Marvin James Kempston

On November 27th, 2024, Marvin James Kempston passed away peacefully at Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Memorial Hospice in Kamloops.

Marv was born in Penticton to Fran and Pat Kempston. The family moved to Wells, where his brother Darryl was born, then to Rossland, where his sister Trish and brother Jim were born. Marv had all of his early education in Rossland, where he made many lifelong friends. A natural-born performer, young Marvin graced the stage with his skillful tap routines. His career on the ski hill began at Red Mountain, where he was an integral part of the ski team, winning many trophies and medals. A self-taught musician, he played piano, guitar, and accordion and did a short stint playing in a band with high school friends, which he said consisted mostly of getting together to practice.

Marv completed Grade 13 in Trail in 1958, then attended UBC, graduating with a BSc in Forestry. In his second year at university, he went home to Rossland for reading break and met Carolyn Matthews, a pretty young teacher from Nanaimo who was on a ski vacation at Red Mountain. Carolyn was working at Kerrisdale Elementary in Vancouver, and the two of them continued the relationship, marrying in 1959. Marv went back to UBC in the fall of 1959, newly married and with a baby on the way. In 1961, baby number two arrived, and Marv took a year off to work. He completed his degree the following year.

After graduating from UBC in 1962, the family was on the move: Black Point, Squamish, Nelson, Nass Camp, Terrace, Donald, Golden, and finally Kamloops in 1973. Marv moved his way up the corporate ladder until 1978, when he decided to start his own business, Westwood Fibre, which he ran successfully until he sold it to his partners in 2023.

With all the moving around, the one constant in Marv’s life was the family cabin and house at Christina Lake. Purchased by his parents in 1959, Christina Lake has seen five generations of Kempstons, and he made sure that future generations will continue to enjoy his little slice of paradise. He loved to spend summers at the lake with family, great neighbours and friends and had a golf group that consisted of friends that went back as far as elementary school. Marv and Carolyn also spent several years going to Palm Springs in March, where they golfed and socialized with a variety of people they had met over the years, some from Kamloops and many from Rossland and Trail. Skiing was a constant in Marv’s life, and he passed his passion for the sport down to his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He was a ski instructor at Lake Louise and Grandview and continued to ski every winter until he was in his eighties.

Marv was famous and much-admired for his work ethic. He began working at the age of twelve, sanding and refinishing hardwood floors with his dad. He worked at a variety of summer jobs in many places while in high school and university, including Banff, Nass Camp, Merritt, and coastal BC.

Marv is survived by his wife Carolyn, his son Russell (Jane), daughter Sally (Mark), grandchildren Andrew (Courtney), Willem, Hannah (Tyler), Zoe (Matt), and great-grandchildren Violet, Callie, Jameson, Miller, and Llewyn. He is also survived by his sister Trish, brother Jim (Marg), cousins, nieces, nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews.

He was predeceased by his brother Daryl and brother-in-law Ed.

Marv was a huge presence in the lives of everyone who knew him, and leaves a massive void in all our lives. He is gone too soon by any measure.

There will be no service as per Marv’s request, but the family would encourage his many friends and relatives to raise a glass of wine or scotch and drink a toast to Marv; may he rest easy and be half an hour in heaven before the devil knows he’s dead. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Memorial Hospice.