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It is with incredible sadness that we announce the sudden passing of David Stanley Wrigley on February 26, 2021 in Blairmore, Alberta at the age of 72 years.
Dave was born on January 26, 1949 in Tisdale, Saskatchewan and grew up on the family farm near Ditton Park, Saskatchewan with his older sister, Phyllis, and younger brother, Delbert. He loved the farm life and grew up with many cousins whose families farmed in close proximity. Instead of continuing on with farming, he graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon with a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering. While in university he married Mabel Thomson, which lasted 20 years and then they parted ways.
Dave moved his family to the Crowsnest Pass from the Elk Valley in 1976. He started at Kaiser Resources Ltd. in the Survey Department, continuing on as a heavy equipment operator for several years before completing his Heavy-Duty Mechanics apprenticeship in 1998. He worked at various mines in the Sparwood area until retiring in 2018.
Dave was quite the character. He always had some interesting fact or story to tell and was always telling jokes or testing your knowledge with the “Final Jeopardy” question. That being said here is today’s final Jeopardy question in the Category: David Wrigley. The answer is: In 1980, near Pincher Creek, Alberta and in 1982 outside of Sparwood, B.C. Dave, while driving in his car, had a run-in with these, walking away from both incidents suffering only minor injuries.
He loved being outside and was extremely proud of his garden (except when the deer invaded). When we were younger, we did quite a bit of canoeing, camping, and throwing the ball around with Dad. He enjoyed playing badminton and games of Cribbage and Canasta. Dave was an avid collector and was always on the hunt for the newest treasure.
Dave excelled at working with wood and over the years made wooden puzzles, children’s table and chair sets, stilts, bookcases and the occasional carving. He never really knew how talented he was and was very modest about his work.
Dave was always supportive of his children in their sports and activities and volunteered with the Cub and Boy Scouts and was even a T-Ball coach.
He loved road trips and it showed when his odometer read around 800 000 kms on his 1989 VW Golf. He has driven to Mexico and Arizona, California (multiple times), Saskatchewan and British Columbia (multiple times), and across Canada all the way to the Maritime Provinces. We don’t think that he would ever fly anywhere as long as he had a diesel Volkswagen to drive.
Dave was very talented at fixing things whether it was cars, lawnmowers, or appliances, and was talented at building anything from houses to decks. He always had a multitude of projects on the go whether it was installing vacuums, or flooring, fixing something on or around one of his rentals, or trying to get one of his VW’s going again. But we’re glad he always made time for A&W breakfasts or going for lunch or coffee with the boys.
He loved information!! He has always been a CBC Listener and for years listened to Paul Harvey and Art Linkletter. He was a great teacher, maybe a bit long winded at times, but he was always willing to share his knowledge. He also never passed an opportunity to stop and have a chat with anybody especially if he had the time and even if he didn’t. He was a great father and grandfather and never missed an opportunity to teach the younger generation.
The correct question to today’s Jeopardy answer: What are trains? And now you know “The rest of the story.”
He is survived by his son, Ken (Kathleen Rainsong) Wrigley; his daughter, Shelley (Steven) Ranson; his sister, Phyllis McFaddin and brother, Delbert Wrigley; his step-grandchildren, Theadalyn, Joshua, Shamaya and Emma; his grandchildren, Sasha and Samuel; and his niece, Sharon McFaddin. He was predeceased by his father, Philip and mother, Thelma Wrigley (Née: Will).
We will hold a Celebration of Life at a later date when Covid-19 restrictions allow and when the weather warms. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations will be gratefully accepted by any local charity of your choice. Condolences may be registered at www.fantinsfuneralchapel.ca.
Fantin’s Funeral Chapel entrusted with the arrangements. (403) 562-8555
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of David Stanley Wrigley, please visit our floral store.