Our fine and distinguished father and grandfather passed away peacefully on December 10, 2018 at the age of 94. Alan’s wife of 66 years, Sheila, predeceased him, and thus leaves son Douglas (Penny), daughters Linda (Marty), and Kerry (Jeremy), niece Pat Doheny, and 6 beloved grandchildren to cherish his memory. Alan was born in Victoria in 1924 and was a proud Oak Bay resident until a 1968 move to Vancouver when he was appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court of B.C.
His early education was in Oak Bay schools and 4 of 10 of his precious great-grandchildren went to the same elementary school (Willows). Alan met Sheila at Oak Bay High School, from which 3 generations of Macfarlanes have now graduated. Alan’s connection to Oak Bay extended to public service as the MLA for Oak Bay/Gordon Head in the provincial Legislature from 1960 to 1968. In his early years, Alan was an accomplished athlete, most notably in track while coached and mentored by Archie McKinnon.
Later, he became President of the Victoria YMCA. Alan was active in the community on many levels, including with Community Chest and was the returning officer in Victoria in the early 1950s when proportional representation was last tried in B.C. Alan was a prominent lawyer in Victoria for 20 years as senior partner in Clay and Co, and was originally called to the bar by his father, the Honourable Arthur D. Macfarlane.
Alan was a well-respected judge for over 30 years, firstly at the trial court level and then as an appellate judge. A former Chief Justice of the B.C. Court of Appeal described Alan as a model of what a judge should be, both in and out of court. Others have remarked on his intellect and integrity as well as his wit and love of family. Fun abounded at the family property at Shawnigan Lake, and Alan started there at 4 years of age and lived there independently for the last decade.
A Celebration of his remarkable Life will be held at Emmanuel Baptist Church on 2121 Cedar Hill Cross Road, Oak Bay, BC, on Saturday, January 5, 2019 at 2:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Victoria Hospice, where Alan received exceptional care for the last 7 weeks of his life.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
-
Dennis Murray
-
Melodie Clark (nee Macfarlane) To Doug, Lynda, & Kerry,
My condolences and that of my family to you and yours. I am so glad I corresponded with your father for the past few years. In his letters, he spoke about his large, loving family and his pride and love for the family was so apparent. From what he described, I know that his passing will leave a huge empty place but you will be able to fill it with all the wonderful memories you have of him. Your father had a full and happy life with many accomplishments- the greatest legacy is his family.
You all remain in my thoughts and prayers.
Melodie Clark (nee Macfarlane)
-
Linda McLaughlin To Doug, Penny and family: Please accept my condolences. My prayers are with you at this sad time.
Dang! I was away and this is my chance to offer my sincere condolences to the gaggle of Macfarlanes and others who have been lucky enough to carry the same DNA or are tied by marriage or friendship to this incredible dad, gramps, great gramps and human. I always looked forward to an encounter with him, to be the victim of his dry humour, bask in the glow of his kinda wry smile and laughter, and reap the benefit of his advice, brilliantly thought out and incisively delivered. Yes, he was a Judge to be respected way beyond simply the office. He was a force on whatever Court he presided over, and a leader in the community, but more to the point, despite being old school reserved in such matters, his love of his family and his kind heart brightly shone through for me and is what I will remember him for. He loved and was proud of them all, very much including my friend Doug, his equally big hearted son. Dennis Murray