Family, friends, neighbours and colleagues came together at the Bowen Island Legion on Saturday to share memories of the late mayor, Jack Adelaar.
Master of Ceremonies, Bill Pocklington said that Jack would’ve wanted a party.
“He was there for a good time, and he was a wonderful man,” said Pocklington. He went on to tell the audience that he and Adelaar first became friends when they were both working in downtown Vancouver, but spoke at least twice a day after Jack made the decision to run for mayor of Bowen Island.
“When I found out he was sick I felt like I got kicked in the stomach,” said Pocklington, directing his words to Adelaar’s sons. “Then I made a pact with myself that I would make your Dad laugh.”
Pocklington introduced Adelaar’s son, Jay, who said becoming Mayor of Bowen Island was his father’s dream job.
“He wanted to serve a second term, unfortunately, but maybe fortunately for him, he didn’t make it to election day.”
Jay thanked Bowen Island and his father’s many friends for their unwavering support.
“I think this actually helped to extend his life,” said Jay.
Adelaar’s neighbour, Bob Bagshaw, recalled the ritualistic joy of their meetings:
“I’d say how are you? And he’d say, fine, just fine, even the last time we met. And he’d say, where are the chocolate brownies, but don’t tell Marion! “
Bagshaw said that during Adelaar’s time as Mayor, the two discussed Bowen’s idiosynchrasies at length.
“Particularly something called the Will to Power. I don’t know if you’ve thought about that a whole lot but Nietszche, in the 19th century coined that phrase, and developed it into various theories. But it was very apparent on Bowen, power being pre-eminent over most issues. We had lots of issues on Bowen Island and probably still have lots of issues, but they’re not really the issue - the issue is power. So Jack and I spent lots of time trying to unravel that kind of thing.”
Bagshaw went on to say that they concluded, “dogs and cats should always be brought up together, it broadens their minds, it increases their affection...”
Bruce Russell did his best to keep his speech about Jack relatively concise. He told the audience that Jack’s first love was his family, followed by his passion for contemporary art, followed by his career as a lawyer, and finally by the passions he picked up late in life: politics and golf.
“In one way or another, Jack touched a lot of people,” said Russell. “I’d like to say thank goodness that he did.”
Finally, Municipal Chief Administrative Officer Kathy Lalonde spoke of her instant connection with the mayor, and the extreme fondness the entire municipal staff held for him.
“In his first year of office, Jack implemented the annual Christmas in July. That was a party to show his appreciation and support of staff. Playing on Jack’s golf team was something all staff vied to be a part of. It was a very coveted position. It wasn’t because of the quality of his golf game, but because of the love that we had for him.”
This past year, Lalonde said, he picked one of the newest and youngest members of staff, Lauren, to be on his team.
“She was so excited that she wrote home to England to say that she was going to go golfing with the Mayor. The Mayor!”
To show their continued love and devotion to Jack, Lalonde said, the municipal staff put a picture of him “our star” on top of the Christmas tree outside the office.
Member of Parliament John Weston also spoke at the event. He followed this speech up with another, in the House of Commons.
“Jack demonstrated the ability to instil civic pride in his community and to respect the various disparate voices on Bowen. Never in our many conversations did I once hear him utter a nasty or disparaging word, even about people who disagreed with him,” Weston told his fellow Members of Parliament. “Jack’s passion to advocate for his people and his great ability to communicate brought progress to Bowen on many fronts. We are sad you have gone, Jack, but proud of what you’ve done to model how we in public life should give our all to take care of our own.”
