Obituaries

It is with heavy hearts that the Bendicsen family announces the sudden passing of Dan on November 6, 2019 at the age of 88 surrounded by his loving family. Dan was born on June 23, 1931 in Vulcan, Alberta to parents Conrad and Sarah.  He moved to Fernie in 1942 at the age of 10.  In 1949 he met the love of his life Lorraine Lalonde (Lou) and they married in 1951. Dan was a kind man who was always willing to help anyone who required assistance.  Family was the main focus of...

It is with profound sadness and broken hearts, that we announce the sudden and unexpected passing of Keith Allan Gale on Wednesday, November 6th, 2019 at the young age of 42. Keith was born January 7th 1977, in Sydney, Nova Scotia, to parents Terry and Carol Gale, and is the middle sibling to Traci and Matthew. The family moved to Fernie in 1982, where he went to school and made lifelong friendships as a result of the love and support his family gave him. Growing up, his passion was playing...

On Monday, November 4th, 2019, Bruce Roe passed away at the age of 82 at Rocky Mountain Village in Fernie surrounded with the love and care he always showed others.  Bruce was born and raised in Kinuso, Alberta, moving to Michigan in 1954 to further his education.  He worked for General Motors for 14 years before moving back to Canada where he spent his career developing trades training departments for mining companies.  Bruce is survived by his much loved wife, Shirley and...

It is with heavy hearts that the Rawson family announces the sudden passing of Jim. He was born in Fernie on December 21, 1937 to parents Ernie and Sara. Jim was always proud to be a third generation Fernieite Jim was a colorful part of Fernie’s history. He not only brought the Snow Valley Wranglers to new levels; he also was part of bringing rodeo action back into the area. He was a very avid historian of Fernie, especially Morrissey and Swinton. Jim was a very big part of preserving...

It is with great sadness that the family of “Bugsy” Doug Snider announces his passing on October 29, 2019 at the age of 71. Doug was born on November 22, 1947 in Lethbridge, Alberta. He was raised in Enchant and moved to the Elk Valley in 1970 to begin his mining career. Doug was famous throughout the valley for his ‘one liners’ and witty sense of humor, which he kept until the very end. Doug will be greatly missed by his wife Kathy, children Rory (Cherie), Jinjer...

Alan Peter Woodfine February 9, 1943 – July 18, 2019 It is with heavy hearts that Alan’s family announce his passing on a Thursday morning just after sunrise, with his loving wife of 40 years, Carolyn, and his dog Tilly by his side. Alan was from Great Britain.  He was born in Cowden, County Durham and was raised in Newcastle upon Tyne. In December 1969, he immigrated to Canada in hopes of providing a better quality of life for his family.  Upon coming to Canada,...

It is with great sadness that the family of Herma Pozniak announces her passing at the age of 88 on October 11, 2019.  Herma was born in Fernie on November 9, 1930 to Mike and Nellie Pozniak predeceased.  Also predeceased was her brother Steve.  She leaves behind her cousin, Olga Wetick along with Evelyn (Keith) Rumney, Charlene (Barry) Yeo, Eugene (Mary) Daniel, Don (Margaret) Daniel and their children.  She will be missed by special friend Birgit Mindek.   

John was born in Fernie BC on August 23, 1961 to Henry and Patricia Joinson. In his early years he enjoyed farming, fishing and hunting in the area with his siblings and other family. He often mentioned how much he missed fishing with his dad. As time went on, John enjoyed riding and breaking horses, bull-riding in Grasmere rodeos, boxing, weightlifting and making money in the summers helping ranchers with haying and farming chores. John attended trade school for welding in Nelson BC and...

The family of Hayward Randell of Elkford, BC are saddened to announce his passing on September 29, 2019. Hayward was born in Nippers Harbour, NL on August 16, 1941 to parents Ralph and Lily Randell. He was one of seven children. Hayward married Doris, the love of his life, of January 28, 1964 and together they raised their two sons, Craig and Scott, as well as their daughter LorrieAnne. Hayward spent his working life mining in Baie Verte, NL and in Elkford, BC. He and his family moved...

Eighty-eight-year-old Donald Edwin Anderson passed away at the Elk Valley Hospital on September 29, 2019, surrounded by his family. Donnie was born December 9, 1930 in Golden, BC to parents Ernie and Merle Anderson. In 1942 Donnie’s parents moved the family to Natal. Throughout the years he worked on his uncle’s farm, joined the Canadian Air Forces and then came back to Sparwood to work in the underground mine, working his way up to the position of Superintendent of Underground...