CHARLES WESTAL WALMSLEY (1925 2008)

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CHARLES WESTAL WALMSLEY (1925 2008) It is with profound sadness that we announce the quiet passing of Charles (Chuck) Walmsley, on Tuesday, November 11, 2008, at St. Boniface General Hospital, surrounded by his family. Chuck is survived by Margaret Maeren; his daughters, Donna (Bruce) Grant of Calgary, AB, Fran (Bernard) Kambeitz of Weyburn, SK, Debbie (Rob) MacKinnon of La Salle, MB, Diane (Dale) Walmsley of Stratford, PEI, and their mother, Joyce Walmsley. He is also survived by grandchildren, Chris, Catherine, Mark and Kevin; sister Dee Royal and brother Melbourne Walmsley of Delta, BC. He will be deeply missed by his faithful companion, Fifi. He was predeceased by his parents, William and Mary, his brothers, Willie and John and his sister, Wilma. Dad was born in Winnipegosis, MB in 1925, to William and Mary Walmsley, where he attended school. He loved sports and enjoyed playing goalie for the local hockey team. At the age of 16, he joined the 12th Manitoba Dragoons but was discharged for being too young. Subsequent to this, in May of 1943, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy at H.M.C.S. Chippewa in Winnipeg. He was assigned to a frigate, the H.M.C.S. Port Colborne that he met up with in Victoria, BC. He saw many ports of call during his wartime duties including Panama, Bermuda, Halifax, Gibraltar, England and the Mediterranean. Of particular note was the perilous Murmansk run in the North Sea. The Port Colborne was one of many vessels responsible for escorting supply ship convoys on this route. In 1988, the government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics honoured the Canadian ex-shipmates-participants of the Murmansk convoys during the Second World War. A USSR commemorative medal was presented to Chuck and the other participants at a special ceremony to honour them for their contribution in the struggle against fascism , and for risking their lives to accompany supply ships safely to port. This medal represented the first time foreign citizens had been recognized for aiding the Soviet people. After being discharged from the navy, Chuck was employed with the CNR as an Agent-Operator, living in various rural communities in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. He retired from the railroad in 1985. He held a private pilot's license and at the time of his death was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Winnipeg White Ensign Naval Club. An interment of his ashes will be held at a later date in Winnipegosis. A ship sails and I stand watching till she fades on the horizon and someone at my side says, she is gone. Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large now as when I saw her. Her diminished size and total loss from my sight is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says she is gone, there are others who are watching her coming over their horizon and other voices take up a glad shout, There she comes! That is what dying is. A horizon and just the limit of our sight. Lift us up, Oh Lord, that we may see further. - Bishop Brent Our family wishes to extend sincere gratitude to the attentive empathetic care Dad received by both the ER and E5 staff at St. Boniface Hospital. Should friends so desire, donations to the St. Boniface Hospital Research Foundation, D1003-409 Tache Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R2H 2A6 would be greatly appreciated. Neil Bardal Inc. 949-2200 nbardal.mb.ca

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 15, 2008