Roy Paton passed away on Saturday, December 3, 2016, in the Peace Arch Hospital at White Rock, B.C. He was surrounded by his family, who cared greatly for him. Born September 30, 1936, Roy lived to be 80 years old.
Netherhill, Saskatchewan, was his birth place where Roy was a brother to 9 siblings. A natural entrepreneur, whether selling eggs as a young boy or working at the general store, Roy learned the benefits of working hard early in life! By his late teens he left the prairies for adventure on the west coast eventually finding the foothills of the Alberta Rockies and work at the Burmis Lumber Yard. His organizational skills were recognized early on and he was given the position of sales and management of the Burmis Lumber yard. Within a year he returned to Saskatchewan to marry his high school sweet heart, Joan Smith. The family went on to settle in Bellevue where they raised their 3 sons, Dale, Garnet and Darin.
Roy was production manager of the Philips Cable Plant in its heyday and was the first summer employer for countless young men and women attending college. He was always fair and challenged them to be their best. Roy put his love for curling aside when it was clear how much his boys loved hockey, to become their coach. While coaching the peewee team it was tradition to pat Coach Roy’s balding head for good luck as his team bounded onto the ice. It seemed to work well at times, particularly the year the Crowsnest Pass Rep team made it to the Alberta Pee Wee championship playoffs. In the summers, he coached baseball, always emphasizing sportsmanship and team playing. When Philips closed in 1995, Roy was transferred to the Vancouver plant where he became Plant Manager. Roy and Joan established a new home in White Rock.
As grandchildren arrived, Roy and Joan made every visit an event. After a big welcome hug, they ran up the stairs to pick out a little treasure from the “magic drawer”, then fed the ducks at a nearby pond, or walked with Grandpa and his metal detector along the beaches at low tide, or made blackberry jam, sewed a ready-just-for-them project in Grandma’s sewing room, and always, a visit to the local DQ for soft ice cream. When Roy retired from Philips Cable he had fun checking out garage sales, looking to add to his collection of Stanley wood planes and tools. In fact, he was as near a professional garage saler as one can get! He kept a small notebook with him of items he was searching for – a life jacket for a grandchild, fly fishing rods, antique music scores, out-of-print books, [art supplies for the school where his daughter-in-law worked], antiques coins and hand-tools, and curiosities of all kinds. He researched their significance and valued old objects because of the historical stories they held. He held his own sales on a regular basis and folks came from miles around knowing they would find treasures. Many of the visitors to his many years of garage sales became good friends of his.
Shelters in the greater White Rock area knew his car when he drove up, which always came filled with much-needed blankets and clothing from his garage sale forays, intentionally collected for the poor and homeless. He was mindful of his neighbours and saw when there was a need. He found odd jobs for those who needed a bit of extra cash, would drive a person to an appointment or shared extra potted plants. He was a proud gardener, too! Roy will be greatly missed by his Tim Horton’s 5 a.m. group, by local antique collectors, his neighbours, but most of all by his family.
The family would like to say a special thank you to all of the doctors and nurses who cared for Roy over the past few months.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Association.
Arrangements under the direction of Victory Memorial Park Funeral Centre, Surrey, BC.
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