Born November 30, 1921, in Kensington Prairie, BC, to Clarence and Winnifred Elizabeth (nee Bruce). Died March 3, 2015, Sechelt, BC aged 93 years and 93 days, and still he left us too soon.
Don lived a varied and interesting life. Predeceased by three wives: Anne, Ida and Hazel, plus longtime girlfriend Liz and stepson Kevin Jensan.
Survived by children: David Hadden, Lola Westell (Marty), Linda Moseley (Peter) and stepchildren Greg and Lewis Jones, Katannya Woodruff, Joy Woodhams and Amandah Jensan, and their children and grandchildren.
Don was proud of his family and delighted in inviting treasured friends to share in his warm circle of community. He never forgot a birthday, mailing cards the old-fashioned way via Canada Post, as well as online.
A 50-year resident of Sechelt, Don was lucky to make many loyal friends with whom he enjoyed visiting up until the very last day of his life. He specifically wanted to thank Jim Wakeford, who joined him for lunch every day in St. Mary’s Hospital, Sechelt; Jorgen Nielsen, who brought him ice cream, even if it wasn’t good for him; Gordy Hall and Stan Anderson, who brought him soup and good cheer; Hale Cartwright, who visited daily; dear friend Valerie Brown; and his special barber, Dave LaChance; plus other cherished people who visited, sent emails, cards, letters or posters to let him know what a positive influence he had on them. He was truly humbled by the outpouring of love from so many directions.
Don was an avid volunteer from a young age and was a member of the Kinsmen Club, the Royal Canadian Legion, the SC Lions Club, the SC Power and Sail Squadron, the Senior Citizens’ Housing Society (with Canon Alan Greene) and the Natural History Society, and he was a Master Mason with Lodge #9, New Westminster, BC.
Wanting to become a pilot, he joined the RCAF in 1941, but because he was already a trained machinist working for Boeing Aircraft on Sea Island and had a small problem with his eyesight, he was not fated to fly. He enjoyed the military until 1945 but always felt badly that he wasn’t able to fight overseas for his country.
He worked as a Psychiatric Attendant at Riverview, was a millwright, a master mechanic, a Class A teamster, owned and operated Hadden’s Home Service (now Petrocan), and bought and operated a backhoe and truck while in his late 40s when he decided on a career change. While he and Hazel built their beautiful waterfront home in Selma Park, he studied hard to become a licensed realtor and an appraiser – a field in which he thrived, becoming well known as an honest, trustworthy and reliable man to deal with.
He enjoyed the sea and owned a total of nine boats, exploring most of the Coast, and also travelled around BC, Alberta and Alaska in different vehicles. An “old school” guy, he could turn his hand to almost any project and could build, fix, modify, repair or design almost anything. He was famous for his creativity and practical solutions to life’s little challenges.
His family wish to extend their deepest thanks to Irene for helping Dad in so many ways, all his caregivers who allowed him to live in his home for so long, the staff at St. Mary’s Hospital who took such good care of him in his final days and his many remarkable friends and neighbours.
Also, thank you to the DVA for help maintaining his independence.
The Old Boy’s Lunch Bunch who meet every Friday and the Sunday Family Brunch Group will be a man short now, and the world is a poorer place for having lost Don.
No service by request. Donations to the Salvation Army and/or Happy Cat Haven would be appreciated.
We laughed when he said he’d outlived his usefulness, because he was so wrong. Don has been accepted by UBC and will go on serving others for some time yet.