William "Brian" BLANEY

William “Brian” Blaney, age 75, passed peacefully on Friday Jan 11, 2019 at Nanaimo Regional Hospital.  Daughters Gina Laureen & Lisa Jane and brother Les were at his bedside to see him off on this final journey.  Brian is also survived by three grandchildren: Kelsey Lynn, Jamie Bernadette and Jaden Cameron, two brothers (Les & James), four sisters (Anne, Pauline, Joanne, Kathleen) former wife Patricia, numerous nieces and nephews and a great many cherished friends.  Brian was predeceased by brothers David and John and parents William and Margaret. Coincidentally the two eldest brothers, David and Brian, both died on Jan 11th, sixty nine years apart.  Born in Welland, Ontario on Jan 16, 1943, Brian grew up on a small farm five miles west of Turtleford Saskatchewan.

He was a loving father, grandfather, brother and a friend to all, a very genuine, humble and positive man who thought of others to his final breath.  He is fondly remembered for kindness, his excellent good humour, love of nature and his special love of boating, long walks, camping and road trips.  Brian was a gifted wood worker whose carpentry feats included the almost single handed construction of two homes for his family near Victoria, B.C.  He was often kidded about his quirky penchant for organizing his “stuff” with copious quantities of elastic bands, bungee cords and clamps. 

Careers included a stint in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Saskatoon Police Dept and the Saanich Police Dept. After policing he established and operated family businesses, including ‘Nickelodeon Old Fashioned Donuts and Ice Cream’ in Campbell River, B.C. which just seemed a natural progression for a former cop!  More recently he ran an Ecowater Systems franchise in Nanaimo while simultaneously renovating numerous older homes for the M’Akola Housing Society.

This beautiful soul was greatly loved and will be deeply missed by all who knew him. 

The family gratefully acknowledges and thanks the supremely kind and considerate Nanaimo Regional Hospital palliative care staff.  No formal memorial event is planned other than eventually a small gathering for family and close friends. 

The following was written by Brian, unfortunately never finished….

The ‘Life of Brian’

I was born on January 16th 1943 in Welland Ontario.  
My parents were William (Bill) Blaney and Margaret Anne Blaney (nee Windsor), their second child, the first being David.  In 1949 David and I were playing on an iced-over pond and the ice broke resulting in the death of David. I do not remember this incident clearly (if at all) however. Shortly thereafter (1950?) the family returned to their home area near Turtleford Saskatchewan and purchased a ½ section farm 5 miles west of Turtleford. All of my younger siblings excepting Leslie were born here. I left the farm asap about 1960, and worked around the area mostly on farms off and on until September 1961, when I hitch-hiked to Saskatoon and joined the RCN (Navy). I was assigned to the East Coast (Halifax) and after basic training (3 months) at Cornwallis Base (Nova Scotia) I was attached to HMCS Buckingham (part of 5-ship squadron (WW2 leftovers) with Sonar (anti-submarine detection) being my assigned trade. The squadron travelled to the North Atlantic,  the USA eastern seaboard, New York, England & Ireland. Sometime around Jan.1963 I was called up to the Captain's Office and informed that I was being 'Compassionately Discharged' because: Your father has cancer, and you're going home to be a farmer!  Oh Yay!

About after a year, Dad seemed better, so - off I went again,  with 'Wife-to-Be' Patricia Grace Manarey, from Mervin, SK) and after a short stint of work in Edmonton we eventually went to Saskatoon, Sask, where I worked for awhile for a lumber yard, then one day I happened to meet Hank Veerenhuis (Uncle Eddie Windsor’s brother-in-law) walking a ’beat’ in downtown Saskatoon, he mentioned that the police were hiring and I should maybe apply. So I did, and joined the Saskatoon City Police in Jan. 1964. About a year or so later brother Les also joined. After a 1969 hoIiday trip to B.C.  I resigned Saskatoon P.D. and in Jan. 1970 I joined the Saanich Municipal Police Dept. at Greater Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC. I resigned from Saanich P.D. in 1980 to fulfill my recently acquired dream (or so I thought then...) ambition of becoming a 'Restaurateur and we set up and opened up 'The Nickleodeon' in Campbell River, BC.  After eight years of non-stop work, depressed and divorced, I locked the doors, sold all the equipment and took a 2-3 year 'Sabbatical' on the MV Cottonwood' , an old circa 1920 former BC forestry crew vessel modified to be a 'live-a-board' which I purchased from the estate of a good friend and customer Ross Caswell.

More to follow…perhaps…

Do not stand at my grave and weep, 
I am not there, I do not sleep. 
I am in a thousand winds that blow, 
I am the softly falling snow. 
I am the gentle showers of rain, 
I am the fields of ripening grain. 
I am in the morning hush, 
I am in the graceful rush 
Of beautiful birds in circling flight, 
I am the starshine of the night. 
I am in the flowers that bloom, 
I am in the quiet room. 
I am in the birds that sing, 
I am in each lovely thing. 
Do not stand at my grave bereft, 
I am not there, I have not left.

Mary Elizabeth Frye

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