Daphne Joan Gagnon

Daphne is predeceased by her father Robert, her mother Jean, and her stepfather Maurice. She is survived and will be terribly missed by her partner of 14 years Dave, her sons Jason (Vanessa), Simon (Samantha), Dave’s children Erin and Carson, her beloved grandchildren Deacon, Indiana and Ada, her sister Debbie (Clay), brother Dave (Jan) nephew Shawn and great niece Maia.

Daphne was born in Ottawa, Ontario on May 19, 1954, and grew up in Regina Saskatchewan. She attended Thom Collegiate High School before venturing out to BC to study at the University of Victoria, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Social Work.

Daphne had a long and fulfilling career as a medical Social Worker, her passion for helping others was evident in everything she did. During her career she worked in a variety of places including Vancouver General Hospital, Eagle Ridge Hospital, Ridge Meadows Hospital, Fraser Health Acquired Brain Injury Services and most recently at Langley Memorial Hospital as a casual Social Worker after her retirement in 2019.

Daphne was always very community minded and very passionate about her volunteer work. She completed several secondments through the United Way Loaned Rep program and remained a United Way Champion throughout her life. She proudly helped coach many of Jasons sports teams from a young age. She was very involved in the Army Cadets during and after Simon’s time as a Cadet. Even after moving from Coquitlam to Langley, she continued her dedicated involvement in the planning for Festival Coquitlam, the Teddy Bear Picnic, Father’s Day Fishing Derby and many other events spanning decades. Daphne was a proud Canadian and especially loved cheering on Team Canada at the Olympics, during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics Daphne was thrilled to be a volunteer driver, and had the opportunity to meet many Olympic officials, and athletes.

Daphne never missed an opportunity to celebrate, she loved holidays and had a gift for decorating to make any occasion something special. Whether it be an office party or decorating every room in her home at Christmas time she always tried to help everyone around her get into the spirit of the celebration. Daphne especially loved Halloween and with Dave’s help they had many years of spectacular yard displays and costumes for the neighborhood at home and at Whatcom to enjoy.

In her retirement Daphne loved spending time at her trailer at Whatcom Meadows with Dave, their dog Golsa and the many friends she met there. She had the opportunity to travel to Australia several times to visit Simon and his family, the highlight of her last trip there was meeting and spending quality time with grandson Indiana. She adored being a grandma (Nana in Australia) and was always in her element when spending time with her grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at Dave and Daphne’s home in October, details will be shared once determined. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the United Way, the Langley Community Health and Hospital Foundation or the Heart and Stroke Foundation.