Obituaries

ALLAN WAYNE DELAVAU

Allan Delavau’s spirit was set free from his body at 9:09 pm October 6, 2021 at St. Boniface Hospital at the age of 73. His last ride recorded on Strava told us the place that his heart stopped on October 2, 2021. He was riding home after watching his son’s slow-pitch team win in the final inning of their play-off game! We are thankful he was resuscitated, so that we, his family could spend some time with him and say our goodbyes at his bedside.

We know that Allan was extravagantly loved by God and we trust that he knew this to be true when he met Jesus at his favorite place on the bike path. He will be sorely missed by his loving family, wife Jennife; son Nicholas; daughter Emily, and pooch Lacy, who were loved by him beyond words. His 3 brothers (Laurence, Randy and Jeff) and his sisters-in-law (Darlene, Elaine and Sandra) and their families mourn his loss deeply. He loved Delavau get-togethers. Jen’s family are also mourning his loss as he was well loved by them and many others. He was predeceased by his parents Ray and Rhea.

Allan was a teacher for 27 years and many students from St. James and Charleswood may remember him. He helped with the Oak Park Raiders football team for many years. He loved teaching but retired at age 55 to be a stay-at-home dad which he considered to be the best job ever. He was always there for his kids lovingly guiding, protecting and teaching. He insisted that they go to French Immersion because of his dad’s French heritage. He loved going to parent/teacher/student conferences especially at Oak Park where he taught for many years. He was such a proud dad supporting his kids in anything they wanted to pursue. Allan was a night-owl. He stayed up late and often greeted Nick and Em when they came home from being out with friends, wanting to hear the details! He cherished time he could spend with his children and loved to keep in touch with them when they were away from us.

Allan liked nostalgia: vintage cars, cameras and photos but he also loved to be up-to-date on the latest gadgetry computers and cell phones. He liked to have a clean vehicle and bicycle. The last few years he used his bike for transportation clocking nearly 2500 kms this past year. Allan was an avid sports fan, playing and watching basketball, baseball and football. He had a spreadsheet for everything! Loved to research before purchasing anything. He liked to garden with Jen and kept his lawn immaculate. He was a carrot farmer extraordinaire and was always coming up with new ideas for our yard. He loved John Prine music and mourned John’s death in 2020. He identified with many of his lyrics and loved his guitar picking!

Lately he became more aware of and deeply concerned with the effects of the Indian Residential school system on Indigenous people and one of the last things he did was to participate in the Orange Shirt Day March on September 30th. Allan was a generous man, first to his family and then to the community to support causes to combat poverty and aid in disasters. He believed in the guaranteed minimum income to combat poverty. He didn’t hesitate to chat with someone who appeared in need and give them gifts of cash. (He would be mad that I mentioned this…sorry Allan, I really admired your generous spirit). If you want to honour Allan’s memory may I suggest making a donation to an organization that helps educates people regarding Truth and Reconciliation, or combats poverty.

If you want to think of Allan, take a bike ride (wear your helmet) and stop for a medium twist ice-cream cone at the Park Café Take-out window in Assiniboine Park.

The family is organizing a private family gathering by invitation only to celebrate his life.

Allan, we will miss you terribly…we are being held up by the strong arms of God.

We are so thankful for all the support and prayers for him and for us as a family. We are thankful to the person who found Allan and called EMS, Grace Hospital Emergency and St. Boniface Hospital ICMS staff.