2023

Melvin (Mel) Hull quickly became a west coast boy when his parents, Ray and Bea Hull, moved to Sooke in 1956.

Mel's dad was in the lumber marketing industry, coming to Sooke to become manager of Sooke Building Supplies, it was difficult to find housing in the community's postwar boom, but Ray and Bea Hull found a temporary home at Woodside Farm, a place their six sons could spread out and have boyhood fun.

Mel's lifelong love of the sea and the marine environment began when the

Hull family moved to Wright Road on the waterfront.

After graduating from Edward Milne High School, Mel did a bit of commercial fishing and then went to work for Doug MacFarlane on the Demac II. This was where he learned to read the tides and currents, and how to handle towboats and barges - lessons he felt served him well on every vessel he shipped aboard in his 40 years at sea.

Mel married Judy Nix, and the two went to sea together on their 36-foot troller Sea Lion III. The couple bought a home on Sooke Road, raising two daughters, Megan and Stephanie, and he joined the Canadian Coast Guard.

In the Coast Guard, he was responsible for buoy tending on Sir James Douglas, the 280-foot icebreaker Sir Wilfred Laurier, the Martha Black, and the Wolfe. His crew had to be airlifted off and then brought back to civilization by Airforce Hercules helicopters when the 220-foot icebreaker Camsell fell through the ice in the eastern Arctic.

Mel's employment with the Coast Guard meant four weeks at sea and four weeks at home. In the four weeks, Mel spent onshore, he could devote time to volunteer work, and he chose Pacific salmon, an important coastal resource.

The fish-saving group initiated by conservation officer Jack Brooks morphed into the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society, and Mel became a charter member. Gathering the salmon eggs in the fall, the group placed them in trays for incubation, fed them and released the fry into the river in the spring for their journey into the Pacific Ocean.

For 45 years, Mel continued this work, clearing debris from streams and taking shifts at the hatchery, established at Rocky Creek. His experience and expertise were of incredible value to newcomers to the volunteer salmon enhancement group.

"I have been lucky to have a friend like Mel for the past 11 years since I first began volunteering at the hatchery," Lis Johansen says. "He was such a wealth of knowledge. However, he preferred to show you just once, so he kept you on your toes to pay attention."

"When the hatchery hosted the yearly fishing derby in Sooke, the speed and accuracy Mel showed cleaning the fish was unreal. He could do it in his sleep, I'm sure. He had the sharpest knives ever and was a pro at sharpening. The joke at the hatchery was always ''watch the knives - Mel has had them homeune-up.' We will miss him so much, and I will forever remember Mel as such a special human being."

Perhaps the knife sharpening story connected to his wood carving as Mel enjoyed making wooden toys and other crafts in his home workshop when he and Judy retired to their Lannon Creek Park home. Many of us took advantage of his woodwork skills with genuine wood-carved toys for our kids and grandkids.

Andy Schell, recently elected president of the society, says, "A newcomer to Sooke, I was fortunate to become involved with the new Jack Brooks Salmon Hatchery just as it was being built. One of the first people I met was Mel Hull. I quickly relied on Mel to help me understand what useful role I could play.

"Mel didn't easily tolerate people who pretended to know things that they didn't, but he understood when someone was trying to help, and they had the right attitude. He enjoyed teaching others and was very patient when they wanted to learn."

Mel died, age 75, with his family by his side on Jan. 18, seven months after his wife Judy died. He will be missed by many and held in high regard for his deep knowledge and mastery of many seafaring skills.

Mel leaves behind daughters Megan (Brandon) and Stephanie (Nathan); grandchildren Beatrice and Rowland; brother-in-law Bill Pedneault and sister-in-law Sandy Pedneault; brothers Zain, Wayne, Pat (Janet) and Tim (Brenda) and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

William 'Bill' Dumont was born into this world on July 15, 1948, and left it peacefully on January 25, 2023; both earlier and faster than anyone expected. He was B-I-G. Not only in stature, but personality, opinions, his acts of kindness, his love of gardening and travel, life spanning volunteerism and love language of preparing food and serving it to others. Family. Friends. Food. Fun. Faith. Forestry. Fishing. Flowers. Fur-babies. All had his heart, and that heart will dearly be missed by many.

Born in Vancouver to parents Dr. Hubert Dumont (1995) and Margaret (Winterburn) (1998), Bill was No. 6 of 12 children: Jack (2017) was the oldest of the 12; Jim (2016), Ruth, Richard (Fr. Mark), Robert (2015), Catherine, Elizabeth, Joan (2019), Ronald (2010), Norman and Barbara, plus two special cousins Rea and Betty who were as close as sisters. Along with six siblings and several brothers and sisters-in-law, he leaves behind dozens of nieces and nephews (and grand-nieces and grand-nephews), in addition to Iris and Sadie and his special friend Brenda (among legions of other friends).

