October 23, 1940 - February 1, 2023
With tender sadness we announce the passing of Duke McElroy at home in Sechelt, BC. He was surrounded by the love of his family and friends.
Duke was born in Edmonton and raised in Vancouver and Burnaby. He met his wife Sharon at UBC in 1962. Their children, Shauneen and Ryan, were born in Toronto and the family moved to the San Francisco Bay area, living there for 35 years.
Duke had a passion for the investment business and was day trading until two weeks before his death. He loved being in nature and filled his life with wilderness canoe trips, golfing, running, hiking the John Muir Trail, gardening and traveling. He and Sharon lived in Maui for 18 years where their only grandchild, Skylar Joy, was born. In 2016 they returned to BC and settled in Sechelt.
During his life he followed this desire to make a difference by educating children in need. He and Sharon created the Dream West program in West Oakland, CA to help poor minority students get through high school and into college. He lived a spiritual life that was based in the Buddhist tradition. This led him to Myanmar where be began the Burma school project with Steve Armstrong. Soon Roger Brain of North Vancouver, joined them to build over 100 schools in remote villages. The program continues to this day.
We are grateful for outstanding care from the BC Cancer Institute and our Palliative Care nurses who guided us lovingly through the final months. They were angels of mercy with their knowledge and experience. We are grateful to live in Canada where it was possible to have Dr. Goojha and MAID help our beloved Duke through a peaceful final transition.
Duke had a generous and grateful attitude towards life. He would remind himself and others to "Never ignore a generous impulse" and " You can't say 'thank you ' enough."
