomplishments and he did his best to attend graduations, recitals, competitions, special events, and sports that they were involved in. He was especially involved in the rugby pursuits of his sons. He continued to be involved in youth rugby, managing the BC Under 19 Rugby team for several years and was a great supporter of BC and Canadian Rugby.

Throughout his working life as well as following retirement, David consistently gave of his time and expertise by serving on the boards of several non-profit and community organizations such as the Vancouver Ballet Society; Vancouver Opera Society; Family Services of Greater Vancouver; Family and Children’s Foundation of British Columbia; Vancouver Playhouse; Greater Vancouver Area Homemakers Association; Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children; Vancouver Community Music School; Community Arts Council of Greater Vancouver; Shaughnessy, Arbutus, and Kerrisdale Resource Board; and Avalon Recovery Society. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Council on Social Development and served on the Western Regional Council of the Family Services Association of America.

Fourteen years ago, David married Jacqueline Blankers of Bellflower, California, and became a step-father and step-grandfather. In the early part of their marriage, they enjoyed the many opportunities that living in the Los Angeles area provided. They attended LA Dodger baseball games and LA King hockey games together. In summertime, they would go to concerts in the park and to the Hollywood Bowl. They spent some weekends at the beach in La Jolla. They travelled a little, taking a Baltic Sea Cruise with friends and then spending a week in London. They moved to Palm Desert in 2005 and lived part of each year in their home in Palm Desert and part in Kerrisdale. David and Jacque enjoyed each other’s company as well as the company of friends and family.

David's faith and his church life were very important to him in the latter part of his life. He found support and comfort in his faith during the difficult times in his life, especially with the loss of his son. He attended St. John’s Shaughnessy for many years and served as a trustee and treasurer. He taught at the Monday Night Church Club and led a Men’s bible study in downtown Vancouver. More recently, he was attending Desert Springs Church, in Palm Desert and attended bible study groups there and grew in his faith.

David embraced his role as a grandfather and step-grandfather. He loved his grandchildren with all his heart and supported each of them in their pursuits. David saw the gifts in each one of his grandchildren and found a way to connect with each one and encourage them in who they are. He loved to play “creepmouse”, a tickle game handed down in his family through generations, and enjoyed telling stories and reading to them. He attended dance recitals, soccer games, basketball games, lacrosse games, graduations and other events whenever he could and if he couldn’t be there, he would call afterwards to hear all about it.

David lost his vision 8 years ago and this had a profound impact on his life. He maintained his independence as long as he was able. David was fortunate enough to live near the Braille Institute in Rancho Mirage. He attended many classes there and found community with others with vision loss.

David was predeceased by his brother, Roddy; father, Howard; step-father, John Northfield; mother, Doreen; and his son, Stuart. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline; children, Lauren (Lyall) and Adam (Karin); grandchildren, Lisa, Toby, Jorja, and Grace; step-children, Mike (Ann), and Heather (Sean); and step-grandchildren, Henry, Cade, Elizabeth, Cole, and Cierra. He is also survived by his mother- and father-in-law Bill and Veda Bousema, brothers-in-law Bill (Bonnie), Allen (Cindy), and Kevin (Laurie) and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 3:30 PM, Monday July 27, 2015 at First Baptist Church 969 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Braille Institute athttp://www.brailleinstitute.org/or a charity of your choice, in David's name.