May 26, 1926 - December 7, 2020
Andy is survived by his wife of 66 years Adell, children Valerie (Bryan), Gordon (Elsie), Karen (Robert), and Scott (Lauren, predeceased), as well as his grandchildren Eugene, Jennifer (Peter), Glen (Jennifer), Marina, Trevor, Allan, and great grandchildren Shaylyn, Brayden, Ryder, Hannah, Ava, Cheyanne, Bella, Alexis, Elliot, Elijah and great grandson, Jacob.
Andy, the oldest of the seven children of Archibald and Jemima (Wallace) Templeton was born in Ladner BC and raised in Sapperton.
Throughout Andy's long life he made contributions to others wherever he lived and worked. As a child he delivered milk and newspapers, played lacrosse, and in the summer would ride his bicycle all the way to his beloved White Rock Beach. Later he worked for the distillery and joined the navy at age 16 during World War 11.
After the war he became a commercial fisherman and later a psychiatric nurse, working, first at Riverview Hospital and then along with Adell, operating Bakerview Home, one of the first community based residential settings for people who have a cognitive disability.
After he retired, he was asked to help set up the psychiatric program at Matsqui Penitentiary. Although working in these facilities could be challenging, Andy expressed sympathy and understanding of those who entered the forensic system due to mental illness.
Andy retired from Matsqui for a few seconds and then he and Adell purchased a mobile home park on Saltspring Island where he was once again in his element clearing land, renovating a farm house, restoring a garden and having many opportunities to be out on the water.
Andy had a lifelong love of both fresh and salt water fishing. He was equally passionate about mechanics and collected and restored two vintage vehicles. He could be counted on to keep friend's and family's cars running and in the early years Flopsy the tractor.
He built and renovated many houses over the years and enjoyed the challenge of transforming acres of forest into gardens, pastures and rock walls. When he was finished with building houses he created numerous decorative woodworking projects that have become treasured family keepsakes. When Andy wasn't working on large projects he was an avid reader, tied fishing flies, and restored vintage clocks.
Andy and Adell enjoyed their retirement years with many trips in their motorhome, attending vintage car swap meets, fishing and traveling across Canada and the US. As retirees, they joined in the community of Churchill Park and Andy became a part of "the Senate" a group of men who gathered regularly to take care of some of the property maintenance and to discuss how the world really should be run.
As Andy's health began to prevent him from taking part in his usual activities, he honed his cooking and baking skills to produce excellent breads, cookies, soups and the family favourite, jambalaya.
Andy's final year at George Derby Centre for Veterans was challenging due to COVID restrictions and limited opportunities for visiting, but staff reported good discussions with him and enjoyed hearing about his experiences. He will be remembered for his pride in his Scottish heritage and his love of a good single malt whiskey - Slainte Athair!
He will be missed.