David "Dave" Earl Proudlove

PROUDLOVE, David “Dave” Earl

1945 - 2020

It is with sadness that the family announces the peaceful passing of Dave Proudlove, in his own home surrounded by his family on Sunday, June 7, 2020 at the age 75 years.

He will be lovingly remembered by his children; Tara (Joseph) Malmsten, Teresa Proudlove, Robin (Cam) Prichard, Tim (Adele) Proudlove, Matt (Holly) Proudlove; his 11 grandchildren, Josh, Zach, Alex,  Gabriel, Hannah, Isaiah, Liam, Connor, Peyton, Tristan and Rachel.  He will also be remembered by his sister; Beth Zingle; his three brothers, Ed (Steph) Proudlove, Rob Proudlove, Wayne (Anne) Proudlove, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Dave was predeceased by his brother, Brian Proudlove. 

Dave was born on February 24, 1945 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  This is where was raised and received his education. He dabbled in accounting before finding his passion as a Carpenter and then Master Carpenter. He moved with his young family to Edmonton in 1975 for a better career opportunity.  This is where the rest of his children were born, and Dave raised his five children as a single parent.  This says so much about his integrity and his dedication to family. He retired in 2008 and left Edmonton after 30 years in construction. He traveled to several different communities to be near his children, finally settling in Lacombe.

Cremation has taken place and there will be a family gathering in Manitoba to Celebrate Dave’s Life at his final resting place, as per his wishes.  

My Dad

David Earl Proudlove was born in Winnipeg to Clifford and Rosemary Proudlove.

He was the last of six children behind his only sister and four brothers. Elizabeth, Edward, Robert, Brian, and Wayne.

Dad often talked about the trouble he and his brothers would get into. From fighting, and drinking, to sneaking out of the basement bedroom on Perth Avenue. The old bedroom was converted from a coal storage room and was highly coveted due to its ease to sneak out. 

Dad didn’t do great in school, though he was a math wiz, and some of his teachers were fond of him. He would often turn in his older brother’s old art assignments, and usually get a better grade than them. From the same teacher. 

Eventually, he met my mother, Amalie Gooch. They courted for almost four years before finally getting married. 

Their wedding announcement in the paper was quite a read. It read: 

“St. Ignatieff Roman Catholic Church, Fort Rouge, was the setting for a wedding on February 10, 1968 at 4pm, when Amalie Jeanne, daughter of Mrs. V. J. Gooch, became the bride of David Earl Proudlove, youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Proudlove. Rev. H. Seasons, S. J. performed the double ring ceremony. Soloist, Mrs. De Luca was accompanied at the organ by Mrs. Ryan. 

The bride, given in marriage by her father, chose a floor length gown of white peau de soie designed with lily Point sleeves, a round neckline and bouffant skirt featuring a bustle effect at the back. The gown was enhanced with lace appliqués. The semi-coronet of peau de soie sprinkled with rhinestones held her shoulder length scalloped veil of silk illusion and she carried an arm bouquet of red roses. 

Mrs. Llowyin Weselake attended her sister as matron of honour with Miss Beth Proudlove, sister of the bridegroom, as a bridesmaid. They chose floor length dresses in hot pink chiffon over peau de soie decorated with beaded Empire waistlines. Pearls and crystals adorned their headdresses and they carried old fashioned bouquets of white mums. Robert Proudlove was best man with Edward Proudlove ushering guests. The mother of the bride was attired in a dress of pink and grey brocade with pink accessories and a green orchid corsage of pink roses. The bridegroom’s mother chose a cream dress with a rolled chiffon laced coat. Beige accessories and a green orchid corsage completed her outfit. 

Following a reception held in the Westminster Motor Hotel, the newlyweds left on a wedding trip to the United States. For going away the bride chose a two piece outfit of imported orange wool trimmed with white fur. A matching white fur hat, black accessories and a white gardenia corsage completed her attire. Mr. and Mrs. Proudlove will reside in Winnipeg.”

I can only assume the men went naked. They moved into a $10,000 house on Spruce Street in Winnipeg. Dad’s brothers had helped him gut the place and redo most of the electrical, plumbing, and fixtures. They even put in a sidewalk between his house and the next. It was the agreement with the neighbour that if dad built it, he would never have to shovel it. Dad thought that was a pretty sweet deal. 

On his weekends, POW! Out to the cabin. Brereton Lake was were Dad had a lot of his fondest memories. Swimming, boating, playing cards; he loved that lake so much. It’s where he wishes his ashes to be spread so he could stay there forever. It was his version of heaven. 

Dad had two children in Winnipeg: Tara, and Teresa. Not much to say about them except I’m sure they were complete brats. In 1975, Dad took his small family and moved to Edmonton. His sister was already living there and said it was the land of milk and honey. They rented for a year to see if it was worth it to stay, and finally bought a little condo in the west of Edmonton in Callingwood II. This was where he had his next three children, Tim, Robin, and Matt. He lived in that home for the next 32 years. 

