It is with great sadness we announce that, on January 1,
2021, Chattan Singh Serown passed away peacefully at the age of 67 at Royal
Inland Hospital. Dad was predeceased by his parents Laiq Singh and Gurbachan
Kaur of Lahora, Chandigarh, India. Along with his brother Gurdev Singh
(survived by Surinder Kaur) of Calgary, sister Labh Kaur and BIL Balbir Singh
Ollek of Kamloops, sister Gurdev Kaur and BIL Kartar Singh Madray of India. Dad
is survived by his wife of 46 years Surjit Kaur Serown, his children Harpreet
(Susan), Pritpal and Balraj (Jagdeep) Serown all of Kamloops. Dad will be
greatly missed by his grandchildren Harjun and Armaan. Along with his granddog
Kody. Also, survived by his brothers Ajaib Singh (Surinder) of Kamloops, Gulzar
Singh (Harpinder) Serown of Surrey, sisters Mohinder Kaur (Joginder) Madray and
Sant Kaur (Baljinder) Bachhal of Kamloops. Dad was born on May 1, 1953 in
Lahora, Chandigarh, India and immigrated to Canada in his early teens. He
worked at Weyerhaeuser Kamloops until his retirement in 2008. As a young man
dad enjoyed an active and healthy lifestyle, sparking his interest in Kung-Fu
and running. He enjoyed visiting the local YMCA and was a regular at the
farmers market as well as having his own garden. He loved to be in nature and
could be seen most days walking the Aberdeen Loop or talking to Kody as he
walked by. Dad loved attending his grandsons’s hockey and soccer games. Dad was
a family man and enjoyed being surrounded by his family. The loss of our dad
has left a huge void not just in our family but in our community as well. He
will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him and loved him. Rest in peace.
Due to current events a private funeral will be held on January 8 at 10am at
the Kamloops Funeral Home. Livestream of service is available for anyone who is
interested. Sehaj Paath will be scheduled post pandemic.
Dad always said they broke the mould when
he was born and after all these years we realize he was right.
Meredith Samuel Scott (Sam) was born March
10, 1938 in Kamloops, BC, to Norman Thomas Scott and Isabella Anderson Forsyth
Watson Scott.
On December 26, 2020, after what he often
referred to as “a great life”, Sam passed away suddenly in his beloved home of
50 years.
Sam was predeceased by his father, Norman
Scott (1945), mother, Isabella Scott (1990), sister, Maureen Baerg (1997) and
granddaughter, Jenna Wills (2002).
He is survived by his wife of 56 years,
Lois, his children, Brenda (Jeff) Wills, Darrell, and Kevin (Ann) Scott of
Kamloops. He will be remembered by his
grandchildren, Brooke, McKenzie, Lane, and Brett Wills, Logan (Nicola Tabata)
and Ethan Scott.
Sam was a proud North Kamloops man, living
his whole life on the North Shore. Sam’s
family owned S.S. Scott & Sons ice business, where they harvested ice
blocks from the South Thomson River and local lakes for the delivery to the
residents of Kamloops. Sam’s family
owned various properties throughout Kamloops, including the former icehouses
near Pioneer Park and property along the north shores of the Thompson River,
where his family home stands to this day.
Sam was a career firefighter for the North
Kamloops Fire Department beginning in October of 1965. After the amalgamation of the city, he
continued with Kamloops Fire & Rescue and retired as Assistant Fire Chief
in June 1996.
Family was most important to Sam. In the early family days, many miles were put
on his 1965 yellow GMC pickup and Vanguard camper, travelling with friends and
family throughout BC. All three of his
children learned to drive in that yellow truck and the family still owns it to
this day. As his children grew up, many
summer days were spent either boating on the South Thompson River or camping at
the Cinnemousun Narrows on Shuswap Lake.
Many hours were spent floating in the boat as he taught his kids how to
waterski and enjoy his goofy jokes. In
the winter months, Sam would build a skating rink in the backyard, and each
morning he would get up early to flood the rink, making sure it was perfectly
smooth for his children and the neighbourhood kids to enjoy. The odd puck, breaking a window, was
testament to a good time on the ice.
Sam loved to putter in his garden and many
meals were filled with the vegetables that he grew in his backyard. Sam and Lois enjoyed home canning. Sam would stand for hours in the kitchen
peeling peaches or pickling pickles, helping Lois can and process every known
fruit and vegetable to man.
He was an avid hockey fan and held season
tickets over the years to the Kamloops Rockets, Chiefs, and Blazers. When he couldn’t attend a game in person, he
would watch from his home computer.
Sam’s home was always welcoming and he
opened and invited many to stay if needed.
