Albert Arthur Ablett

On July 28, 1935 a son entered this world in the family home of Arthur and May Ablett, at the Fairview Mines near the little town of Oliver, British Columbia. The third of what would eventually be seven children, Albert was almost instantly rechristened “Ab” … Ab Ablett … it was not a stutter, but you’d be forgiven if upon him telling you his name, you had thought it so.

Eighty years later, on December 28, 2015, Ab left this world, peacefully in his sleep, in the family home near the not-so-little town of Kamloops, British Columbia. He is survived by his wife, Ella Anna of almost 58 years, two sons, David and John (Yvonne), and one daughter, Cathi (Trevor) Marshall: two granddaughters, Catherine and Sarah Ablett, two grandsons, Tysun and Chayse Marshall, three step-granddaughters, Jess and Alex Green, and Pam (Derek) DeGagne: three brothers, Doug (Marie), Gordon (Val) and Richard (Carole), and two sisters, Sheila (Godfrey) McDonald and Donna Owens (David Weddell).

He was predeceased by his older sister, Vivian Harder.

And into those 80 years he crammed a lot of living.

Ab lived in many towns when he was young: the list includes Oliver, Kelowna, Vernon, Salmo, Ocean Falls and Vancouver where he graduated from High School, then went to work for Ford, Bacon and Davis as a surveyor in Vernon. But family was still in Vancouver, and while visiting the family he met his sister’s friend, Ella. They were married in 1958. Ella became the love of his life.

They moved to Kamloops, in 1958 and Ab soon went to work for Inland Natural Gas (Fortis) as a surveyor. But his talents for understanding complex systems resulted in him being sent to wherever there were problems, and in six years he was transferred multiple times, finding new homes in Penticton, Prince George, Summerland, (Vancouver again briefly) and Trail. When another transfer was apparent, he said “enough” and moved back to Kamloops where he returned to working as a surveyor, this time for McWilliam, White and Goble. And again, his skill in other areas found him in a cramped office at a drafting table. Ab was good at drafting, but it was not what he wanted to do.

Then, in 1966 he had an idea that changed everything.

AMEX: In June Ab and Ella started their own business: AMEX Exploration Services Ltd. At the time, Kamloops was hardly the place to set up shop. But Ab had a gift … he knew what Kamloops could become, and he knew it would be the centre of Mining in BC. The mining company offices, however, were all in Vancouver. So he went there, and pounded on every single door. No prospective client was too big or too small, and in the five decades that followed, he worked for hundreds of them.

Of course, staking millions of mineral claims and cutting thousands of miles of survey lines is not something you do by yourself. Over those years, AMEX employed upwards of 1000 people, many of them young, inexperienced and perhaps unprepared for life.

“Ab was a great friend to us all...a mentor...a very special human being! He was responsible for bringing so many of us wayward souls together, and we’ve remained friends to this day.” – John Watters, former AMEX Bush Rat

When in 1974 the government practically shut down prospecting in BC and rewrote the Mineral Act, no one knew how to stake the new claims. Ab wrote a guide to the new act that explained exactly how it worked and what prospectors had to do to secure their title. It was so accurate, clear and concise that the Ministry of Mines published the guide and gave it away free to all Free Miners. Ab also proposed several changes to the Mineral Act’s legislation, almost all of which were adopted, to improve the lot of miners and prospectors in BC.

Then again in 2005, when BC abandoned the requirement to physically stake mineral claims in the bush in favour of an electronic system, Ab was able to help dozens of Mining Companies and prospectors to properly secure their title under the new system. Sometimes you can teach an old dog a new trick.

But all things come to an end, and in December, 2014 Ab and Ella closed the doors of AMEX. For 48 years AMEX had provided services to the mining community and jobs for many young people in the Kamloops area. And for almost all of that time, the office was in the family home. In fact, many of the employees became like family, and Ab was as much their friend and their mentor as he was their boss.

Golf: “… ‘Why are you so late?’ his wife chided. ‘Now wait one minute, woman. I would have you know that Charlie passed away on the third hole today.’ ‘Oh my, that’s terrible, but it still does not explain why you are so late?’ ‘Well think for a moment what it was like for me: Hit the ball, drag bloody Charlie, hit the ball, drag bloody Charlie….”

It was an attitude like that, that earned Ab a 4 handicap for most of his golfing years, and even a 7 handicap as a senior; that saw him score 7 hole-in-ones; and that made him many lifelong friends from the links of the Kamloops Golf and Country Club as well as the Rivershore Golf Club.

Mining: “Dad once found a hole in the middle of the title for the Afton Mine. He could have asked millions for it. Instead, he staked it in their name and only asked that they pay his expenses (probably under $50).”

To say Ab had integrity is to grossly understate his true nature. Nothing could ever be “wrong” … everything was painstakingly worried to the minutest detail. The maps he drew were marvels.

Ab was a member of the Kamloops Exploration Group (KEG), the Association for Mineral Exploration, BC (AME BC), the Engineers Club (Vancouver, BC) and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). He attended various industry events every year for decades and never stopped shaking hands and telling stories.

Art: “I am not an artist … I am just a doodler.” This is true. He was a renowned “doodler” and many placemats and napkins, in restaurants fell victim to his graphic tags. The instant he sat down in a restaurant, especially one with a paper placemat, out would come the pen. A broad white space would soon turn into an elaborate landscape, with mice and birds, old logs and trees: perhaps an outhouse or a cabin; maybe a lake or a brook. But before the meal came, there would be a new piece of art in the room.

Ab would always dismiss them, just flipping the placemat over again when the food arrived, but more likely than not, with the meal came a new placemat, this one intended for its common purpose and not the canvass of an artist, the adorned placemat whisked away and shown around the room.

Ella recalls, “One time we were travelling, and I looked at this art hanging on the wall in the restaurant. It was a drawing of Ab’s that he had drawn on the back of the restaurant’s placemat during some previous trip and they had framed it. In the corner it said ‘$75’.”

Service: For many years, Ab supported the local community as a member of the Brocklehurst Lions Club, the Gyro Club of Kamloops and the Social Credit Party of BC. He was passionate about politics, but just as passionate about helping someone in need.

He was never slow to offer someone a helping hand. He once jumped to the aid of a man who was being attacked by another man with a knife, getting wounded in the process, but saving the victim’s life. He fed and provisioned a prospector that just happened upon his camp … the man had not eaten for days. And one time he stopped his car after noticing some marks in the gravel road. He climbed down an embankment to find a car, hidden under some trees, the driver pinned and unable to get free.

And every day he showed generosity in every way he could. He made it his business to help the less fortunate.

If you knew Ab, you loved Ab. If you met him, you probably would not forget him.

A wonderful story teller, Ab had a thousand tales, some true … some not so much … but all were very entertaining.

I hope he likes this one.

Ab did not want a funeral; a celebration of life will happen in the spring (details TBA). In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to your local food bank or mission, or just give someone less fortunate a few dollars and say, ‘This is from Ab.’

“Of course we can.”

Condolences may be expressed at www.schoeningfuneralservice.com.