When first arriving in Edmonton, he started work in accounting. His love of math thought this would be a good career path for him, but working for an oilfield company in Alberta, Dad quickly found out about boom and bust layoffs. Dad was already familiar with carpentry, having done it for several years in Winnipeg, and decided to switch careers back.

Eventually, the pressures of having seven people living in a 3 bedroom condo, along with sparse work and other factors my mum had filed for divorce and left in 1986, taking the youngest three of the five kids with her. Over the years, all three of them would move back in with Dad. He was definitely the fun parent. 

Dad was also the listening parent, the patient parent, the loving parent. But most of all, he was the helping parent. Dad would constantly drop whatever he was doing to help out any one of his children. As his children grew, and moved away, he helped them with moving, renovations, or even a loan. Once he retired, he had found his five children had moved into five different cities. He sold his house in Callingwood and bought a truck and 5th wheel so he could visit his children and grandchildren wherever they may be living. He would use my acreage in Pierceland, Saskatchewan as a base where he would spend most of his time. Acreage life suited Dad. There was always something to fix, or mow, or cut, or build. He was happy there. 

My own divorce took a toll on the relationship between me and Dad and we found we were fighting more and more. To save our relationship, he moved to Sexsmith, to be near Robin and Tara. He moved into a retirement community and sold the truck and trailer. He used this time to rekindle his love of woodworking. He helped the seniors there raise enough money and build a workshop, where he spent a lot of his time. 

Fast forward a few years and I had moved to Elk Point, Alberta and started my own mechanic shop. Dad wanted to be of help, (like he always was), and this caused him to move into a seniors apartment in Elk Point. He would come into the shop every day from 8:00 to 11:00 and help out in any way he could, from sweeping floors, to picking up parts, to driving customers around. He got to be very well known in Elk Point, the townsfolk and his work colleagues affectionately called him Grandpa. I was lucky enough to be able to acquire an old skid shack and Dad and I converted it into a wood shop. 

When it was time for me to move from Elk Point, we had settled on Lacombe as our new home. Grandpa wanted to follow. He moved into another senior’s facility, but only for about a month. He began to fall, often needing to call me or get an ambulance to help him up several times. After some discussion, it was time for Grandpa to move in with us. We were all very happy. Now keep in mind that Dad and I didn’t get along well in close quarters over time, but we made the best of it. Once again, we were able to get a wood shop going in the garage. He would often spend time out there daily. 

He developed a very special relationship with our dog Maddy, a loyal companion that would not leave his side all day. Maddy would share every cigarette break with Dad no matter the weather and sleep on his bed every night. They became best of friends. 

In mid-March of this year, Dad got a piece of hotdog stuck in his esophagus. He needed to be put under to extract it and that’s when they found the tumour. Cancer had invaded his esophagus, lungs, liver, and brain. It was too far gone for treatment. He had to go on a puréed diet for weeks until a tube could be installed in his throat to hold his esophagus open. He quickly learned to hate all things squishy. It got to the point he would refuse to eat. The last time he was offered a pudding, he threw it across the lawn. He would spend his last month curled up in a blanket on the deck, with Maddy, watching the world go by. It gave him peace and time to reflect. 

Dad always joked about dying young so he could leave a good looking corpse, and well, he delivered. He liked cigarettes and whiskey. Everyone needs their vices. It was his wish to die at home. With my wife being a nurse, we were able to give him the care at home that he needed including a hospital bed and morphine pump to help him stay comfortable. Family came from all over the province to say goodbye to Dad. He never got sad about leaving. He was happy and joking every day with everyone he met. He would joke so much we often said his last words would be “pull my finger”. He finally passed in our home on the morning of June 7, 2020 amid the coronavirus epidemic surrounded by family. It was exactly what he wanted. 

Dad loved a good joke. He had a dad joke for every occasion. Even death. While visiting Winnipeg one time, he was asked to transport his mother-in-law’s ashes to Edmonton. He was happy to do it. Every person he visited along the way, he would say, “How rude of me, I haven’t introduced my mother-in-law, she’s in the trunk, would you like to meet her?” He would then open the car and happily introduce them to his mother-in-law in a box. Well I’ve got the last laugh today, cause guess where he rode in the car on the way here?

He taught me everything I needed to know about family pride. He showed my what pride was. He was so proud of his family. His kids and his grandkids. He had a front license plate built for his car that passed from vehicle to vehicle with all his grandkids names on it. He even had it remade when it wore out. Tristan asked him if he was afraid of death. He replied, “No. I’ve accomplished everything I set out to do. I’m proud of each one of my kids and I know they’ll be ok without me.” His goal was to build a family. With 5 kids and 9 grandkids, he was proud of what he had built. 

In my home instead of saying “I’m proud of you, we say I’m Proudlove you.”

Tara, Teresa, he was Proudlove you. Robin, Matt, he was Proudlove you. Josh, Zach, Alex, he was Proudlove you. Tristan, Peyton, he was Proudlove you. Hannah, Gabriel, Isaiah, he was Proudlove you. Rachel, he was Proudlove you. Joe, Adele, Cam, and Holly, he was Proudlove you too. 

I was very Proudlove him. 

Written by Tim Proudlove

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