Al passed away peacefully on a bright spring morning, having been taken care of by the ER staff at qathet General Hospital for his last 12 hours. He leaves behind his heartbroken partner of 24 amazing years, Maureen MacLennan. He will be missed by his in-laws in Langley, BC, and close friends in Powell River and out of town.
Al was born in Perth, Scotland, to Agnes and Patrick “PJ” Kendrick, and had a sister, Gina, (who many PR residents will know as the food bank lady for years). The family moved to Canada around 1958, to Ocean Falls, then to Powell River a couple of years later. Al attended school here to grade 12 and then started his long career at the mill. He retired in 2002 as part of a package and enjoyed a long retirement in his Cranberry Lake-front home with Maureen.
Fun was the key phrase throughout our relationship; it included many travels to Lahaina, Maui and Las Vegas. Al had a great sense of humour. He’d tell you a joke or a story with a twinkle in his eye, waiting for you to get the punchline. He was a Toronto Maple Leafs fan since before the last win in 1967. He was a NY Yankees fan, attending a few series with friends at the old Yankee Stadium, and the biggest sucker punch with the timing of his death was he didn’t live long enough to see Liverpool FC lift the trophy this year.
We celebrated our birthdays last week, and he had a great afternoon seeing friends on Saturday, the 19th. Life will never be the same without his awesome daily hugs, the laughter ringing through the house when we’d joke around, or when he’d break into song, serenading me with some old Scottish song. I know there are a lot more stories about Al, and please feel free to tell me your memories of him.
A celebration of his life will be held later in the year, even though he repeated that I could probably hold his funeral in a phone booth. He never realized how many people liked him.
I love you, Al; “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
