Tribute

Bryce William Hyatt, a great husband, father, grandfather, son, brother and friend, born on February 19th, 1949, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on April 24th, 2019, 3 years to the day after he was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic bowel cancer.

Cancer was never a battle or something he needed to fight; he considered it a dance. Cancer was his dance partner for longer than expected. He learned so much about himself through the process. He danced with humility and grace and left this earth happily dancing to the next plane. He was welcomed on the other side by his mother, grandmother (whom he learned unconditional love) and many good friends.

Born in Ontario, Bryce caught the travel bug as a teenager and headed out west where he met his life-long sweetheart, Julie-Ann in Burnaby. He was the boy next door,

Julie-Ann just 15 when they met; he waited till she turned 18 before asking her out. They moved to the West Kootenay’s in the early spring of 1974. They moved and lived for a time in Victoria, Kelowna and in Sechelt for 10 years where their children were born. They settled in Winlaw in 1990, which became their forever home.

Bryce had an insatiable thirst for knowledge of any new and innovative ideas he could research and was always excited to share his latest plans with like-minded friends. He was a collector of knowledge, and a heck of a lot of other stuff. If you were ever in need of an obscure item to fix almost anything, you just had to stop by, and with a bit of luck, Bryce could find it for you somewhere in his vast collection of odds and sods. 

Bryce was known for his honesty and always told you the truth, even if it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. Words of encouragement, wisdom and sometimes comfort, mixed with a good dose of humour and maybe a touch of sarcasm were also a part of his conversations with anyone who was smart enough to ask his advice or opinion. 

Bryce was blessed to have so many friends.

Bryce has left behind a plethora of wonderful memories that will help to ease the sadness we all feel without his presence. He will be sorely missed and is survived by his wife of 45 years, Julie-Ann, his sons, Will, Saul (his daughter-in-law, Holly), and Malcolm, grandchildren Siarrah and Jossif, his father Bill, sister Ruth, in-laws and long-time friends.

A celebration of Bryce’s life is planned for Saturday, June 29th, 2019 at 2:00pm, at his family home; 6108 Claybrick Road. All are welcome; bring a dish to share and a chair. Please contact Julie-Ann @ 250-226-7654 if you would like more information.