April 27
Today is a very special report. Our good friend Paul Bodien is being laid to rest in Devon England today. Paul passed away after a long fight with colon cancer,
It is not possible to get together now so I would like to share some memories with you.
Paul was a very special person with a kind and generous heart, a quick wit and a wonderful sense of humour. We stumbled upon each other while he was working on a project in our engineering office in Calgary in the early 1990’s. Our HR manager, Linda Nightingale informed me that there was a person from Dubai who loved to windsurf and asked if I could take him out.
Our shared passion of the windsurfing and love of the outdoors created an instant friendship. Our friendship grew even stronger when Philippa, Ben and Sarah joined Paul and we all went camping at Waterton Lakes National Park in the Rocky Mountains in August. Who knew it would be Ben and Sarah’s first introduction to snow on Sarah’s birthday. We woke up to a foot of snow blanketing the campground. Windsurfing gave way to snowman making! Still looking for those photos.
We stayed in touch over the years with Paul dropping by whenever he was in North America on a conference or business. He even came to visit when our son Connor was born and brought a stuffed camel that has a special spot in his room.
We managed to get together twice in 2012: once in Dubai and once in Devon. In Dubai, we went camping in the desert. It was an amazing experience. Our campsite was by a favorite tree of Paul’s in the middle of the dunes. We all had to get out of the SUV while he blasted over the dunes to get to the site. He carried a special air bladder that is used to lift a vehicle stuck in the sand. You dig out the sand under your SUV, place the bladder underneath and hook up to your exhaust to lift up the SUV. Not part of a Canadian’s emergency kit. I was surprised when Paul pulled out the camp chairs and one had a cover bearing the name Sargeant Bob Chair. Paul shared that he had bought the chair when he returned to Dubai from Canada and had been saving it for when I came to visit.
Connor found some bleached bones from a lizard and was sure he had discovered dinosaur fossils. The grin on his face was as wide as the skeleton!
And then we had a memorable trip into Oman, where Paul used his forceful diplomat skills in Arabic to recover our passports from an over zealous border guard, who was also armed.
In Devon, Paul and Philippa shared the amazing countryside and their beautiful home.
We did some detective work and with Paul’s navigation skills, we were able to find the Bowhay Farm. This is where my ancestors settled in 1044 A.D. .
The white building is the original kitchen that dates back before 1066 and the Norman invasion.
Paul was one of the people who comes into your life and multiples your joy tenfold. We always looked forward with great anticipation whenever we could get together, knowing we would create amazing memories that would enrich our wonderful friendship.
Paul leaves a large hole in our lives but we are so grateful to have to have known him.
Our deepest condolences to Philippa, Ben and Sarah and their partners. We will keep you in our prayers and in our hearts. And we look forward to when we meet again.
Stay Well !
