Dr. David Philip Musgrave

David Philip Musgrave passed away peacefully on April 30, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. He was 72 years old, and leaves a proud legacy of providing exemplary medical care to his patients in the Comox Valley, and a lifetime of wonderful memories for his family and friends.

Born June 2, 1950, in the Comox Valley and raised in Beaver Cove and Richmond, BC., Dave met Nancy Jo-Ann McEwen while he was a medical student and she was studying nursing at the University of Calgary in the early 1970s. She was and will forever be the love of his life. After he charmed her parents, they were married in 1974. Whether living in Montreal or the Comox Valley, raising their three children at their family home on Seacliff Road in Courtenay, vacationing on a sailboat in Desolation Sound, or snow-birding in Palm Desert, they rarely spent a day apart for nearly fifty years.

For most, Dave will undoubtedly be remembered as “Dr. Musgrave”, a professional, dedicated and compassionate family physician, who provided around the clock care to generations of patients in the Comox Valley for over 30 years. Possessing a lifelong love of learning, an infectious and sometimes ridiculous sense of humor, and a selfless desire to help others in need, he truly loved the medical profession and his coworkers, staff and patients, many of whom became friends.

For his family and friends, Dave will always be a consummate adventurer and lover of life. In fact, when he was not working, he hardly ever sat still. He was passionate about mountain biking, snowboarding and skiing at Mt. Washington, racing his sailboat Pegasus in the Georgia Strait, participating in the Snow to Surf, and travelling around the world. He also enjoyed camping, fishing, woodworking, posing for silly pictures, and almost all forms of physical exercise, including taking long hikes in the mountains and walking and running in Seal Bay Nature Park. What he loved most, however, was laughing and spending quality time with family and close friends.

He will be profoundly missed and well-remembered by all who knew him, particularly by his wife Nancy, son Tristan (Jill), daughter Kendal (Kevin), son Travis (Heather), sister Margot (Scott), brother Bruce (Janet), half-sister Wendy (Ron), and a horde of grandchildren, nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his beloved mother Marjorie, father Phillip, and sister Debbie.

Parkinson’s Disease may have constrained his body for over ten years, but it failed to dent his spirit. He never gave up fighting against it until the end, and lived a vibrant, complete and fulfilled life.

A celebration of Dave’s life will be held on August 26, 2023, at the Crown Isle Resort & Golf Community in Courtenay, BC. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his memory to the Parkinson Society British Columbia.