EGERTON, Alfred William Gould

Alfred (Al) in his 86th year passed away in the early morning of July 19th 2017, at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Barrie, ON. Loving father of Coleen (Paul) McLachlan and Carolyn Ross. Lovingly remembered by brothers’ Jim (Doreen) and Andy, sister Eda, and loving nieces, nephews and other relatives. Will also be missed by stepdaughter Lisa (Jeff) Peller and special friends Forbes Cavanagh and Jeanette Yeo. Born in Princeton, BC in 1932 to Alfred and Minnie Egerton, Al spent his early years in the roaring gold mining town of Hedley, BC, living halfway up the mountain where his father ran an ore skip; then moving to Oliver in the Okanagan Valley at age 10. Living in mountainous terrain both in Hedley and Oliver, Al spent much of his youth climbing the mountains, fishing the many trout streams and rivers, and killing the occasional rattlesnake barehanded. Al attended South Okanagan High School and in Grade 12 was voted in as President of the Oliver Teen Town, a youth group that undertook various community projects. He was an active player in all high school sport programs, and played first string center in basketball. In 1950, Al enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces (Navy), serving in Korea, Ireland, Canada and the High Seas. In the Korean War, he and fellow crew members of the HMCS Athabaskan received commendation for their participation in the Battle of Inchon; detailed by General MacArthur, they sailed up the Yalu River behind enemy lines rescuing 250 wounded South Korean soldiers. Al spent 10 years in the Navy, also serving on the aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure, and received the U.N. Medal, the Korean Medal, and the Korean Ships Company Citation Medal. After leaving the Navy, Al held sales and management positions, moving with his wife and two daughters to Toronto, ON in 1969, to work at Canadian General Electric. In 1974, Al founded Egetec Enterprises Inc., a distributor of scientific products for oceanography and environmental monitoring. During Al’s business career, he was a Director and President of the Canadian Sportsman’s Association and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. In his later years, he was an active member of the Royal Canadian Legion in Barrie, ON. Al was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fly-tying and fishing, canoeing, cottage life and camping. He was a beautiful dancer and he fully enjoyed his years of golfing, playing snooker, puttering in his beautiful garden and cooking, cooking, cooking! He was strong, proud, fiercely independent, generous and kind with a great sense of humour, and will be dearly missed by Coleen and Carolyn and all who knew and loved him. In keeping with Al’s wishes, there will be no formal funeral service. On Tuesday evening, July 25th, there will be an informal “drop by and have a drink on Al” at the Barrie Royal Legion from 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM for Legion members, snooker players and close family and friends. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.