A Life Well Lived
Kenneth (Ken) Dickson passed away peacefully on August 16, 2021.
Beloved husband of Hazel; much loved father of Ashlee-Sara (Robert) and adored granddad of Nicholas and Adam - as well as loved and admired by his many family and friends across Canada and back home in Northern Ireland.
Ken was born in the family home known as The Green in a small village in Dunmurry, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland where he met and married the love of his life Hazel. They were married in 1960 and their only daughter Ashlee-Sara was born in 1965.
Soccer was Ken's passion from an early age and the beautiful game provided him many opportunities in life, both as a top-level amateur and eventually as a professional player and coach. In Ireland it was not uncommon to find his name in the local newspaper or on the TV after a Saturday game in the Belfast area.
Ken had opportunities to play with football clubs in Bangor, Lisburn Tech, Glentoren Olympic, Portadown, Carrick Rangers and of course Dunmurry Rec – as well as a an opportunity to play in Holland for AFC Ajax.
In early 1966 Ken migrated to Toronto as a professional soccer player along with his dear friends Billy Curry and Ken Beattie; with Hazel and Ashlee-Sara following a few months afterwards to begin their new life in Canada.
After his playing career, Ken had a very successful coaching career in Calgary and Vancouver. He was a very active coach with the North Vancouver Football Club in the 1980’s and proudly led his Norvan team to victory in a number of tournaments, including the coveted Imperial Cup in 1985 and 1986.
Ken's career in the dental industry began in 1971 when he was hired by Mr. Mark Ando as a sales representative for Ando Dental Laboratories - and then eventually as National Sales Manager in Vancouver with Hyo Maier of Aurum Ceramics where he worked from 1986 until he retired at the age of 74.
Over that time, he served hosts of new and existing customers, trained new sales representatives and was the face of the company at countless dental conventions, annual meetings and CE courses. Travelling across Canada every year allowed Ken to meet and develop friendships with so many in the Canadian Dental Industry and his proudest moment was receiving the distinguished Canadian Dental Association’s Special Friend of Canadian Dentistry Award in 2011, the first non-dentist to receive such an award. Ken was also awarded the Patron of the Profession Award in 2002, from the Association of the Dental Surgeons of BC
Ken’s wishes are to be layed to rest at St. Colman’s in Dunmurry, County Antrim along side his beloved sister, Alice and extended family and a service will be held at St. Colman’s in Dunmurry. A celebration of life in Vancouver will be held at a later date.
Ken was a humble, gentle, generous man with many a story to tell and his passing leaves a huge void in our lives. He has left us with a lifetime of happy memories and he was an extraordinary man who led an extraordinary life.
The family wishes to thank the following doctors for their compassion and care provided to Ken during the years – Dr Bashir, Dr. Chakrabarti, Dr. Doe, Dr. Chorny, Dr McWhinney and of course to Amir, his patient and understanding pharmacist. Lastly special thanks to the nurses and doctors at Lions Gate hospital and the North Shore Hospice.