Obituary of Vernon Clark Bedell

Vernon Clark Bedell 1934 ~ 2012 Vern was born on April 7, 1934 in Dawson Creek, B.C. He was the fifth child for Percy and Hazel Bedell. He grew up on the farm in Arras and walked or rode his horse to school with his sister Beth and brother Neil. When it was time for high school he stayed at the dorms in town and usually walked home on the weekends to help out on the farm. When Vern was a teenager his father passed away so he quit school to take care of his mother and the farm. In 1953, Vern married Marj Fellers. They lived in Pouce for the first few years and Vern began his career with the Department of Highways. At first he worked on the bridge crew and later became a grader operator at Progress and eventually became the road foreman for several years. Jackie was the first child to be born followed by Cathy, Murray, Jeff , Ivea and Dennis. In 1958, Vern built a house for the family in Arras. They spent over 20 years there before full-filling Vern’s dream of living on a hill and they moved to Fellers Heights. He loved to hunt and fish and spend time with his family. Their house was always full of children. In 1972 Vern bought his first grader, formed his own company and went to work for Northwest Wood Preservers maintaining the logging road to Mile 50 on what is now the Heritage Highway. He bought more equipment and kept himself and his boys busy for many years. Vern and Marj loved to travel. They took a few trips to Hawaii and Mexico and drove many miles pulling their 5th wheel trailer through the states with friends. When Marj passed away in 1995 Vern’s life changed dramatically. After a few years he moved to Falkland in the sunny Okanagon. In 2003, Connie Jung joined Vern and together they enjoyed a quiet life. They grew an amazing garden and Vern took up wood working which was something that he’d always wanted to do. In 2005, his daughter Cathy passed away from lung cancer and Connie was diagnosed with the same disease 2 months later. Vern cared for her until she passed in February 2008. He moved back to Arras to be closer to his family. Unfortunately, Vern’s health steadily declined and he passed away at home on January 15, 2012. Vern was a family man. As his children, each and every one of us know how blessed we were to be raised by such an honest and hard-working man. We will cherish our memories of him forever. Vern was pre-deceased by his parents, Percy and Hazel, brothers, Ted, Dick, Rod and Neil, his wives, Marj and Connie, his daughters, Jackie and Cathy, grandson Wayne and grand-daughter Murran. He leaves to mourn, his sons Murray (Rita), Jeff (Bert), Dennis (Sue) and daughter Ivea (Dale), his sister Beth Willis, sisters-in-law, Phyllis Bedell, Dorothy Bedell, Norma Landiak and Gin Moe, 15 grand-children and 26 great grand-children. A memorial service was held for Vern, Saturday, January 21, 2012 at Bergeron Funeral Chapel, Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Vern was cremated. Expressions of sympathy in memory of Vernon, may be made by donation to the Dawson Creek Hospital Foundation - Maternity Ward, 11100 – 13th Street, Dawson Creek, British Columbia V1G 3W8.