It is with great sadness that we share the sudden passing of our beloved father Donald Barrie Mason on June 13th at Victoria General Hospital.
Born in Melita Manitoba as a Christmas present to Gertie and Harry Mason in 1941, he remained a “prairie boy” at heart and spoke with great fondness of the people and places from his past.
Dad was predeceased by his brother Sam, father and mother and survived by his sister Barb, daughters, grand children and great grand children.
Dad spent most of his adult life in Langley BC. He was one of the fathers that came together to build the playground for the then new Simonds Elementary… which is why it was so cool!
He cultivated many friendships through his work in sales, landscaping and building restoration. He also loved grabbing the occasional beer with good friends at a few regular spots… mainly the Horse and Rider and the good old Langley Hotel
Dad loved to think, observe and reflect deeply on the world around him, especially nature. He spent countless hours in the garden and canning or freezing his “crops”. He was a hard worker and also an inventor at heart who loved to design and build. The engineer in him also loved numbers and was gifted at math and looking at details of things.
But most of all, Dad loved his family and friends. He enjoyed meeting his neighbours – whether over the fence or along daily walks. He remembered names and stories of the people he met along the way. He embodied unconditional love without judgement and he was a very proud father.
We are so grateful for the time with him over the last three years when he moved to Victoria, just down the street from us both, and over the last few weeks of his life.
In lieu of flowers we ask that donations be made to Pancreatic Cancer Canada at https://pancreaticcancercanada.ca/
Dad’s wishes are to be interred in Melita with his brother and parents. We will be bringing him home at a later date.
We welcome you sharing condolences or memories, either through this site or directly to us at shannarmason@gmail.com and ldmason2003@yahoo.ca
With love Lisa & Shanna Mason
Condolences to Barrie’s family..
We were pals back in the Langley Lounge days where I worked..one night at closing he asked how to get to be one of the crowd at the bar. He used to sit at a table just thinking..told him to just grab a stool…the rest was history…the lounge was like Cheers…close knit fun place..
Happy to hear he was near family..
He will be missed by many…one of the good old boys..
Thank you very much for sharing your memories of Dad. It is heart warming to see him through others eyes.
Take care!