Our Dad

Dan and I would like to dedicate this page to our father, David Charles Osborne, who passed away November 23rd, 1999 about one month from his 86th birthday.

How fitting it is for a father to pass on his trade to his son. That is what my father did for me, not only the trade but the love of the trade, the desire to do your work "not just good enough but to do the best you can do".

Dad completed numerous projects in his construction career. Each one is a testiment to his expertise and commitment. Working mainly in Vancouver, BC, Canada, some of these that spring to mind include: Vancouver General Hospital; the Percy Norman Pool; the Maritime Museum, its sea wall and the foundation for the historic St Roch (this RCMP schooner was the first ship to travel the treacherous Northwest Passage in both directions, as well as the first ship to ever circumnavigate North America); the Arbutus Garden Apartments; Vancouver Aquarium's bird cage, the otter and penquin pools, and the polar bear grotto; various gas stations; an A&W Restaurant; the Trans-Mountain pipeline facility; the Delta Airport Hotel and the Arthur Lang Bridge in Richmond, BC; and many more.

He later went to work "up North" building bridges and mine concentrator buildings such as: Tungsten Mine at Tungsten, Northwest Territories, BC Moly Mine at Alice Arm, BC, Granduc Mine out of Stewart, BC, Giant Mascot Mine out of Hope BC, Fraser River bridge out of Williams Lake, BC, Fraser River bridge at McBride, BC, and the Alaska Ferry Terminal at Prince Rupert, BC.

I can't find any more fitting tribute to our father than this poem written by my daughter Jacqui. Jacqui, her cousin Cindy and I stayed up the last night of Dad's life talking to him, laughing with him about old times, caring for him.

You can read more about our dad, his life and his passing in his memorial service and "There's no such thing as a stupid question".

Dave