It is with deepest sadness we announce the passing of Buckley Versechoyle Lord on Feb. 11th, 2024 at the age of 94 years. He was the beloved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and uncle to many. He lived a happy, active and productive life full of love, integrity, honour, loyalty and had a great sense of humour.

Buckley was born on Aug. 30th, 1929 in Bracken Saskatchewan to Walter and Agnes Lord. He was the third child and brother to siblings Lenore, Valoree, Elaine, Dean and Eileen. Many skills such as farming, livestock care, and athletics were developed through his childhood and teen years in various locations in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta. In 1949, after graduating, he moved from home to work for Greyhound in Lethbridge Alberta, and then to Red Rock Ontario. There, he became the Manager and Projectionist for a theatre, and also took day work in the accounting department of the paper mill. He married Doreen, his wife of 44 years, in 1952 and raised four children, Karen, Dan, Pat and Barry. After completing many accounting and computer programming courses in Winnipeg, he remained with Domtar as Computer Systems Analyst and Data Processing Supervisor.

The family then moved to Kamloops, BC in 1965, where Buckley accepted the position of  Statistical Supervisor for Weyerhaeuser. He continued to work for them in that capacity, and as Accounting Manager in the lumber division, until he accepted a teaching position at Cariboo College. After a long career of teaching business courses, he retired from the College in 1989. Unfortunately, his loving, beautiful wife Doreen predeceased him in 1996. He shared a rich life with her and the family, doing activities such as travelling, camping, pool parties, fireside gatherings, dancing, swimming and biking. He also had many interests and hobbies such as home renovations, photography, horseshoe competitions, and more. He was a member of the horseshoe club, the St. George’s Church men’s club, and was a long standing member of the Moose Hall where he was very involved in it’s bookkeeping and other support roles.

A private family only graveside ceremony will be held on Saturday, February 24th, 2024.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

We will all miss him more than words can say, and he will be in our hearts forever.

Condolences may be sent to the family from
www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com

Alfred Craft, 77, passed away on Friday, February 2, 2024 in Clearwater BC.

Al was born to parents Paul and Martha Craft on July 16, 1946 in Queen Charlotte City, BC.  Al is survived by his four children, Joyce Groenendyk, Sheila Green, Dakota Olson and Shania Craft, along with nine grandchildren, Fearon, Courtney, Arie, Hayden, Drew, Shae, Harmoney, Emma and Wyatt.

Al was known to be a bit cheeky a lot of fun and sometimes a bit rough around the edges but had a kind heart.  Al loved to camp, fish and hunt and later in life became a lover of Harley Davidsons’s.  Al ventured all over the map with friends and family toting and sharing many tales along his way.

Al will be remembered for his sense of humor, sarcastic come backs and his sometimes-boisterous behavior.

“We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone”

Rest in peace “Dad, ole man, daddio” may you ride on forever and stay young at heart. Forever in our hearts, much love.
Upon the request of our dad there will be no service.

Condolences may be sent to the family from
www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com

In loving memory
April 16, 1961 – January 31, 2024

Karen is survived by her husband Neil Bod, her sisters Wanda Atkinson, Tammy (Lyle) Bestward and her brothers Bill (Roberta) Downs and Jason Warman,  and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She was predeceased by her parents, nephews Benjamin Atkinson, Oscar Atkinson and her niece Hannah Atkinson.

Karen spent pretty much all her working life in the hospitality industry, which she loved.  She was loved by all she had contact with, be it friends, co-workers, bosses, or customers.

She was a beautiful soul who left us all too soon.
She will be loved and missed until the end of time.

The Celebration of Karen’s life will be held at 1pm on Sunday, February 18, 2024 in the Pogue Mahone, 843 Desmond St., Kamloops.

Condolences may be sent to the family from
www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com

It is with great sadness that the family of Melvin Harold Harbak, born on August 15, 1956, announces his passing on January 1, 2024. He is survived by his loving mother, Patricia; partner, Shellie; daughters, Tennille (John) and Tasha (Jay); grandchildren, Rhiley, Breanna, Katarina, Haley, Kohen, and Mya; great-granddaughter, Raelynn; siblings, Carol, Elaine (Jim), Sheryl (Calvin), and Stan (Rayma); and numerous nieces, nephews, family, and friends.

