Obituary of Dennis Richardson

Dennis Gerald Richardson, resident of Dawson Creek, passed away on October 21, 2019 at age 54. Dennis was born in Dawson Creek on May 22, 1965, and was the eldest son of Gerry and Ruth Richardson, brother to Brian and Sheila, uncle to Courtney and Nicholas Richardson, and Sam and Sara McClenaghan. Dennis particularly enjoyed being an uncle, as he and Sam and Sara would regularly sit and watch TV much later than their parents allowed whenever they came for their summer visit. They spent a lot of time discussing Sam's involvement in hockey and Sara's interests in art and ringette. He and Nicholas spent time together building the back deck on the family home and whenever Courtney and Nicholas would come to visit in spring break and calving season, he would soon have them helping down at the barn with the calves. After graduating from South Peace Secondary in 1983, Dennis went to Grande Prairie College for one year, at which time he took a break from school and worked as a Deputy Sheriff in Dawson Creek until 1986 when he decided to return to University and moved to Victoria. He graduated from the University of Victoria in 1989 with a B.Sc. major in psychology. After graduation he had many different careers, including working at a fiber optics company in San Jose, California for a year. He returned to Victoria and worked there until 2007 when he decided to come back to Dawson Creek. By this time he had become a finishing carpenter and in Dawson Creek worked on many projects, including Greensmart and Western Canadian Properties. He had also moved to St. Albert, Alberta to be closer to Sheila and her family for two years during that time. Dennis enjoyed travelling and he and Brian and Anne made trips to Cuba and Hawaii together. He and Brian also had golfing holidays together in the summer to the Okanagan. Dennis loved animals and was an avid supporter of the SPCA. He had a calm and quiet way of dealing with animals that seemed to calm them down when they were being handled. He soon acquired a small herd of his own cattle after moving back to live on the farm and was still helping on the farm at the time of his death. Dennis is survived by his parents, Gerry and Ruth, brother Brian (Anne), sister Sheila (Mike), Courtney and Nicholas Richardson of Victoria and Sam and Sara McClenaghan of St. Albert. He is also mourned by his pets, Bailey and Rosie. For those wishing, donations may be made in Dennis' memory to the South Peace SPCA, 637 - 114 Avenue, Dawson Creek, British Columbia V1G 3A1.