In 2023, we said our final goodbyes to people who made Prince George a better place to live.
Here are some of those whose lives made a difference and why we will remember them.
Ken Goss, 72
Growing up in Prince George playing lacrosse, hockey and baseball, Goss was fast on his feet and tough as nails and he took his athleticism and love for sports to the golf course. After 18 years as a plumber/pipefitter, he got into the house selling/buying business and became one of the city’s most successful and innovative real estate agents, earning him a place in the Re/Max Hall of Fame.
He was first among local real estate sellers to put his personal phone number on a For Sale sign, first to use a cell phone for his work and first to wrap his truck in advertising decals to promote his business.
Judy Feyer, 81
She was only a year old when her dad moved the family from Wadena, Sask., to Prince George and as a logger/truck driver he taught Judy how to drive a logging truck at age 14. He also passed on his love for music, which would later serve her well as part of the BC Old Time Fiddlers Association.
Judy and her late husband Stuart (who died in 2006) were known for giving back to the community as volunteer organizers and for many years they contributed to the Sons of Norway, a group that preserves Norwegian heritage, culture and tradition. At age 70, Judy started her community radio career when she got behind the mic at CFIS FM 93.1 and her dedication resulted in her selection as Prince George Community Radio Society Volunteer of the Year in 2017.
She once told longtime city historian Kathy Nadalin and former Citizen columnist, “Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless but because they are priceless.”
Barb Dean, 76
Anybody who spent any time in the children’s book section of the Prince George Public Library’s downtown branch will remember Dean’s passion for her job turning kids on to books. She worked there for more than 30 years and her willingness to promote reading as a path to learning was represented throughout her work greeting kids and their families at the library. She participated in local book talks and travelled to conferences in several North American cities. As a children’s book advocate she relished her role as an educator, visiting kids in schools, and passed on that love for books geared to children and young adults to her grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Kris Yip, 47
A true sportsman and gentleman, Yip never boasted about his own accomplishments even though he had a lot to brag about. From a young age he excelled at every sport he tried, from skating to skiing to climbing to cycling and it was his bike that he gained national attention. Despite the challenges of coming from a cold northern climate, in 1993 Yip went on to become junior national champion in the criterium and road racing events. During the pandemic he qualified to ride for Canada in the UCI Esports world championships and his virtual riding helped pave the way to a top-10 finish for one of his teammates. The birth of his sons prompted a career switch from aerial mapping in 2008 and he worked as an insurance agent and mutual funds advisor. His untimely death came during an indoor training ride at his Prince George home.
Johnny Sung Chung Wong, 86
After arriving from China in 1954, Wong established his reputation as an exceptional cook working in several major hotels and restaurants. As owner of the Connaught Inn restaurant, he was known for offering large generous portions and it became THE place to go for prime rib and roast dinners.
He met his wife Kay in 1956 and they became the first Chinese couple married in Prince George. Prominent in the community as part of the Prince George Chinese Preservation Society, Dart Coon Club, the Chinese Benevolent Association and Chinese Freemasons Society, Johnny’s volunteer efforts to preserve the culture of his birthplace was instrumental in helping newcomers get established in the city. A city resident for nearly 70 years, he took an active role in organizing food booths set up for the Prince George Exhibition and Canada Day activities and took pride in training Lion Dance performers for New Year’s celebrations.
Mike Church, 87
When Mike Church put his mind to work designing Aberdeen Glen Golf Course in the hills and valleys of a Prince George forest, he envisioned a championship-calibre course with heavily-treed fairways and plenty of elevation changes – a golf course like no other in the city which would challenge everyone but exclude no one.Church’s work as a successful logger, gold miner and heavy-equipment operator took him to exotic locations around the world where he attended golf schools to learn the game. He took the time to pick the brains of golf pros, course superintendents and owners to give him ideas of what features he wanted to bring back to northern B.C. to incorporate into his own course.
A man of few words, he knew enough about moving piles of dirt to create the kind of landscape that would put a smile on a golfer’s face and it took two years for him and his crew of a dozen heavy haulers to turn that parcel of land in the Hart into his 18-hole legacy.
Howard Lloyd, 92
Lloyd served as a city councillor and regional district director for Prince George from 1972-75 and was the Social Credit MLA for the Fort George riding from 1975-79. A native of Turtleford, Sask., Lloyd was 10 when he and his family moved to Prince George. He started his working career in sawmills, then built roads and skidded logs for a time, then went into business with his brothers to form the Lloyd Bros Lumber Company and in 1960 started Howard Lloyd Logging.
When the logging industry became too challenging to make a go of it, Lloyd turned to politics for a brief time, and finally settled into farming in the Beaverly area until he retired in the 1990s.
Harold Dornbierer, 92
Harold was second in line in the ‘Dornbierer Dynasty’ that started when his father August was appointed to the department’s top position in 1942. He took over the job from his father in 1967 to become the city’s fourth fire chief and held the job until 1985. Harold’s brother Mike also served as chief from 1992-99.
Harold was a prominent figure in the community throughout his 35-year career with the city firefighting force and was deeply committed to serving the citizens of Prince George.
Kum Duk (Kay) Lim, 89
Born and raised in Korea, Kay came to Prince George with her husband Chong in 1964 and she established herself as one of the city’s premier vocal teachers and was well-known to the music and cultural community. Kay was a fundamental member of community choirs and was a founding member of the Prince George Cantata singers.
Chong, who died less than a year before his wife, established the radiology department at Prince George Regional Hospital as director and together their generosity and commitment to the city lives on through the CNC scholarship fund and their donations to the Prince George Community Foundation.
