Tribute

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my beloved husband, Runar on March 14, 2021 at the age of 82.   

Runar was predeceased by his father, Gustav in 1973 and his mother, Elin in 1981 and numerous aunts and uncles in Sweden.  Runar is survived by his wife, Marie of 45 years.  He is also survived by his brother, Folke (Elsy), sister Elsa (Bengt), 2 nephews Lars (Nicole), Martin   (Camilla), 2 nieces Helena, and Maria (David) and 5 great nieces,  2 great nephews and cousins.

Runar was born on the Island of Tjorn-Sweden.  He came to Canada in the fall of 1967 to work at the Pulp Mill in Prince Rupert.  He stayed here for 18 months, then decided to go back home to Sweden.  He returned and gave Canada one more chance.  As an electrician, Runar worked at the Mill in Port Hawesbury, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  He started this job on January 1971 where later that year, he met his soon-to-be wife, Marie on a blind date on November 30, 1971.   Runar did not waste time in asking me to go out the next night to a lounge for a drink and that is where our relationship began.  The icing on the cake was a few months later when he invited me to go to Sweden to meet his family.  We continued dating until we married on May 15, 1976.  Runar and I moved to British Columbia in August of 1976 where he started work at the Crofton Mill on August 9^th, 1976.  Retirement was August 1999.  A wonderful retirement celebration was hosted at our dear friends, Molly and Ian’s house. 

Runar loved cars and his first new car was a 1969 Cougar which he purchased in Vancouver, drove to California, and then all the way to New York, at which point, he had his car shipped to Sweden.  Runar really loved the big cars and enjoyed all of his three cadillacs.  We toured in the Western States, British Columbia and Alberta.  Our dream vacation was always to go to Nashville, Memphis and Branson and finally for our 25^th Anniversary in May 2001, our dream came true.  Our other memorable vacations together took us to places like Disneyland, Hawaii, Florida and Sweden.

Runar loved food and our friends always welcomed us; he so enjoyed the ribs, meatballs, burgers and pasta dishes.  He never forgot to thank hostesses for the lovely meal and was always the first to do so.  He always thanked me for every meal I prepared since we were married.  He was such a very caring and giving person and was ready to lend a helping hand whenever needed. 

A very special thank-you to all our very supportive loving friends over the years and all the fun and happy gatherings we shared.  We will remember Runar for so graciously pouring coffee, help serve the dessert and goodies which he was so fond of.

Special thanks to Dr. Young Sohn who was so supportive and kind during these past few years, also all the Palliative Care nurses who came to visit Runar at home and the nurses at the Palliative Care facility in Duncan.  Thank-you to Pastor Paul Roggow of Trinity Lutheran Church for his prayers, support and inspiration and especially for the beautiful comforting hymn he sang in Swedish, “Children of the Heavenly Father”.

A  Celebration of Life will be held when safe to do so.

Runar touched so many lives and he will be lovingly missed by his wife, Marie.

Donations can be made in Runar’s memory to Cowichan Hospice  https://cowichanhospice.org/get-involved/make-a-donation/ or any charity of your choice.