Walter H. Baragon
1919 – 2016
It is with deep sadness but great honour that we pay tribute to Walter, devoted husband, father, uncle, stepdad and grandpa who passed away at 96 years, on January 23 with family close by his bedside. He is survived by loving wife Joyce, children Ellen, Tom Stanbrook and June Long, and many adored grandchildren, nieces, nephews, stepchildren and their families. Born in 1919 in La Pas, Manitoba to immigrant parents Pietro Baragione (Baragon Eng.) and Rosa Maier, Walter's siblings included his brothers Art and Earl and sisters Pearl and Mabel. Walter's journey through life was adventurous and memorable from youth-- hitching a ride in a train caboose across Canada, to lifeguarding in Nelson, gold panning in Barrier, plying the great lakes with the Merchant Marine in Ontario, sailing the high seas with the Royal Canadian Navy during WW II, and later running his own sawmill in Princeton. An aspiring writer, Walter wrote of his ideas in private journals. He had a lifelong love of knowledge and books. Starting in the 1950s, Walter worked on several bridges and shipping ports as a pile driver and overseas in St. Vincent, West Indies in the 1960s, daring the risks of a dangerous but to Walter an exciting and challenging career. But farming was in his blood; he enjoyed having two hobby farms, in Surrey and Langley. Following retirement he was remarried to Joyce and joined her on her family's farm in Langley where he lovingly raised his cattle for the next 3.5 decades between his many travels with Joyce around the globe. Walter will be remembered for his honesty, humour, intellectual curiosity, caring ways, concern for mankind, hard work, and strong spirit. A celebration of life will take place at the Fort Langley Senior’s Hall on February 21 at 1 p.m.