BATTISON, Charles "Chuck"
December 1921 - October 2016
Dad was a kind,caring and giving person. Everyone who met him enjoyed being in his company. Always quick with a smile, he rarely spoke an unkind word; believing that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. His wry sense of humour sometimes made you think just a little, before it made you smile. His inquiring mind was always learning something new. At 92 he bought a computer and spent many hours learning how to use it so he could play new games.
His early years were spent in the family home on Battison Street, named in honour of his Grandfather Charlie, a Vancouver pioneer. He was crazy about baseball and loved 5/10 pin bowling. During WWII while in the navy, he spent countless hours on a corvette in the North Sea, protecting battleships and cruisers from the German U-boats. An amazing problem solver and whiz with machinery, he worked 37 years with The American Can Company, contributing significantly to the revolutionary design to process beer into cans at the Molson Brewery on Burrard Street. When he retired at the age of 57, he was contracted by west coast salmon fisheries to maintain their canning equipment in between his travels to Hong Kong, the Bahamas, Great Britain and Portugal. In his spare time, he reconstructed the canning lines for the restoration of the Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Richmond where he was a volunteer for many years. The great California adventure captured his exploring spirit and for over 45 years, until the age of 90, he drove to Palm Springs every year for a 3 month vacation. An avid golfer and bridge player, he fit perfectly into the Canadian 'snowbird' lifestyle and made many friends in the USA. He is greatly missed by his remaining family and everyone who knew him.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00pm October 20th at Victory Memorial Park, Surrey.