Bill attended Vancouver College, graduating in 1965. He then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science (Forestry) from the University of British Columbia in 1971. Next he served as a CUSO Volunteer forester from 1971 to 1973 in Tapah and Ipoh, West Malaysia, with the Perak State Forestry Department.

His journey to becoming a Distinguished Professional Forester included being the Chief Forester with Western Forest Products Ltd. for many years. He also served on the Forest Practices Board and was a director and volunteer with many other very worthy organizations, including Indigenous economic development corporations.

Even though the Cowichan Valley was his home for decades, Bill spent the last weeks of his life at the Victoria General Hospital. He was cared for there by an exceptional team of doctors, nurses and other caregivers. Their kind, diligent and respectful care were a comfort to Bill, as well as his family and friends. Many, many thanks to them all.

Morten Creek SEP, North Shore Streamkeepers

PSS members and members of the Saanich Inlet Protection Society celebrated the life of Denis Coupland by gathering to remove invasive Himilayan Blackberry from a stretch of Graham Creek's riparian zone. Denis Coupland was a passionate environmental advocate who played an instrumental role in the formation and success of Peninsula Streams and the Saanich Inlet Protection Society. Denis sat on the board of directors of PSS and SIPS for many years. He led the DFO-sponsored Shorekeepers program for the Saanich inlet and coordinated monthly water quality sampling in the KENNES watershed for over a decade. Denis was a strong leader and persistent advocate with a wealth of ecological knowledge. He will be greatly missed.

Chris was a steadfast Volunteer at the Marble River hatchery. He excelled in guiding the Helicopter while flying our fish. He came out to the Hatchery at every power outage no matter what time of day or night to make sure the fish were taken care of. He loved the comradery that went on around when all of the volunteers showed up and never hesitated to put on his rubber boots and chip in.

Frank was a regular volunteer at The Fanny Bay Salmonid Enhancement Society, where he built strong and loyal friendships.

Frank had a passion for the outdoors, and loved skiing in the local mountains and exploring his way down every logging road. He shared his love of nature with his grandchildren; and enjoyed hiking and boating with them, or teaching them about hunting, fishing, or working in salmon enhancement.

Proud to be a Victorian local, Bob grew up in Colwood attending Belmont Secondary School. He was very socially active and loved cars and scuba diving. Bob and Sis enjoyed 55 years together living in Victoria.

Bob was a very active volunteer at the Goldstream Fish Hatchery and enjoyed the comradery and friendship of the group.

William (Bill) was born in Victoria, BC and lived there until he was 4 years old, and his family moved to a small farm in Cowichan Station. Bill began his work for the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) in 1949 as an assistant on a Coast Range study, and completed his B.Sc.A. (1950) in Geological Engineering at the University of British Columbia.

In 1981 Bill retired and moved back to Victoria, BC. He pursued Amature Radio as a hobby for several years and for over 35 years he volunteered for the Goldstream Salmonid Enhancement Association at the Howard English Hatchery. His other hobbies included hiking, fishing, blackberry picking, electronics, building and road trips with his Australian friend Molly.

Bill had extraordinary wisdom, empathy and compassion likely borne from struggle, sacrifice, loss, perseverance, fortitude and a full century of life experience.

A retired Nature Educator/Parks Manager with the District of North Vancouver's Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre and Department of Natural Parkland, Kevin studied Outdoor Recreation Management at Capilano University, and Geography at Simon Fraser University. A lifelong birdwatcher, he has devoted much of his life to preserving wildlife habitat and promoting conservation, most notably at the Maplewood Conservation Area (MCA) which he helped save from development in 1992.

Kevin's contributions have also included leading nature walks and bird surveys, and growing trees and shrubs for habitat enhancement projects at Maplewood and other sites around the Lower Mainland. For many years he conducted monthly water bird surveys for Bird Studies Canada and annual breeding bird surveys for the Canadian Wildlife Service.

Kevin is past president of Nature Vancouver, Western Canada Wilderness Committee and the B.C Field Ornithologists. He currently serves on the Board of Directors with the Wild Bird Trust of B.C., which operates the Maplewood Conservation Area.

The Kingfisher Interpretive Centre Society is deeply saddened by the passing of Rob Dale, an honored life-time member. Both Rob and his wife Marion held a position on the Board of Directors of the Society for over 3 decades. Their support and volunteer efforts played an important role in building the Society into the success that it is today. Our hearts and condolences go out to the entire Dale family.