JOHN KENNETH (KEN) MORRISON

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JOHN KENNETH (KEN) MORRISON Born Montreal, October 6, 1920. Died at home Monday, June 4, 2001 at the age of 80. Survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Dorothy; daughters, Catherine (Richard) of Chelsea, PQ, Leigh (Heimo) of Burlington, ON; son Ian (Brenda) of Honeymoon Bay, BC; much-loved granddaughters, Zoe, Julia, Robynn, Jennifer and Rhianon; and brother Gordon of Oliver, BC. He was predeceased by his sister Pearl in 1987 and his elder son Jamie in 1995. Ken was raised in Winnipeg where his parents had settled in 1923. He attended Isaac Brock Elementary and Daniel McIntyre Collegiate in Winnipeg, and was a member of Chalmers United Church. In 1939, he joined the R.C.A.F. and served with the R.A.F. as a bomber pilot in England and North Africa. On December 4, 1944 he married Dorothy Cox in Winnipeg, which was home for most of their lives except for short stints in Moncton and Brandon, and seven years in the Lakehead, now Thunder Bay. Ken was a member of the federal public service for 24 years. Prior to his retirement in 1985, he was Financial Officer for Arctic Airports for the Department of Transport. He was an avid curler and golfer, and in the early 1960s, at Port Arthur Golf and Country Club, he had the distinction of shooting a remarkable "hole-in-one in a hole-in-five" that made sportscasts across Canada. He was an enthusiastic member of golf clubs and curling clubs in Thunder Bay, and St. Boniface, MB. When Ken and Dorothy moved to Vancouver Island in 1988, they both enjoyed their curling at Kerry Park Recreation Centre, and their golf at Cowichan Golf and Country Club. Fellow members of both clubs became the community that gave both of them great pleasure and support in retirement. Ken also enjoyed the company of fellow members of the Royal Canadian Legion, Malahat Branch No. 134, and of those with whom he played bridge on a regular basis until ill health curtailed this and most of his beloved pastimes. Unusual for his generation, Ken was a talented cook, as well as a tailor who could sew anything from a bathrobe for his tiny granddaughter, to upholstery, to an evening gown for his wife Dorothy during wartime, when such formal wear was scarce. Kens energy and his "take-charge" approach to life are missed already. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 9 at First Memorial Funeral Services, 375 Brae Rd., Duncan, BC V9L 3T9 (250-748-2134). Cremation to follow. Flowers are gratefully declined; donations to a charity of choice or the Heart and Stroke Foundation are encouraged as an alternative.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 09, 2001