March 14, 1940 - April 30, 2016
With heavy hearts, we let you go
Where endless lakes & rivers flow.
To fish again as you loved to do
When life was good for us and you.
In Port Alberni you were born & raised,
And through the years many trails were blazed.
In youth your skills were most diverse,
From sports to the hill climbs you’d traverse.
Your love of outdoors was tried and true,
And fun & games were what worked for you,
But along the way your passion did turn
To a lovely young nurse for whom you did yearn.
You married your Aussie and ended up there
For a time at a tin mine in the Outback to share.
A son was soon welcomed and life became full
In the land of the sun & the sheep with their wool.
In time, nothing turned out the way it was planned,
And back to Canada you decided to land.
Your love of signs took over again
From where you left off in Port way back when.
Grant Signs was then born back in ‘72
When you still had the energy burning in you.
The results of your vision are everywhere now,
And for that alone you should take a huge bow.
A few years later a new flame was kindled,
And you married again before it had dwindled.
A lovely young daughter came with this wedding,
And once again fatherhood was where you were heading.
The wonderful thing that you managed to do
Was join two distant families, forever, through you.
A sister, a brother, a daughter, a son
Now grandsons are added to join in the fun.
The years have gone by so quickly it seems,
But memories were made while fulfilling your dreams.
There’s not enough space to go through them all,
But hunting & fishing were surely a ball.
Trips to hunt geese on the Prairies were made,
And over the years, the friendships have stayed.
Fishing with buddies and fly tying too
Were times that you treasured for them & for you.
Through Rotary, your passion really came through
Especially when Youth Exchange was given to you.
A Memory Tree is, every Christmas, unfurled
Of the students we’ve met from all over the World.
In the Rotary Auction, each year, you’d partake
Raising funds for local projects your Club would then make.
The signs for the Seawalk were your job to do.
They’ll be there forever as tributes to you.
Golf was a game you enjoyed through the years
With your buds or your ‘Babe’ and a tray full of beers.
Lots of stories were told at the end of each game,
Another good reason you were glad that you came.
As a founding member of the Storey Creek course
For the signage they needed, you were their source.
Each hole was supplied with sandblasted signs
Hand-crafted by you, with special designs.
With pleasure you did it to help with the start
Of a Course that remained very close to your heart.
The pride that you felt when the job was complete,
Was so gratifying and ever so sweet.
Mixed tournaments you also enjoyed through the years
And, as always, those wonderful trays full of beers.
Two of your favourites, in which you took part,
Were the Brind’Amour & Special O, when we rode in a cart.
The memories abound from those two alone,
And to show them how special, you made them their own
Unique blasted signs that are there to this day,
So each tournament year they’re put on display.
Another sandblaster you did near the start,
Commemorated the B.C. Amateur and its part.
For years it displayed as you came to the course,
A proud reminder that you were its source.
The big one of course is the entranceway sign
That was done and refurbished to help keep its shine.
Its prominent place is a welcome to all
And you are the one they will always recall.
But your piece de resistance in all that you’ve done,
Is the hand lettering job you did just for fun,
On the BCP 45 at the Maritime Centre.
To this day we see skills of an artist & mentor.
This doesn’t do justice to all that you’ve done.
You’ve touched many people since you have begun.
Those who have known you will know all the rest.
Your life has been full and you’re so very blessed.