With heavy hearts we share the news of the death of our Dad and Grandpa Don, Donald Brandon Thomas, on January 13th, after several years of declining health, including dementia.
Don was the middle of three brothers, with Garnet two years older and David two years younger. Their mother Grace (nee Huff) had been a school teacher before marrying, and their father Charles was a bank manager with the Bank of Commerce (later called CIBC). Don was born on November 9, 1941 in the tiny northern BC town of Pouce Coupe. Charles’ work moved them to several different towns in Alberta and British Columbia, including Smoky Lake, Stavely, and Claresholm. During this time he grew to love the wide open prairies and beautiful foothills of southern Alberta. Gopher hunting was apparently a favourite past time of the three boys. This was also when his life long love of airplanes first started, participating in Air Cadets at what was then a very busy RCAF station in Claresholm.
Don first completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Alberta in 1963. He went on to study journalism at Carleton University, graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism with Distinction in 1964, and was awarded the University Medal in Journalism. During his summer breaks he worked at the Chateau Lake Louise, first as an elevator operator and later as labourer in the power plant. He became very familiar with the area and lead other hotel staff on day trips in the area. These summers were the real start of his love of the outdoors, the Rocky Mountains, and the many adventurous activities he loved, such as canoeing, kayaking, backcountry skiing, backpacking, and bike touring.
After university, Don’s curious nature took him on a few years of travels around the world. He worked for a short time in the Kellogg’s Corn Flake factory in Sydney, Australia. He took a two month trip on a double decker bus from London to New Delhi. And he visited Havana shortly after the Cuban Revolution, as well as many other international destinations. He documented his travels through dozens of rolls of film mailed home to his parents for safekeeping until he returned.
Throughout his time at the U of A, he wrote for The Gateway, the university’s student newspaper. His first paid journalism job was with the Fort Williams Daily Times Journal in Thunder Bay. He went on to work as a reporter with the Calgary Herald from 1967 to 1973. It was during this time that he met his first wife, Jane Murphy, in Banff while there covering a local story. In 1973 he took a position with the Edmonton Journal, and daughter Sarah arrived soon after. He stayed with the Journal until he retired in 2003, covering a wide range of municipal and provincial issues over the years, including indigenous affairs, civic affairs, and the environment, as well as writing special interest pieces.
Don met his second wife, Joan Nightingale, through the Grant MacEwan Mountain Club in Edmonton and married in 1986. They shared a love of hiking and skiing, and went on many outdoor adventures and travelled the world. He cared for Joan, as she slipped into dementia, until she died in 2014. He then had the chance to move to the mountains that he loved so much and bought a condo in Canmore. He enjoyed a few years there with easy access to his favourite trails and paddling routes, before health problems limited his ability to get out.
In 2019 Don moved to the Sunshine Coast to be closer to us. We were glad to now have Grandpa Don so near by and to see him so much more often. Sadly his declining health took away much of his ability to engage in the outdoor activities he would have loved to share with his grandkids, but he loved to see them thriving and spoke so proudly of them with staff and fellow residents at Silverstone in his final year.
Don was a fairly solitary person at heart, but he loved learning about the world around him and hearing other people’s stories. He was goofy and sweet, opinionated and quirky, and could fall asleep anywhere anytime. He loved to sing and whistle, eat peanuts and Tim Horton’s chilli, read small town newspapers, and adored our old dog Maligne. We remember him with much gratitude for all he gave us, and miss him dearly.
We send sincere thanks to friends, family and the many people involved in supporting us and Don in his final years. Special thanks to Dr. Jaschinski, Dr. Strating, the Older Adult Mental Health team, and staff of the Adult Day Program at Shorncliffe.
Anyone wanting to join us for a memorial gathering on May 31st, is welcome to contact us at sarahhargrave(at)me(dot)com for more details. There will also be a gathering in Edmonton in July.
