With great sadness we announce the death of Ron McPhedran on November 27, 2011, in St. Mary’s Hospital in Sechelt.
Ron was born on March 3, 1930, to Scottish parents in Vancouver. He attended Kitsilano High School, where he met his future wife Louise. They married in 1951 and lived in Regina and Calgary before bringing their four children back to BC in 1965 to settle on the Sunshine Coast.
Ron had a varied career, excelling at all his occupations. He was an executive with an international company when he and Lou decided to move their family to Gibsons. There he became a qualified electrician, then an engineer at the Port Mellon mill. He was active in the union at the mill, served as president of the union local, then worked as a business agent for the Canadian Paperworkers Union until his retirement.
Ron’s interests outside his work were also varied. After retiring, he fulfilled a lifelong ambition by earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University in 1996. He had to stop work on his Master’s degree to care for Lou during her long illness, but he continued to study and take courses all his life. He played bagpipes in the Seaforth Highlanders Pipe Band in Calgary, and studied Gaelic. He was an original member of the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club. He was a Freemason for over 50 years and was active in Mount Elphinstone Lodge 130, where he was a past Worshipful Master.
Ron was predeceased by his son Colin in 1984, and by his beloved wife Lou in 2010 after 59 years of marriage. He is survived by his children Candace (Peter), Jock (Linda) and Jaimie (Steve). He took great joy in his grandchildren Lindsay (Michael), Connor (Emma), Katie and Aidan, and in recent years became a delighted great-grandfather to Mya, Kira and Hailey.
Ron’s many friends will miss him, and he will be very sadly missed and remembered with love and pride by his family.
A celebration of Ron’s life will be held at a later date.