Barbara Eileen Pike

It is with profound sadness that the Pike family announces the sudden passing of Barbara Eileen Pike in her home on Sunday, November 8th, 2020. She was 70 years old, and until the end, an unforgettable source of positive energy and compassion as a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and friend.

Barb’s life was rooted in southern B.C., with occasional adventures spanning the globe. She was born and raised in Vancouver, spending some years on Vancouver Island with her parents Len and Eileen Wilson, and her sister Brenda. Barb’s caring and empathetic nature no doubt led her into the nursing profession – a career she was drawn to early - and in 1971 she graduated from the VGH School of Nursing as a Registered Nurse. What followed after was forty-plus years of devotion to the care of the people in her communities. Barb worked in hospitals in Vancouver, Victoria, Saanich, and Nanaimo before finally settling at Richmond General Hospital, where she would spend her final twenty-five years as an emergency nurse. Near the end of her career, Barb’s skill and expertise were recognized as she served as Head Nurse for Richmond General Hospital’s Emergency Department for several years. Barb’s faithful, professional service and warm personality was a mainstay at every institution she worked for.

That fateful year of 1971 was also the year that Barb took a trip on a BC Ferry bound for Victoria. On that ferry, she asked a young man named Reg Pike to give her a lift, though she couldn’t have realized then that the favor would have begun a forty-seven-year relationship founded on co-dependence and love. Barb and Reg worked hard, together, to build a home in the communities of Tsawwassen, Sidney, Nanaimo, Richmond, and finally in their later years, Delta and Surrey. Along the way, Reg and Barb were blessed with two sons (Scott, Bryant). Barb’s role in the family at this time was especially vital, supporting Reg professionally where she could, while also taking charge of supporting the kids, even through exhausting shift work at the hospital. Barb never complained. Her concern was always for her boys.

If having children brought out the best in Barb, having grandchildren did so even more. Without consideration, Barb and Reg flew halfway around the world to be with their first grandson at his birth, and as each grandchild expanded and enriched the family with love and memories, Barb was always at the center. There was not a bowling, gymnastics, hockey, baseball, soccer, or taekwondo practice she would not attend for her grandchildren. For all their benefit, Barb luxuriated in the excessive decorations and treats of every major holiday. There was nothing she would deny her munchkins.

Barb treasured her time with her husband, and loved travelling the world with him. Almost as treasured was the time she spent at her cabin on Piers Island. That was her special place, and even there her gentle effervescence was felt by all who knew her. She lived for the chance to connect, to help, and to love.

Barb is predeceased by her mother (Eileen) and father (Len), and is survived by her husband Reg, her sons Bryant (Deanna), and Scott (Kotomi), her grandchildren Max, Miles, Brayden, and Avery, her sister Brenda (John), and her nephew Brody. Due to COVID 19 restrictions, a limited memorial of immediate family only will be held at a later date.