Wilfred H. Scoble

Wilf came from inauspicious beginnings: the son of Fred, a house painter who immigrated to Canada from Devon, England as a young man; and Dora, a young governess, who followed Fred to start a new life in Canada. Fred and Dora were married in Winnipeg before finally settling in Vancouver. They had a son, Francis, who died of appendicitis before Wilf was born. Wilf was raised as an only child.

Wilf was a creature of habit – the sort of person who every time he gassed up the car would record the mileage, and the amount and price of the gasoline purchased in a little notebook which he kept on the visor. He confided in his later years that he wasn’t really sure why he did this as he never actually did anything with this information, but if anyone wanted to know exactly how much gasoline Wilf purchased in his lifetime, the total cost of that gasoline and the distance that gasoline carried him, he would have been able to produce those notebooks in an instant. Pack rat that he was, extracting those notebooks from the amassed detritus of his life would be a truly Herculean task.

As a young man he attended Britannia High School in east Vancouver where he was popular and active in sports. He enjoyed life with his crowd -- listening and dancing to the big band music of the day and taking weekend jaunts to Bowen Island to partake in the lively social scene. Friendships with schoolmates were life long. He was a good student. I once viewed his grade school report cards; there was only one grade present: “A”. However, coming of age in a blue collar family on the heels of the Great Depression, university was not an option. And so he began his working career straight out of high school and for the remainder of his working days was always thankful to have a job.

Despite his obvious intellect Wilf was not of a particularly philosophical bent, he was content to live his life within the confines of his community and his day to day existence. He was essentially a social person, imbued with a deep sense of civic duty and always active in his community. He was apolitical in his activities, though he always voted -- not for the party, but for the man. Though not outwardly religious his community included his church, and in his day to day life he exhibited an unwavering moral compass and could always be counted on to lend a hand to a friend or family member in need.

With the outbreak of the Second World War he volunteered for service. He was however deemed unfit for service because he had flat feet – though his flat feet never gave him any trouble and had not prevented him from becoming the Vancouver tennis champion. This earned him an opportunity to play the then Canadian champion in a tournament. Nervous, he delivered a powerful first serve which landed not just out of bounds, but clear out of the court. This prompted the reigning champ to call him up to the net to give him a little pep talk to help settle him down. After which he proceeded to give Wilf, who did settle down and gave it his best shot, a thorough trouncing.

Wilf married in 1950. The following year he and Vivien had a daughter, Joan; four years later a son, Rob, came along. Family life suited Wilf to a “T”. He was a good husband and father. Life was punctuated by Sunday roast beef dinners with grandparents; visits to see the cousins in Portland; long weekend road trips with Grandma and Grandpa and birthdays and holidays celebrated with an exuberant sense of ceremony.

The highlight of every year was a two week family holiday at Naramata Centre. The Rambler station wagon was carefully loaded to overflowing with an amazing assortment of clothing, recreational equipment and household effects – everything that anyone might possibly need, “just in case”. The drive over the Hope-Princeton was a sing-along affair. At Naramata, Wilf, typically, was in the thick of things, whether it was getting up early on Sunday mornings and piling everybody’s kids into the station wagon for a before breakfast swim or making the big play in whatever evening games were played. But it was at Friday skit nights where he really shone. Whereas a few hardy souls representing Cottage Court, Orchard Court and the campground in “Skunk Hollow” would reluctantly volunteer to perform a skit or two, East Court, under the leadership of Wilf and his partner-in-arms Harry Miller would mount grand productions with a role for everyone – and no one, but no one, escaped their role. These were happy times.

But then plans of going back to University to become a teacher had to be abandoned when Vivien, his wife and the mother of his children, was cut down in her prime, by cancer. His attempt to put his life back together and to build a new family for his children was thwarted by the loss of his job followed by the untimely death of his second wife, Rita, leaving him a single parent once again, with the addition of three more children to care for; add to this the burden of unexpected debt compounded by the loss of his job a second time. If every life has its barrel of pain, Wilf’s barrel was filled to overflowing. He could have been forgiven had he turned to the bottle or otherwise faltered, but instead he shouldered his yoke and steadfastly carried on.

