EDWARD (TED) WHITLEY

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EDWARD (TED) WHITLEY It is with the greatest sadness that we share with you the passing of our father on November 11, 2007, Edward (Ted) Whitley. Dad is father of Stuart, Neil, Gary and Keri-Lynne and grandfather to Jennifer, Ashleigh, Michael, Aleisha, Scott, Ted and Jackson. At the beginning of Remembrance of Things Past, Proust wrote that memory is a rope let down from heaven to draw us up from the dark well of not-being . Memory raised up afresh reminds us of the glory of our past, and bring home not only the purpose of our being, but the why of it. Ted Whitley was born November 17, 1924 in Poland. Barely 19, he was thrust into the Battle of Warsaw, captured by the Nazis after two months of punishing bombings and siege, transported to a prison camp in Germany, escaped and fought with the British Army to liberate Europe. Meeting his wife, Peggy, after the war, he left military college (as a result of Stalin's demand to repatriate all Poles who he claimed now lay under Russian jurisdiction and who in fact were being exiled to the gulags of Siberia) and married Peggy, emigrating a few years thereafter to Canada in 1956. In tow were sons, Stuart, Neil and Gary. Daughter Keri-Lynne was to come along later, in 1964. Ted held a number of positions in his working life, but the bulk of his career was with Manitoba Hydro, principally in Brandon, where Peggy was an Assistant Director of a women's shelter. Both were heavily involved with community work, especially Kiwanis. Dad was pretty much like you knew him what you see is what you got no airs no pretensions. Dad had many other endearing qualities such as being straightforward, genuinely truthful and unpretentious in his dealings with others. You always knew where you stood with him because he was incapable of being anything other than what he was. That's not to say that he couldn't be critical of his family, but his criticisms were like rainfall, gentle enough to nourish growth without damaging their roots. Perhaps, Dad's most endearing quality can't be defined because what he was about was a thousand small acts of daily compromise and generosity and loving and things worth doing... In 1994 they retired to Nanaimo; Peggy passed away prematurely in 2005. Ted, after demonstrating single-minded determination to defeat cancer (he was not just a survivor he believed in life lived in full), finally succumbed to the disease. Dad had battled mesothelioma for the last year with absolute courage and determination as he had beaten the odds all of his life. Being the soldier he is-he battled right to the very end but passed peacefully in our arms during the early morning of November 11 in Vancouver. How fitting that the Polish freedom fighter, POW, immigrant and tenacious leader of our family died on Remembrance Day and Polish Independence Day. For those of you who knew the relationship between us and our Dad you know that he was our hero and we could never imagine him not being in our life. Dad is gone now, we'll miss him. Given a choice, we don't think he would have wanted to live how he lived for the last while. You see, Dad was a care giver, he didn't want to be cared for. Once upon a memory, someone wiped away a tear, held me close and loved me. Thank you Father Dear. Cremation has taken place, and a memorial service will be held on July 5 at Nanaimo, BC. The Whitley family records a huge debt of gratitude to the wonderful staff at the Lions Gate Palliative Care Facility in Vancouver.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 24, 2007