On January 17, 2021, Peter Liesch passed away quietly as a result of a life long lived. He was born February 1, 1931 in Winkler, Manitoba and would be the second oldest of his other 8 siblings all of whom he outlived but his for younger brother Ed. Together they were all raised on the family farm in Carmen, Manitoba. While none would ever call Peter a power hungry man, he dedicated his career to it early on by becoming a Red Seal Electrician and gaining employment with the Manitoba Power Commission. He hopped a train west to make his way in the world to continue to help support his mother and siblings, who remained on the farm, and after a brief stint in the logging industry landed a lineman position with British Columbia Power Commission (BC Hydro). He would quickly progress to various management roles up until he retired in 1988 as District Manager in the BC Interior.
Launching his BC career in Port Alberni, he met Lillian Pryzynk and convinced her to marry him in 1957. Together they built their family of 5 children, Dan, Donna, Diana, Kathleen and Nancy. He is survived by all except Diana who Peter and Lil lost far too early. Not only was he a devoted family man but he was a community man as well.
As his job sent him to the interior of BC to build the power grid and to connect rural communities to it, he was always active anywhere he lived whether as a BC Lions member, as a volunteer paramedic, as a 100 Mile House pioneering golf course enthusiast, as a board member of the Cache Creek Semlin Valley Public golf course, as a school board official or as an avid fisherman (a faint whisper of the historic Thompson Steelhead run was all it took to be regaled with the tale of a day long battle in the South Thompson to land the big one).
Peter’s practical and pragmatic sensibilities, work ethic and spirit of fun would find him adding value deeply in communities and to anyone who needed help, including travellers stranded along the TransCanada Highway who he wouldn’t hesitate to open up his home to, often to his family’s surprize.
Wishing to remain in the thick of it all, in retirement he also took up a part-time post as a Detention Guard for several years with the Ashcroft RCMP detachment. Over their 63+ years of marriage, Peter and Lil’s family has grown to include 8 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren (so far) all of whom he loved dearly and all of whom love him equally in return.
Peter loved a good story and while his enthusiastic story telling will be missed his stories will be long remembered (he repeated the good ones often) as his family continues to flourish from the strong foundation he has laid. Peter was proud of many things but perhaps most notably that he collected a pension longer than he contributed to it. Death be not proud for Peter will live on forever in our hearts, in our memories and in our own stories.
In lieu of flowers donations to the charity of your choice.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Peter Liesch 1931 –..
Death notice for the town of: Kamloops, Province: Colombie britanique