DAVID “DAVE” JOHN MCKENZIE
Posted: September 6th, 2024
DAVID “DAVE” JOHN MCKENZIE October 15th, 1944 August 30th, 2024 Dave passed away peacefully on August 30, 2024, in Medicine Hat. Born in Aldershot, England on October 15, 1944, he moved to Canada with his mum, Edith, and brother Doug to join his dad, Roy and grew up in various locations in Southern Alberta.
He is survived by his wife, Anne; his son, Lee (Tara) of Calgary and
daughter, Jan (Bryan) of Medicine Hat, their children Maia and Silas;
brothers-in-law Alfred, Edward and Walter Piper.
Dave enjoyed the outdoors, including fishing and hunting in his younger days and bird and butterfly watching as he grew older. He was genuine, a voracious reader, and sought knowledge and perspectives from everyone he met. He was an involved and active father and grandfather who enjoyed spending time with his family.
To honour Dave’s wishes, there will be no funeral service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made directly to Grasslands Naturalists (https://grasslands-naturalists.org/), an organization very dear to his heart. Condolences may be made at www.gracememorial.com. Arrangements are made by
Grace Memorial Affordable Burial & Cremation 1924 10th Ave N.W. Medicine Hat, Alberta T1C 1T5 www.gracememorial.com 403-905-0440
My deepest condolences to Anne, Lee, Jan, Maia and Silas and to all Dave’s family and friends.
It is now almost three months to the day since Dave passed away. I find it difficult to put into words how much of a good friend Dave was to me, how humble but knowledgeable he was on a wide variety of topics, and how much I miss him. I first met Dave when he was president of the Grasslands Naturalists and I had just signed up. Over the years, Dave and I went on many field trips together looking for birds, bees and butterflies all over Medicine Hat and SE Alberta. A few times it was just Dave and me. I treasure my memories of all those times and all that Dave taught me about Nature and life. He was always so humble, so wise and so nice. Family, especially his sharing with Anne, his praise for his children and his playing with his grandchildren meant so much to Dave.
When my own daughter started writing books, Dave was always among the first to buy each of them and the first to write lovely, encouraging reviews on Amazon.ca for all to see. In her latest book just published in August, Amy wrote this acknowledgement in the book, ” To Dave McKenzie: I’m not sure if you realize how impactful your emails of support about my writing have been to me. Thank you for your kindness.”
At our last year-end BBQ together for the Grasslands Naturalists, a beautiful butterfly landed on Dave’s shoulder and I took a photo of it. From that point on I always called Dave, “Butterfly Dave” and I treasure that photo.
Again sorry for the late posting here but I never wanted to believe that anyone with such a gentle, uplifting manner could have been taken from us so soon.
My deepest condolences to Anne, Lee, Jan, Maia and Silas and to all Dave’s family and friends.
It is now almost three months to the day since Dave passed away. I find it difficult to put into words how much of a good friend Dave was to me, how humble but knowledgeable he was on a wide variety of topics, and how much I miss him.
I first met Dave when he was president of the Grasslands Naturalists and I had just signed up. Over the years, Dave and I went on many field trips together looking for birds, bees and butterflies all over Medicine Hat and SE Alberta. A few times it was just Dave and me. I treasure my memories of all those times and all that Dave taught me about Nature and life. He was always so humble, so wise and so nice. Family meant so much to Dave, especially sharing with Anne, visits from his children and playing with his grandchildren.
When my own daughter started writing books, Dave was always among the first to buy each of them and the first to write lovely, encouraging reviews on Amazon.ca for all to see. In her latest book just published in August, Amy wrote this acknowledgement in the book, ” To Dave McKenzie: I’m not sure if you realize how impactful your emails of support about my writing have been to me. Thank you for your kindness.”
At our last year-end BBQ together for the Grasslands Naturalists, a beautiful butterfly landed on Dave’s shoulder and I took a photo of it. From that point on I always called Dave, “Butterfly Dave” and I treasure that photo.
Again sorry for the late posting here but I never wanted to believe that anyone with such a gentle, uplifting manner could have been taken from us so soon.