June 28, 2025 It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our beloved father and grandfather Brian ‘Rupert’ Blackwell on June 28th, 2025. He died peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family in Sechelt, B.C. Born in Birmingham, England in 1944, Brian was the youngest child of Harry and Eva Blackwell and younger brother to his darling sister, Joyce. Discovering his passion for baking at an early age, he went on to attend Birmingham College of Food & Domestic Arts in 1961 where he met the other passion and love of his life, Sylvia Ditchfield. With a promise to return to her, Brian joined the Merchant Navy in 1962 as a baker aboard Pacific & Orient's S.S. Canberra. He travelled the world, writing letters home to his sweetheart telling of his adventures and the cities he had seen. When he returned to the UK in 1966, he and Sylvia were married and promptly emigrated to Vancouver. There, between the mountains and the sea, Brian and Sylvia began to build their new life together from the ground up, finding a home, working and starting a family. In 1970 when the opportunity came up for them to start a bakery department for the Clayton family in Sechelt, they decided to make the Sunshine Coast their home. Working alongside each other for 35 years in this close-knit community, Brian and Sylvia knew everyone, and everyone knew them by name and reputation. As head baker and manager, Brian created the best bread and cakes on the Coast, while crafting a supportive and creative training environment for the many bakery employees in his charge before his retirement in 2008. Brian was a true Renaissance man, living a quiet, creative life with many diverse interests and talents. As a young man, he was an avid cyclist. His love of history and genealogy led to a lifelong family tree project, spending countless hours scouring parish registries in England, researching in Salt Lake City, and tracing the Blackwell and Ditchfield families as far back as the 16th century. He was a self-taught photographer, documenting family life and the beautiful landscape of his chosen home of the Sunshine Coast. He was an accomplished maker of pottery, gardens, calligraphy, handmade cards to mark every occasion, and most recently, entire villages of tiny houses that he enjoyed gifting to friends. Brian cherished family, returning to England many times over the years to spend time with his Blackwell and Ditchfield clans. At home in BC, Brian and Sylvia’s generous gatherings were legendary, hosting an extended family of friends for innumerable joyous occasions around their table and garden, and creating lasting memories for us all. In later years, Brian’s grandchildren were the most important part of his life; he never missed a birthday, was the biggest fan at the soccer pitch, delighted in creating funny postcards and photo albums, loved holding hands, and was an attentive listener who celebrated every achievement, big and small. Brian now rejoins his beloved Sylvia (1942-2022), and will be dearly missed by his children Lisa Blackwell (Nic Nabokov), Simon (Kelsey Blackwell), and Martin (Yukiko Blackwell); grandchildren Emma Kate and Eva, Lily and Ruby, and Taiyo; his sister Joyce Duce (Poole, UK) and his nephew Jonathan Duce (Geneva, Switzerland); Sylvia's Ditchfield clan and his extended family of close friends whose lives were made infinitely better by knowing him.
