In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar

HANEY, Ronald O. - On Tuesday, July 20, 2021, we lost our father: Ronald O. Haney.

A kind and generous man, a survivor of the RCN North Atlantic Division (WWII) and many high school classrooms, Dad died peacefully in his sleep at Creekstone Care Home in North Vancouver.

For over three decades until retirement, Dad taught English at West Vancouver Secondary School and at Hillside Secondary.

He was predeceased in 2008 by our mother, Marion Haney, who was also a long-time primary teacher at Irwin Park Elementary in West Vancouver.

Born ninety-five years ago on a farm near Cabri, Saskatchewan, Dad was the second youngest and last survivor of seven siblings.

In 1964, Dad was hired by School District 45 and moved his family to West Vancouver after teaching for a decade in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Left to mourn are sons, Cameron, Ronald (Tamara), and Donald (Anna); grandson, Lee (Michelle); granddaughter, Ivanka; and many nephews and nieces.
Dad stoically endured several months of isolation due to a deadly Covid outbreak in his previous care residence to which he referred as being confined to barracks.

Although Dad could be visited through the closed window of his ground-floor room, the months of separation took an inescapable emotional and physical toll.
Thankfully, face-to-face masked and distanced visits became possible the last few months of Dad's life, culminating the last week of his life in the lifting of the prohibition of close physical hugs.

"I've missed this", were dad's last words to his son Cameron as they finally exchanged that hug two days before his death.

After our mother's death, Dad lived independently in their West Vancouver home until hospitalized after a fall down the stairs. Despite the fall (and that wasn't the only header he took down the stairs while in his 80s), Dad never broke a bone, not even a finger. "I was the goalie for the Cabri Bulldogs!"  "I know how to fall!"

The Haney family would like to thank Dr. Sebba and ALL the staff at Capilano Long Term Care facility and also the Creekstone Care staff where Dad spent the comfortable last month of his life.

Special thanks to Vancouver Coastal Health for facilitating the seamless move to the Creekstone Care Centre when the painful decision was made to phase out and close Capilano Care by March 2022.

A family memorial will take place in the future, dependent on future health protocols. Dad's ashes will join Mom's and be interred in the Cunningham Memorial Garden at St. Andrews- Wesley United Church in Vancouver, where both were members since 1964. (North Shore News 04 Aug 2021)

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