February 17, 1969 - January 25, 2022
In Loving Memory ~
With heavy hearts we announce the death of Paul Dickinson from cancer. He will be deeply missed by his daughter Paige, Paige's mother Rebecca, parents Barbara and Gary, sisters Katherine Dowling (Tom) and Kimberley, brothers John (Sonja), Mark (Amy), Glen, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Paul was a huge presence in our family: generous, rambunctious, and not without a touch of swagger.
We remember shared paper routes and endless games of baseball, hockey, football and "sea worm" in and around the family home; pockets full of candy from trips by bicycle to Pat's Superette (Bob's), the Mini Shoppe and other Mom-and-Pop corner stores; epic explorations of beaches, lakes, hills and mountains across British Columbia; body surfing in Maui; and an unforgettable afternoon at Point Roberts, Washington in which the entire family worked together to hold back the rising tide with a massive sand fort, hours in the making.
Paul was drawn to the mountains after graduating from Okanagan Mission Secondary School in 1987, then to the prairies where he worked in tree-planting and scaffolding, the latter eventually taking him to Ontario.
Throughout his travels, Paul was a friend to the marginalized and downtrodden. He responded to the injustices around him with heroic gestures of his own, one of which earned him the nickname "Rambo" in the northern Saskatchewan community where he was living at the time.
The birth of his daughter Paige grounded and gentled him, and all who knew Paul witnessed the remarkable transformation that followed. Paige was the great love of Paul's life.
Paul was diagnosed with cancer just before Christmas of 2020, and his attitude over the next thirteen months was nothing short of exceptional. It is fair to say that he held back the tide for as long as he could.
Our family would like to acknowledge the exceptional care that Paul received in his final days from staff at the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton, Ontario.
A Go Fund Me account called Paige's Education Fund has been established: https://www.gofundme.com/f/7vyve4
A celebration of life will be held in early May.