Obituary of Barry Nelson Sigurdson

  Barry was born in Manitoba but grew up in Surrey.  He was the first born of 6 children and a cherished big brother.  Barry was always a worker.  His first jobs were delivering papers and picking berries to earn spending money. One of his first purchases was a motor for a boat so he could take his brothers fishing.  He loved his family first and enjoyed time spent at family gatherings, camping trips and over the holidays.  He was an expert fisherman and loved going out on the ocean and exploring the interior lakes. Tools and collecting them was a passion as he loved working with his hands.  He built two homes and three shops from the ground up and renovated several homes.  He was invaluable in his life long career in forest industry with his skill and vast knowledge of machinery.  Gardening was another interest that he excelled at and he loved his flowers as well as his vegetable garden.  He enjoyed trying new things from learning to fly an airplane to challenging himself in the world of investing. His curious nature made him an excellent innovator and problem solver.  He could fix just about anything.

  Barry completed high school in Surrey and started studying at community college.  He decided early that school was not for him.  He moved to the interior of BC and started work for Balco Lumber doing clean up and learning to be an oiler.  It was during this time that he met and married Shirley Hiebert and they raised two daughters.  He slowly worked his way up at the now Tolko Industries, earning his red seal millwright ticket.  He eventually became an area manager for Tolko at Heffley Creek which allowed him to travel to Europe, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia.  

  After his first marriage dissolved and his children were grown, he left Tolko and went to work for his brothers in Williams Lake.  He met his wife Anita Gurtins in 2003 and they married in 2009.  They spent many happy years working together at his brothers’ mill, on projects at home and going on adventures.  In 2009 he retired but a few years later went back to work for Tolko as a maintenance superintendent at their Quesnel mill.

  In 2020 his life took a turn and he was diagnosed with dementia.  He moved with his wife to Invermere where medical care was available and life was a bit easier for them both.  The disease slowly took his ability to speak and we missed his stories.  His mental and physical ability declined and we missed his trips fishing and camping.  He had many visits from his daughters, stepsons and siblings during this time. Visits from and pictures of his grandchildren always made him smile.  He passed peacefully with his wife at his side.

  He was a good man, generous, kind and respected for his skill and knowledge and willingness to help where he could. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Survived by: his wife Anita, daughters Sharleen Bast (JJ), Sarah Sigurdson (Brett), stepsons Mike Woode, Nick Woode (Ashli), grandchildren Cohen, Millie, Lizzy and Lucy, siblings Larry (Myrna), Layne, Bryon (Violet), Kathryn Reimer (Peter), Lorraine Beddington (Ted), Aunt Irene, and many nieces and nephews.

Celebration of Life is planned for next spring, date and location determined at a later date.

Memorial donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Society of BC