Glen Wilfrid McKenzie
April 13, 1929 ~ January 18, 2012
Residents of Kootenay Lake and area will be saddened to learn of the loss of Glen McKenzie on January 18, 2012 in a vehicle accident during bad weather on Highway 3A not far from his home at Boswell.
Born in Edmonton on April 13, 1929, Glen spent childhood years in Strome, Alberta. Glen worked in the oil industry and briefly as a stockbroker, before earning a degree in education while raising three children with his first wife Randa. A teaching position at the Banff Composite High School in 1963 was an opportunity to escape city life, and Glen transformed their summer cottage at Harvie Heights into a family home through a series of expansions that spanned a decade. A self-taught carpenter, plumber, electrician and finisher, no job was too large or too intimidating. After his career as a teacher and administrator at schools in Banff, Canmore and Exshaw, they semi-retired to Kimberley, BC in the late 1970s. Glen and Randa separated in 1982 and later divorced.
Glen met Verna Mayers in Vancouver at a school trustees’ conference, and after several years they were married in Kimberley in 1989. They spent happy years in Kimberley where Glen had invested in real estate through his company Celtic Estates and was on the local school board, while Verna sold real estate and operated a bakery. Both were active within the community. In 1992 they moved to their acreage at Boswell and undertook major house renovations and property improvements. Here Glen realized his long-held ambition to farm, and to raise highland cattle. He and Verna also managed poultry, fruit and vegetables on what became Applecross Farm, named after an ancestral home in the highlands of west Scotland. The beauty of the lake and mountains through the seasons provided the perfect backdrop to a peaceful and satisfying time of life. Glen and Verna spent over twenty happy years in their much-loved home within a community in which they both invested much time and worked hard at bettering.
In recent years, Glen was plagued by chronic back pain and was deeply concerned about the possibility of having to leave his beloved farm. His sudden death at 83 years of age, after a long, interesting and much-enjoyed life, spared him this difficult decision.
Hard-working at home, at work, and within his community, Glen often quietly or publicly supported the endeavours of others. He had a strong interest in local history and all things Scottish, and is remembered for his distinct sense of humour. He was also well-traveled, particularly later in life when accompanied by Verna and often friends and family.
Glen was predeceased by his brother Gordon, his sister Babe and his son Douglas, and is survived by his wife Verna, brother Ken and his wife Doris, sister-in-law Anne, brother-in-law Bruce, son Ian and his daughter Kim. He will also be missed by an extended family that includes grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will take place at Boswell Hall at 1:00 pm, Friday January 27, 2012, followed by interment at the Boswell Cemetery and refreshments back at Boswell Hall.
A life remembrance is also planned for April 13, 2012.
In lieu of flowers, donations for the refurbishing of the Boswell wharf, a project of interest to Glen, will be gratefully accepted by the Boswell and District Farmers Institute, 11977 Hwy 3A, Destiny Bay, BC V0B 1A3, attention Bob Arms – Help The Harbour.