Two Chilliwack politicians died in Chilliwack this year, and locals remembered them as being filled with integrity, wisdom, kindness and humour.
Chuck Strahl, former Chilliwack MP died on Aug. 13 at the age of 67 after a battle with mesothelioma, a type of cancer. Dan Coulter, former MLA for Chilliwack and NDP cabinet minister, died on Dec. 12 after suffering a serious medical emergency. He was 49.
Chuck Strahl
Current and former federal, provincial, and municipal politicians, along with family, friends and the public gathered at Chilliwack Alliance Church for Strahl's memorial on Aug. 23, where Preston Manning, leader of the former Reform Party of Canada, delivered his eulogy.
What was remarked on many times following Strahl's passing was the "positive and cheerful attitude that he invariably brought to every situation and every conversation," Manning said.
He added Strahl was the kind of political person that gave politics a good name because of the principles he stood for and the trust he engendered in others.
Flags were lowered to half-mast in Chilliwack and on the Peace Tower in Ottawa days after he died.
"There couldn't be a better person to receive that honour," Manning said.
Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl called his father a "caring and engaged parent who wasn't afraid to show and say that he was proud of us."
The younger Strahl said his father was "so cool." He looked up to him and always wanted to be around him.
"Dad was always my hero."
Dan Coulter
Coulter was rushed to Chilliwack General Hospital on Dec. 6 after suffering a serious medical emergency where he died a week later.
"To those of us who knew him, Dan was so much more than a colleague – he was a friend and a mentor," NDP party representatives Heather Stoutenberg and Aaron Sumexheltza wrote in a press release. "He was smart, funny, thoughtful and honest. But above all things, he was kind."
B.C. Premier David Eby tweeted a tribute saying that "British Columbia has lost an incredible advocate and a fighter for justice in the passing of Dan Coulter."
Colleague Kelli Paddon also made a statement.
"So many in Chilliwack and across B.C. have been impacted by his work and advocacy, and I know his legacy and memory will live on with everyone who called him friend," Paddon wrote. "I will miss his quick smile and easy laugh, our enthusiastic and energetic conversations, and his passion for our community."
A public service will be held in Chilliwack on Jan. 11.
