Douglas Craig Beveridge
Doug Beveridge passed away peacefully on July 5, 2021 and is deeply missed. Kind, generous and never short of an opinion, Doug Beveridge was beloved by many. He was wonderful to talk with; ready to discuss anything from art to politics, sports to social justice, family dynamics to history, he thought about it all. He was curious about the world and ideas, always reading a book and eager to travel.
Doug was born on March 3, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario to mother, Lillian Beveridge (nee Lescelle), and father, David Beveridge. He grew up in Toronto with his older brother, Ron (born 1941), and his two younger sisters, Heather (born 1947) and Christine (born in 1957).
The first family home was Salem Avenue, Toronto. Doug and Ron would play for hours on the street - until their mother would loudly call them to come home for supper or bed. As they grew older, Doug and Ron would make carts out of orange crates. Soon, they would be speeding down the street, as their mother watched from the veranda. In the early-to-late 1940s, there were very few cars on our street - just horses pulling bread or milk wagons. Despite battles with broomsticks from their respective bunk beds, and differences in personalities, Ron and Doug were lifelong best of friends.
By the arrival of spring 1951, the young family faced an abrupt change - a move to Long Branch, a village outside Toronto. The new home was a tiny house very close to the lake. Living ever so near to vast Lake Ontario was a real challenge for their parents, especially their mother. Having no indoor toilet meant fighting the wind to reach the outhouse. But, for Doug and Ron, this home was an exciting place to play, go fishing, canoeing and build rafts… the best fun was swinging over the nearby creek using a rope tied to the branch of a tree, and then... let go! What wonderful times they were!
One night in 1952, a fierce storm forced rivers of water to roar past the house, threatening to sweep it off its supports - and into the lake. Tragically, other homes and the people in it were not so fortunate. On August 25, 1953, their father bought a new home in Toronto and the family moved into a small, but brand new house - with a toilet!
At York Memorial Collegiate high school, Doug’s focus was more on sports than academics. He excelled at football and was awarded Athlete of the Year. In 1960, Doug took a year off high school, having discovered the freedom of hitchhiking. However, reading Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw opened up the world of ideas to Doug and urged him to return to high school. Thanks to the high school principal, Doug Barber, a student loan propelled Doug to Carleton University to complete a Bachelor of Arts (English and Political Science, 1968). There he played sports, excelling at hockey and football, and enjoyed university life, once or twice confining himself to the nearby monastery to cram for final exams. Doug briefly worked as a Greyhound driver and became lifelong friends with Bill Dewar, Jimmy Stewart (Stewie), and Don Clarkson (Clarkie).
During this time, he dated Carol Rudkin (nee Taughton) and had a child, Annemarie, who was adopted and raised by a loving Dutch couple in Niagara Falls. Annemarie grew up to become a successful manager of a local travel agency, marry and have two sons, Lucas and Caden.
In the late 1960s, Doug moved to Vancouver to pursue his interest in becoming a writer. He worked as a stagehand with CBC and explored Vancouver with good friend Dick Groot-Obbink. During this time, Doug became embroiled in the burgeoning environmental movement due to his concern about air pollution from the brewery near his home. At a SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation) meeting, he met his first wife, Rhonda Beveridge (nee Fleming). Always curious about the world, Doug and Rhonda travelled the world for five years, working as English-as-second-language teachers in Japan and England (working with Linguarama), as well as travelling through southern Africa, Asia, and Australia. They returned to Vancouver Island in late 1974, where their daughter, Meghan, was born. Soon after, in mid-1975, they moved to Red Deer, Alberta.
Doug was a teacher and coordinator of adult education at the Red Deer College until 1984. During an 18-month sabbatical he had taken from the College to complete his Master’s degree at the University of British Columbia, Doug met his future wife of forty years, Joyce, at a mutual friend’s house party in the West End of Vancouver in 1981. After a romantic courtship, they wed in November of 1982, and in July 1983 their first son, Ryan, was born. By 1984 it was time to leave Red Deer to begin a new life, and enjoy the more palatable weather of the west coast.
Upon arriving on the west coast, Joyce and Doug lived in Ladner, near Tsawassen where Joyce’s parents, Kay and Leo, lived, and to which Doug lovingly referred to as the “Lannon Resort”. In 1986 their second son, Bryce, was born. The “Lannon Resort” is where Sundays were spent catching frogs, riding bikes, and flying planes with the boys in the afternoon, then discussing the philosophy of life with Leo over a glass of home-made blackberry wine after dinner in the evenings. Despite later moving from Ladner to Richmond in 1986, and ultimately North Vancouver in 1988, the Sunday tradition at the “Lannon Resort” remained consistent over the years.
During this time, Doug worked as a regional manager promoting traffic safety education for ICBC from 1985 until 1990. In 1990, Doug returned to adult education as President of Royal Oak College of Design until 1999, when moved on to become Director of the Sprott Shaw College campus in New Westminster. He valued his role with Sprott Shaw, which included evaluating programs, encouraging and guiding staff and students alike, and enjoying special events with his colleagues and students.
In late 1994, after exchanging a number of letters, Doug reunited with Annemarie, meeting at her mother’s home. Doug and Annemarie kept in close touch over the subsequent 27 years. Doug long had a strong commitment to family – to understanding his immediate family and learning about his family and its ancestry over the generations.
Doug was always an athlete and avid spectator of sports, like hockey, football and baseball. As a young man, Doug played hockey and football on the Carlton University varsity teams. Later, Doug became a lifelong runner and began playing tennis in Ladner and subsequently a member of the West Vancouver tennis club, until his hips and knees limited him more sedate activities, like golf.
Music was a prominent part of Doug’s life, enjoying classical, jazz and other favourites, including the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Roy Orbison, Neil Young and especially Bob Dylan. He enjoyed dinners out, theatre, such as plays at Bard on the Beach, movies and trips to Palm Springs and other warm locations with his beloved wife, Joyce. Doug and Joyce took a number of wonderful trips, including a major cruise to the Scandinavian countries and a side trip to England and Scotland. Scotland has always held a huge place in Doug’s life because of the family history, including his father and grandfather having immigrated to Canada over 100 years ago.
Since retirement in 2012, Doug participated in the North Shore Elder College offered through Capilano University and golfed as often as possible. He enjoyed being a member of the Pacific Golf Club and especially enjoyed golfing with his sons, Ryan and Bryce. He happily took his grandson, Aaden, to baseball games to see the Canadians play, to the Vancouver Aquarium, and to the horseraces at the Hastings race track to test their luck with a few bets. He loved his time with his grandsons, Lucas and Caden, in Ontario. The boys loved his humour and stories and hearing about Doug’s Scottish heritage. He was delighted to meet Zoe, his only granddaughter and youngest grandchild.
Mourning Doug’s passing are his wife, Joyce; his brother Ron (Susan) and sisters Christine (Roger) and Heather (deceased November 2020); his children Bryce, Ryan (Rae), Meghan (Trevor) and Annemarie (Dan); his grandchildren Zoe, Aaden, Caden and Lucas; and his nephews Brandon and Neil.