For a second time Wilf joined Parents Without Partners. Ever helpful, he volunteered to pick up a new member from out of town who needed a ride to a meeting. And that is how he met Kay. “Love at first sight” is perhaps a little too over the top, but something clicked. Initially PWP provided the forum for a courtship of sorts. And then, much to the “shock” of their assorted offspring, Wilf and Kay decided to move in together – forever banishing any prerogative of parental disapproval being attached to living in sin in the Scoble-Mousseau amalgam-family. Eventually Wilf and Kay were married in a true family wedding: son as best man; daughter as maid of honour.

Their cottage at Silver Lake, near Mount Baker, became a summer home away from home for Wilf and Kay and their assorted children, the older ones accompanied by spouses and an ever-growing number of grandchildren. Once the last of their children had left home and they had settled into retirement Wilf and Kay moved from the house in Burnaby to Queen Anne Green in Langley. They quickly made friends of neighbours and figured largely in transforming a nascent senior’s complex into a close knit community with a vibrant social scene. After retirement Wilf resumed playing table tennis, at which he had also excelled in his youth, regularly medaling at the BC Seniors Games.

It started innocently, with summers at the cottage being complimented by winter get-aways to Hawaii or Mexico. In 1991 to try something different, they decided to take a Mexican cruise instead of going to a resort. And that’s when they were bitten by the travel bug – seriously. For the next eighteen years, family get-togethers, watching the grandkids play sports, the Queen Anne social scene, trips to the Seniors Games and even, on occasion, the NHL playoffs had to give way to accommodate the latest cruise. The Caribbean, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, Alaska, the Amazon… and the list goes on and at times repeats itself. Wilf’s working years may have had some bumpy spots along the way, but it can truthfully be said that he cruised through retirement.

Inevitably, the physical manifestations of advancing years started to take their toll and the pace of life slowed down. Cruises became fewer, further between and closer to home. The ping pong paddle joined the tennis racket in the closet. Though increasingly sedentary, socializing with friends and family continued to be a vital part of daily life. Watching sports, previously squeezed into a busy schedule, became the schedule. It was after watching his beloved Vancouver Canucks defeat the Los Angeles Kings to keep their playoff hopes alive that Wilf was rushed to the Langley General Hospital suffering from a heart attack. The following morning, with Kay, his partner of 33 years and other family members at his bedside, he passed away peacefully.

Wilfred Henry SCOBLE

SCOBLE, Wilfred Henry Aged 86 years, passed away peacefully on April 24, 2010. Survived by his loving wife Kate; children Joan Pellett (David), Savona, BC; Rob (Lisa), Annie Lake, YT; Ted Mousseau (Carol), Point Roberts, WA; Don Mousseau (Lea), Calgary, AB; Anne Wise, Coquitlam, BC; Larry Mousseau, Vancouver; Kathy Mousseau, Clinton, BC; Brian Mousseau (Stephanie), Tweed, ON; Jewel Voth, Vancouver; Phil Jones, Penticton, BC; 15 grandchildren; 8 great grandchildren as well as extended family and friends. He is predeceased by his wife Vivian; his wife Rita; stepsons Bob Mousseau and Jerry Jones; sons-in-law Jim Wise and Dale Williams. Please join the family in a Celebration of Life for Wilf on Thursday, April 29th at Henderson's Langley Funeral Home, 20786 Fraser Highway, Langley at 1:00 P.M.

In lieu of flowers donations to the Cancer Society or the Heart & Stroke Foundation would be appreciated. For more information or to send condolences please go to www.mem.com Condolences may be offered at www.hendersonslangleyfunerals.com

Arrangements under the direction of Henderson's Langley Funeral Home, Langley, BC.