Douglas “Keith” Wass

Our much-loved Dad, grandfather and great-grandfather died January 22, after rapidly declining the preceding few weeks.  He was almost 100 years old.  He never lost his gracious and appreciative interactions with those around him, despite dementia and discomfort.  He was pre-deceased by his beloved wife of 67 years, Adair, in April 2019.  He is survived by his 4 children, 9 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Dad was born in Toronto, the 3^rd of 6 children and grew up in a rural setting in Uxbridge, Ontario.  He joined the Air Force in 1943 and because he was a veteran, he was able to attend university, a fact for which he was always grateful.  He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master's Degree in Social Work in 1949.  The University of Toronto was also where he met our Mom, Adair, who had come from Alberta to attend the Social Work program.  They both went to work for the Children's Aid Society in Stratford, Ontario.  They were married in 1952 and 4 children quickly followed.  In 1957 the family moved to Edmonton and Dad spent the next 20 years working for the City of Edmonton, for almost all of those years as Director of City Social Services.  He was the right person in the right place and was nationally recognized for his work.  Later in his career he became the Director for the United Way in Edmonton for a short time.  Following that he and Mom, who had kept up her involvement in Social Work, joined the Faculty of Social Work at The University of Alberta and taught together.

Retirement for our parents came with more emphasis on family and on travelling.  They were always great at playing with children and they kept up to the grandchildren.  We also had the best loud and spirited debates in their living room over the years and these only increased as the grandchildren got old enough to participate.  Dad and Mom also travelled extensively, enjoyed taking cruises and made friends wherever they went.  For many years they spent some months of the winter in Arizona which they thoroughly enjoyed and then later they spent some months on the west coast of B.C.

Our parents had long ago been dubbed "the lovebirds" by friends and this was exemplified by the difficulties faced in their last few years together.  Dad's memory was failing and Mom's body was wearing out but they were both determined to be there for each other.  They were both very grateful for the lives they had lived and their health challenges did not lessen their keen minds and their wonderful senses of humor.

Cremation has taken place and a private family gathering will take place in the future.