For many years his home was bustling with activity from the junior
hockey players they billeted with the Kamloops Rockets and Chiefs in the
1970’s, to the many nieces and nephews that were always welcome to stay or
share a meal with Uncle Sam and Auntie Lois.
In retirement, Sam and Lois bought a
motorhome and travelled across Canada and to Alaska. Sam loved planes, trains, and automobiles and
they stopped at every train and plane museum he could find. Poor Lois.
They had a wonderful trip and were able to reconnect with many family
members in Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Sam was a man of many talents and was able
to fix and build many things. He helped renovate houses, build furniture, and
used his skills as a former auto body repairman and his mechanical ability to
restore his mom’s 1961 Pontiac Tempest. Sam put in extra hours working on the
Tempest to get the car ready for his grandson, Ethan, to drive at his
graduation. He took great pride in
showing the car in the Easter parade and at Hot Night in the City.
Sam was devoted to his grandchildren. He would be at the arenas for early morning
hockey games and would travel long distances to watch his granddaughters’
rodeo, and his favourite horse, Cactus, compete. Sam was able to travel to Red Deer in 2019
and was very proud to see his granddaughter, Brooke, win the Canadian Barrel
Racing title. It truly was his last
rodeo.
Sam was kind and patient, and always had
something interesting to talk about.
He truly felt he was fortunate and enjoyed
the simple things in life. He was a
glass “half full” kind of guy. He had an
amazing memory of days gone by and could tell you anything you wanted to know
about Kamloops. Sam often referred to
the area as “God’s Country” and he truly believed it was. He loved to talk about his adventures growing
up in Kamloops involving his family and friends. He loved to share his knowledge of the people
and area. Everyone will miss listening
to his stories and spending time with him.
Thank you for being a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. Until we meet again, we love you and will
miss you.
The family would like to thank Dr. Cribb
for her care and kindness. In lieu of
flowers, please consider donating in Sam’s memory, to the Kamloops Fire &
Rescue Charitable Society.
Due to COVID, there is no service planned
at this time.
It is with extremely heavy hearts to announce the sudden passing of Cynthia (Cindy) Dawn van Leeuwen who left us too soon on December 23rd.
To say that this amazing woman has touched the hearts of over 1000 people is less than an understatement.
Not only was she the wife and a best friend to
her husband Gerald van Leeuwen married since August 30th 1975, she
is also survived by her two children Tiffany and Curtis (Laura) her two grand
sons Ivan and Keagan, two sisters Donna (Allen) and Linda (Wayne), and so many
other family members, weather they were nieces and nephews, in-laws, or just
wonderful friends. Everyone was an
extended family member to Cindy. She is
now spending her days in heaven with her parents Ivan and Martha, crashing into
all sorts of things trying to figure out how to fly with her new wings.
Cindy had a heart of gold and a smile that could light up a room. She was always telling jokes or stories and
making people laugh. When she wasn’t
busy working at Your Independent Grocer she was being the best wife, parent,
sister, grand parent, aunt or friend anyone could ask for. She was always there and ready with a cup of
tea or a glass of wine for you. She lived
to play all sorts of games but card games were her favourite.
She was truly the life of every party and so many people are blessed to have
amazing memories of this wonderful woman.
Even if you got to only experience meeting her for a short time, you
will remember her and her generous personality.
Her spirit will greatly be missed, especially during all of the holidays
as she would go extra and above for every single one.
While we could go on for ages about Cindy, we would like to leave the stories
for when we do her celebration of life.
Due to the trying times right now, we are aiming for something hopefully
this summer and will announce a date at a later time.
Until then, please raise your glass and do a “cheers” for Cindy in her
honour.
In lieu of flowers, we do ask that you please make a donation to a nice bottle of
wine for yourself. Just kidding, (well
maybe not) but please to a charity of your choice as she would not want any
getting left out.
With heavy hearts, we announce the sudden passing of Leona Blower. She died unexpectedly at the age of 53 on Dec. 12, 2020 of natural causes. Leona leaves behind her brother Roy (Jill), and nieces Megan and Brooke, family in Germany including her brother Dieter and niece Corinna, sister in law Sherry and her daughter Teah, as well as special family friend Becky. Leona was predeceased by her mom, Katherina, and brother, Ramsey. Leona will also be missed by many friends that she made growing up in Westsyde and working at various places throughout her life, most recently at Don’s Auto Towing for the past ten years. Leona enjoyed the simple pleasures in life such as a cup of coffee and a good book. She loved to travel with friends and enjoyed a good steak dinner. Those that knew Leona remember how she always took the time to ask questions because she was interested in them. She was proud of her nieces and loved to utilize her photography skills at family events. We are unable to come together to honour Leona due to Covid restrictions right now, but Roy and Jill plan to host a gathering when restrictions are lifted where we can all raise a shot of Patron to remember Leona.
