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Ralph Stratford
September 25, 1935 – January 22, 2019
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Ralph lived for his family, it was what mattered most to him. He lost the love of his life Ann two years ago, Jan. 18th of 2017. This was a great loss to him and he missed her dearly everyday. He was an amazing Dad and Papa Ralph, he will be dearly missed by his four children Laurie (Jeff) Dick, Debbie (Owen) Stratford Bishop, Sherri (Robin) MacKay, Warren Stratford and family. He was a very interested and attentive Papa to his grandchildren, Andrew Dick, Heather (James) Pere Dick, Erin (Jimmy) Franco, Ashley (Mitch) Mackay, Kai, Harold. His great grandchildren were also a huge part of Ralph’s life, he enjoyed every minute spent with them, he would hold onto one of their knees and tell them ” this is my knee”. Family dinners will never be the same without his presence, he was larger than life to his family, a great story teller of his life and his adventures. He loved to learn and was a great teacher to all of us. We will continue to tell his stories in his memory, and to pass on the family stories to the next generation.
Ralph never met a person that he didn’t consider a friend, and accumulated a large group that he treasured very much. He belonged to many clubs over the years one of the longest was the bird club, there he met a very special friend Reg with whom he maintain a close bond for 40 years, we don’t have the words to thank Reg for his kindness and compassion with our Dad in the final days. It was the true meaning of friendship between them.
Our Dad was a huge fan of family dinners and what the menu would be, meat loaf and scallop potatoes was the meal he enjoyed the most. He himself was quite a cook and would make a dam fine ham for many family dinners, we would hear him weeks later still asking us if we thought it was dam fine as well, we will miss that Dad.
Ralph came to Victoria from Vancouver as a young boy with his parents and lived in Lakehill area and attended school in the area. He lived in that area until his marriage to Ann, they raised their family in Fairfield for 42 years. Ralph had many jobs over the years starting at the Empress as a young man, then through the years he had worked on the tugs and for the ferries, ending his work career for BCBC. Ralph enjoyed the company of his coffee group friends he had worked with over the years, special friends from one of his coffee groups that he would often talk about were Roy and Ken.
Dad was a great lover of animals from birds to dogs, lizards and snakes. He truly enjoyed the outdoors and was a hunter and fisherman in his early years, he and his cousin Glenn would take many of them together. He would enthrall us with the stories often, we never tired of hearing them, he really was an amazing story teller. He loved laughter and a good practical joke this is another of the things we will miss about you Dad.
We will dearly miss both Mum and Dad but we know they are together now, starting another journey…..
We would like to thank some of the nurse that tried to make our Dad’s final days peaceful, Ally, Juliette, Carolyn and HCA Patrick. We owe Dr. Stigant a huge thank you for her compassion and care in looking after our Dad and us during this very difficult time.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Ralph Stratford September 25 1935 January 22 2019..
Décès pour la Ville: Victoria, Province: Colombie britanique