Philip Hector Trudeau

Born in Vancouver General Hospital May 17, 1935, Phil passed peacefully in the Langley Memorial Hospital with Joan by his side on March 6, 2023.

Phil loved to tell stories of his adventures. After his parents divorced he and his younger brother  went to live with his grandparents in New Westminster and his beloved grandmother did her best to teach him right from wrong. His grandmother passed away when he was 12 and he and his brother went into Children’s Aid Society (now known as foster care). When he was 15 he was put on a farm in Abbotsford – he had to milk 22 cows morning and night plus other farm chores for 50 cents a week and before that he thought milk came out of a bottle! High school at Philip Sheffield were happy times as he made several life-long friends and excelled in sports, basketball and soccer. The summer after graduation he got a job cooking for a survey crew on Bunsby Islands – he had never cooked before but several taught him their specialties and he became a very good cook. In January, 1954 he and some high school friends joined the Navy but after 18 months they hadn’t made him captain of his own ship, so he bought his way out. Then it was to work at the pulp mill in Ocean Falls, logging and mining on Vancouver Island and eventually deck handing on fish boats. Fishing became his passion, and he bought the troller “Hike” in 1968 and fished until 1989. Fishing season took him from home for up to six months, three months in later years as the seasons were shortened. He fished from Alaska to the mouth of the Columbia River (on the boarder of Washington and Oregon) and in later years mainly on the west coast of Vancouver Island, delivering his catch in Ucluelet. His catch was primarily salmon (the largest weighing 72 pounds) with incidental halibut (the largest weighing 222 pounds) and tuna. He took great pride in the quality of fish delivered. Winters were spent repairing and getting the “Hike” ready for the next fishing season. Retirement followed and golf became his new passion, enjoying many games in Vancouver, Richmond and at Newlands after we moved to Langley. Eventually Covid and back issues kept him close to home but he was always content and made the best of life.

Phil was a fighter (inside and outside the ring) right to the end. In the ring, as a young teenager he won the 100-pound Fraser Valley Golden Gloves Championship. He had several medical issues – a broken femur while working in Ocean Falls, a spinal fusion in early 1968 and was out fishing in a couple of months. In 1977 an accidental gunshot wound in his right arm when fishing required over a year of rehab, femoral artery replacement and double bypass surgery in 1994 and finally a knee replacement in 2013. The last three weeks in hospital were tough for him, but we were thankful they were doing all that could be done so he could return home. However, that was not to be.

Phil and I were married November 23, 1968 and enjoyed over 54 years together. We bought our first home in 1973 in Vancouver, and moved to Langley in 1992 to live on the eighth hole of Newlands Golf Course, a dream come true for Phil. He had his own golf cart and he and Mr. T, our Siamese cat could hunt for golf balls around the pond in the evenings. He enjoyed the comradery and competition of the Senior Men’s Club, the Men’s Club and mixers. So many wonderful friendships were formed during that time. He also played in the annual Pacific Ocean Heart Association golf tournaments which took us to many parts of B.C. and he won it one year in Chilliwack.

Phil was a member if the Langley Crib League, playing many years (over 25 years) for the Murrayville team and after Covid for the Milner team. He always looked forward to Thursday nights and the competition.

We enjoyed travelling and saw much of California, Arizona, North and South Carolina and Virginia and through our timeshare Oregan, Florida, Hawaii, and Spain. He won a trip the Gold Coast in Australia in 1986 and we spent five weeks exploring their beautiful and unique country.

Phil as an avid reader and would often read all publications of his favourite authors – Wilbur Smith, Bryce Courtenay, Lee Child, Brad Thor, Jeffrey Archer to name a few.

We have enjoyed so many friendships over the years (our photo albums attest to that) and our friends, family and neighbours have been so special to us. A private gathering at a later date will honour Phil.