Mel was predeceased by his wife, Marilyn; sister, Shirley; and brother-in-law, Larry.

Mel loved spending his time with loved ones. He always enjoyed dancing and would lighten up the room with his swift moves and crazy wool socks. He brought smiles and laughter and left lasting impressions wherever he went. He will be greatly missed but will live in our hearts forever.

The family will hold a Celebration of Life later this year.

“Dad, may your rhythm never fade,
and your spirit forever keep us dancing!”

Condolences may be sent to the family from
www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Rino Antonio Piva of Kamloops B.C. on February 5^th, 2024 at 90 years of age.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dina Piva, children Mario Piva (Cindy), Laura Piva-Babcock (James Babcock), Dennis Piva (Amber). He was nonno to his grandchildren Kailyn Kozub (Derek), Lindsay Piva (Reid Plasterer), Tiana Heichert (Eric), Alana Babcock (Graham Scott), Claire Babcock, Alex Piva and Joey Piva. More recently, he became a “bisnonno” to great-grandson Myles Kozub. Also surviving him are his brother Loris Piva, nephews Rob (Cheryl), Dino (Leanne) and his siblings in Italy Giuseppe Piva and Carmela Piva and nephew and nieces, Mauro, Cristina, Rosanna and Lucia. He is pre-deceased by his parents, Angelo and Irma Piva.

Born on September 17, 1933 in Crocetta del Montello, Nogare, Treviso, Italy he was the oldest of four children. As a child he loved to work on the small family farm and insisted his mom set the alarm clock so he could be up with the adults when they went to work in the fields. Always pragmatic, in 1952 at the age of 18 he decided to venture to Canada knowing that the family farm that he loved was too small to sustain him and his immediate and extended family in post-World War II Italy. He sailed to Halifax and took a train across Canada to Kamloops where he lived and worked for 13 months on his Uncle Joe Piva’s ranch in Pinantan. He then worked on pipelines and at sawmills in the interior often living in camps. He joked that he went to the “University of Savona” because, despite having a minimal formal education, he learned a lot from his work and living experiences in his 20’s.

In 1958, he returned to Italy for a few months to visit his family and met his future wife, Dina. After a year of writing letters, she too took that courageous trip to Canada and they were married in the fall of 1960. Eventually they purchased the Vendome Rooms where Dina looked after the rooming house and the kids while he continued to work as a labourer. Rino was a lifetime member of the Colombo Lodge and would help Dina when she was cooking for the banquets by lifting and pouring out the large copper pots of pasta.

He grew a bountiful vegetable garden and enjoyed the outdoors. He loved nothing more than fishing the many lakes around Kamloops with Mario, Dennis and James or with his Italian fishing buddies. The most special days were when they “brought the frying pan” and enjoyed the catch on the ice or at the lakeshore and washed the meal down with homemade wine.

Summer Sundays at the picnic at Mount Lolo were always a highlight for him where families gathered to play bocce, tell jokes, bbq over a woodfire and end the day singing folk songs from the old country. Although most of his family were thousands of miles away, he and Dina built a family of friends in Canada.

In his retirement years when he wasn’t gardening or fishing he could be seen riding his bike along the Rivers Trail – remarkably, something he did until he was almost 90. He was an avid reader, particularly of current affairs, and would spend many hours on the couch reading MacLeans or The Economist, broadening his world view and building upon his “University of Savona” education.

He was funny, authentic, practical, and straightforward to the very end and will be deeply missed by his family who loved him very much.

Monsignor Jerry Desmond will celebrate the Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church (635 Tranquille Road, Kamloops BC) on Saturday, February 10^th at 11 a.m. Reception to follow at the Parish Centre.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in his memory to the Canadian Cancer Society or Royal Inland Hospital Foundation.

Condolences may be sent to the family from
www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com