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William ADAIR

May 8, 2012

ADAIR, William Douglas. It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Douglas Adair at Abbotsford Regional Hospital at the age of 81 following a long illness. He is predeceased by his; loving wife of 57 years, Lorna Adair in 2011. Doug will be missed by his sons, Bruce (Patricia), Robin (Marisa), Ian (Thipp) and David (Brenda) as well as his grandchildren Amy (Matt), Tristan, Bryan, Megan, Justine and Rachel. He will also be sadly missed by his sister Mary Drew Schmidt (Herb) and family of Calgary and his many McWillliams, Chambers and Armstrong cousins in Vancouver. Doug was born in Washington State during the time his father was managing the Seattle branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce during the great depression. When the United States entered the Second World War the Adair's moved back to Vancouver where Doug attended Magee High School. A highlight of his teenage years was serving The Royal Canadian Sea cadets and later in the Canadian Reserves with the New Westminster Regiment. He was a long time member of the Royal Canadian Legion. While working for the Bank of Commerce in Williams Lake Doug met a nurse named Lorna Fearn and the couple soon wed and settled in Mission in 1954 where they raised 4 children as well as two teenage Fearn cousins, Jim (Syvil) and Joan (Barry). A strong member of Kinsmen and later Rotary, the Adair's sponsered two international exchange students to live with their family. They greatly enjoyed their year with Jan (from Australia) and later Kristian (from Denmark) and kept in close contact with them through the years. Upon early retirement, the Adair's sold their family home and spent three years (1986-1989) in Papua New Guinea where Doug worked as an accountant and a teacher in the mission store and warehouse. The couple returned from Mission from overseas and Doug served two terms on Mission Council. Later, he sat on the board of the Fraser Valley Health Authority. He was a volunteer at the Mennonite Thrift Store in Mission and the Mission Archives where he researched the service records of hundreds of local veterans. In 1999 Doug and Lorna were awarded the Freedom of the City for their contribution to their community. In 2008 Doug received a British Columbia Community Achievement Award at Government House in Victoria. A celebration of Doug Adair's life will be held at Cedar Valley Mennonite Church located at 32840 Janzen Avenue, Mission on Thursday May 17, 2012 at 1:00 pm. Flowers are gratefully declined in lieu of donations to the Alzheimer's Society of Canada.



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