December 1, 1941 – October 11, 2020
In memory and in celebration of the life of someone who made friends and connections wherever he went, Ron passed away peacefully in the early morning of October 11, 2020.
Ron was born in New Westminster, grew up in Woodfibre and Squamish then moved to Vancouver to attend UBC where he met his future wife, Irene, and graduated from UBC Pharmacy (1964). He was an entrepreneur who purchased his first pharmacy in 1969, Hollyburn Pharmacy in West Vancouver where he and Irene then settled. He opened a number of pharmacies in Greater Vancouver throughout his career. He treasured his pharmacy staff and built many lifelong friendships. He was innovative and was one of the first to bring computers into the dispensary and to provide full service for long term care. Later, he brought dispensing automation into the store. He became involved with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia as they offered offshore professional development and Ron jumped at the chance to travel and learn at the same time. Since 1981, Ron & Irene traveled the world with their Australian friends, more than 50 countries over 23 trips.
He approached life with enthusiasm and curiosity. He was very interested in everyone he met and was always ready with advice. He loved exploring the backcountry and would always take a turn down any new road he discovered just to see where it went, even if it only led to a garbage dump or a logging slash. Ron was adventurous – in travel, in hiking, in riding dirt bikes & snowmobiles, and boating. There are many, many, many pictures of horizons of snow and mountain ranges and he could invariably tell you the exact spot the picture was taken.
Great times were enjoyed at the family cabin at Gun Lake over the past 50 years. His kids learned many life lessons there and Ron taught one granddaughter to fish and the other to dirt bike. He read many books on the deck and shared a great number of campfires with family and friends. Family and friends were what made him happy.
Ron had an exuberant love of life, a great laugh, and he loved good wine and recently made some award-winning wine with his friends “The Wine Boys”. We will always be thankful for the vibrancy and love he brought into our lives. He is recently predeceased by his parents, Lloyd & Leona Ingraham, who both lived 102 years. He is survived by his beloved wife, Irene, together for 60 years, his son Lee (Eugenia) and daughter Elaine Hirji (Waheed) and his granddaughters Zara and Jade, his brother Carl (Anna) niece Rina, and his sister Arlene niece Jennifer nephew Kevin, his brother-in-law Ron Lees nieces Irene and Miranda and nephews Tom and Alex.
In lieu of flowers, donations directed towards pancreatic cancer research at the BC Cancer Foundation would be much appreciated. A Celebration of Life will be held later when it is safe to gather. In the meantime, in remembrance of Ron, please raise a glass of something you love to his wonderful life that was cut short too soon.
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