Rob Buchanan, 90
Known for his love of the outdoors and adventurous spirit, Buchanan made a name for himself as a competitive marathon paddler who won the Simon Fraser Canoe Races multiple times and went on to race on rivers all over North America. The Prince George Sports Hall of Fame member was also a competitive curler who won the coveted Kelly Cup men’s title in the ‘50s.
He was one of the founders of Buchanan Benson Real Estate and Insurance during the boom years of Prince George when the city’s pulp mills were built in the mid-‘60s and he was one of the partners that developed Purden Ski Village in 1968.
Doug French, 80
Doug joined the Citizen in 1963 and worked his way up the company ladder to become display advertising manager. He worked for the newspaper for 27 years before he retired at age 50. During that time he gained a reputation as a kind and considerate boss who treated everyone with fairness and respect. He and his wife Delores were well-known for putting on memorable Christmas parties at their Prince George home.
Florence Schultz, 77
Until she succumbed to cancer, Schultz suffered a lifetime of trauma, brain injury and a multitude of health issues, but didn't dwell on the negative and did everything she could to help the most vulnerable people in our community. As friend and colleague Diane Nakamura put it in a tribute article, “I will never meet anyone who will come remotely close to Florence's tenacity, courage and integrity.”
As a member of Uniting Northern Drug Users (UNDU) she spread her unwavering compassion and wisdom with many unhoused individuals suffering generational trauma, addictions, mental health and poverty., A devout Christian, the streets of downtown Prince George became the church that allowed her to fulfill her mission.
Roy Nagel, 81
A former managing editor of the Citizen, Nagel started out as an aspiring lawyer in Saskatchewan but decided he didn’t want to spend his life defending clients and telling just one side of the story. He became a newspaper reporter in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon before moving on to a management position with the Winnipeg Tribune, where he learned the fine art of presenting facts and opinions to the community without stepping on too many toes.
He joined the Citizen news team in 1980 and delivered the daily news until 1997 when he became general manager of the Central Interior Logging Association, where he used his negotiating skills to fight for better worker safety and represent independent contractors who previously felt powerless taking on governments, regulatory agencies and lumber giants.
Viola Merritt, 99
Vi met the love of her life, Lloyd Merritt, after she moved with her family from Alberta to Vancouver, and they were married in 1946. Three years later the young couple moved to Giscome, where Lloyd worked as a carpenter and in 1953 they opened Lloyd's Drive Inn restaurant which they operated for 16 years. Vi and Lloyd worked side-by-side in every endeavor: restaurant, house construction, equal partners in life until that partnership was broken with Lloyd's passing in 2009. They are now reunited once again.
Orv Claffey, 89
He was a 19 year old living in Radville, Sask., when he saw a newspaper ad from the Prince George Lumbermen looking for hockey players and with very little money in his wallet he took them up on their offer and went on to become an effective forward for his new team. The Lumbermen became the Mohawks and Claffey went on to play competitive hockey for 17 years. Active for 35 years as a hockey referee he also taught young officials to be whistleblowers while continuing to play with the Prince George Rec Hockey Association and Mohawk/Rusty Nut Oldtimers before he hung up his skates after 55 years in the game.
A member of the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame and Canadian Adult Rec Hockey Association Hall of Fame, Claffey was a longtime volunteer timekeeper at Prince George Cougars/Spruce Kings games.
Keith Buchanan, 63
Keith and his wife Michaela were co-owners of Purden Ski Village and Purden Lake Resort campground and RV park. His uncle, Rob Buchanan, was one of the original owners of the ski hill and Keith started out operating the chair lifts and gradually learned how to fix every piece of equipment needed to keep Purden open for skiers and he eventually bought out the other shareholders to take ownership.
He got into flying helicopters as his year-round occupation and gained a reputation as one of the city’s most reliable pilots, a job he held for 40 years until his accidental death on Sept. 26, when he and Jerry Edwards were killed in a helicopter crash shortly after they took off from the base at Purden Lake.
Jerry Edwards, 56
A self-employed forestry silviculture consultant, Edwards started Grizzly Forest Management in Prince George in 1999 and it was his job to survey cutblocks that had been harvested and reforested and compile reports about the health of the newly-forested areas.
“It is a testimony to an employer when your people hang in year after year - he was a kind, generous and very fair boss who put his employees first,” said Carolyn Thorp, who worked with Edwards. “The company was small, but we did good work. Bottom line, though, it was Jerry who put in the time, thought and detail into the quality work that was handed in to the varying forest companies we worked for. I know that the licensees had great respect for Jerry.”
He was flying with four other workers contracted by Canfor when he was killed in a helicopter crash Sept. 26 that also killed pilot Keith Buchanan.
Chris Hopwood, 61
A former manager of the Prince George Real Canadian Superstore, Hopwood worked at the store for nearly three decades, utilizing leadership skills he honed as a former McDonald’s Restaurant manager.
Sports were an integral part of his life and he was a passionate coach, referee and executive with the Prince George Minor Hockey Association and spent years as a volunteer with the College Heights Community Association.
He retired in 2020 which freed his schedule for daily walks, disc golfing, detailing vehicles and devoting more love and time to his family.
Stu Berry, 80
The longtime Prince George Spruce Kings trainer put his competent first-aid skills to work stitching up cuts and taping wounded limbs, but he also understood the mental and emotional side of junior hockey and was a father figure to the boys on the bus, many of whom were away from their homes for the first time.
His day job as audio-visual department manager at the College of New Caledonia offered a flexible schedule that allowed Stu and his wife Diana to travel in their own vehicle to the Kings’ road games, which they rarely missed.
