Whitey is survived by his wife of 64 years, Elizabeth (Munro), his son Mike (Michelle) Dropko, his daughter Andrea (Tim) Davis, his grandsons Arlen and Ezra, his nephew Greg (Sharon) Dropko, and many grand and great-grand nieces and nephews.
Whitey excelled in sports growing up in Moose Jaw. He played elite hockey, football and wrestled. He had a long career as a professional wrestling referee throughout Western Canada and the US, including the televised All Star Wrestling show on CTV.
As a career, Whitey worked for the Canadian Grain Commission, and was an active executive member for the local Public Service Alliance of Canada for over 20 years. He was also a member of St. Christopher’s Anglican Church in West Vancouver.
From a very young age on the Prairies, Whitey had a love of horses. Towards the end of his career, Whitey was able to fulfill his dream of having his own horse. He and Elizabeth, well into their late 50’s, both became active riders, and one horse led to two. Whitey, always the competitor, took up the sport of cattle penning, and with his beloved horse, Aspen, he spent years training, travelling and competing in various cattle penning events. Aspen was the second love of Whitey’s life. They rode together until Aspen’s death at 28, when Whitey was well into his 80’s.
In his last years Whitey stayed fit and swapped stories with the Fit Fellas and Senators of the West Van Seniors Centre.
An open visitation will be held on Saturday, October 20 from 9-10am at Hollyburn Funeral Home, 1807 Marine Drive, British Columbia V7V 1J7. A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church, at 1068 Inglewood Ave, West Vancouver, on Saturday, October 20th at 11am.
Special thanks to Dr. Nigel Walton, Twyla Pitman, Dr. John Vyselaar, and the Fit Fellas gang for their care and compassion.
In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Canadian Red Cross would be appreciated www.redcross.ca/in-your-community/british-columbia-and-yukon
“No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle” – Winston Churchill
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