Posted in Hospice & Passing on March 27th, 2011

Barry Earl Bateman

January 12, 1946 –
March 29, 2011

Barry Bateman of Courtenay passed away at St Joseph’s Hospital, with his loving wife, Xahnia HyltonQuartz, by his side. In April 2000, at the age of 54, Barry suffered a near fatal stoke leaving him permanently disabled and in frail health for 11 years until his passing from kidney disease.

Barry’s gift to society was to help advance the lives of thousands of students in his 20 year career as a Financial Aid Advisor at various universities, and colleges in the Province of BC. Even after Barry’s stroke and early retirement, he would ride around Courtenay on his electric wheelchair – sunshine, rain, wind or snow, and through his daily presence in the community, Barry helped educate the public on the human right and dignity of mobility access.

 
Blessings of Barry’s ashes will be held for family later this summer. In lieu of flowers, tribute donations in Barry’s memory may be given to the Comox Valley SPCA on-line http://www.spca.bc.ca/support/donate  and emails to evexandra@shaw.ca

Born on Jan. 12, 1946 in Moosomin, SK to parents Earl and Matilda (Regier). Barry was raised in Rocanville, SK, as an avid hockey player and bookworm. In his early 20’s, Barry lived in Calgary for three years before settling down in Victoria, where he attended Camosun College to receive a degree in Applied Communications.

While attending Camosun College, Barry worked at the Student Financial Aid office, which lead him to his career path as a Financial Aid Advisor at UBC, the Ministry of Advanced Education in Victoria where his expertise helped develop the on-line student loan application process presently used in the Province of British Columbia and eventually in 1991 Barry became the Senior Financial Aid Advisor for North Island College in Courtenay, BC. Barry dedication to helping students advance in life even went so far as to give money from his pocket to hungry students over the years.

Some of Barry’s life-time moments: traveling around the Province of BC with the Recreation Conservation Wild Life Exhibition while caring for a baby deer named Renfew; driving his royal blue Austin Mini Cooper around the Comox Valley;

camping and star gazing; was a terrible carpenter, plumber and mechanic; losing his hair at the age of 25, so he grew a beard; pretending to be a rock star and singing to the music Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf; on summer evenings sitting on the deck sipping wine with cranberry juice and discussing world-wide news, the mundane to the bizarre; being a walking encyclopedia and spell checker; a poet, and a comic; and always brought his wife of 24 years, Evexandra, flowers each week.

Interesting material from a baby book Barry’s mother had completed starting from Barry’s birth.

• Brought into this world weighing 7.1/2 lbs. by Dr. E.J. Feng at the Moosomin Hospital, SK. at 6:15 a.m. during a snow storm and almost didn’t make it to the hospital at all.
• By the time Barry was 9 months old he weighed 23 lbs.
• They had food rations # RA-413558 for the town of Red Jacket, SK, no telephone.
• Baby gifts: 2 gowns; crocheted sweater bonnet and booties; silk dress, bonnet and bib; baby book, knitted socks, rattle, pyrex bottle and nipple, wee softie shoes, another 3 more rattles.
• Barry’s first outing was the train ride home from the hospital, then a horse drawn sled ride through the prairie snow.
• First vaccination shot for diphtheria, small pox, scarlet fever, pertussis was October 12, 1946.

• Barry only had a cold and was circumcised in his first year, had his tonsils out by age two, had the red measles by age three. First doctor’s visit was July 2, 1946 – Baby formula was OK. Had viral pneumonia at age 5, 7, and 9 yeas of age and had the mumps age 16 in 1962.
• First teeth: October 15, 1946 – 2 top teeth, November 2nd, 1946 – 2 bottom teeth.
• First time Barry raised his head was 10 days old, first turn was 5 months, and recognized his mom at 1 month and dad at 2 months. First laugh out load was March 25, 1946, and first walk December 23, 1946.
• Favorite toys: Blue rattle, wooden kiddy car and his dads tools.

• Quoted from Book: “Barry’s hair never was long, at first he rubbed it off, since then it had grown in a little.” (The book has a sample of reddish blond hair)
• Barry was baptized July 17, 1946 at the United Church of Canada.

• Moved to Big Beaver, SK. by age three. After age three the Baby book no longer had entries. I do know Barry fell out of a tree when he was young and rrequired weekly train trips into Moosomin to visit the doctor and Barry was happy because he would eat Chinese food for lunch.

Blessings of Barry’s ashes will be held for family later this summer. In lieu of flowers, tribute donations in Barry’s memory may be sent to the Comox Valley SPCA. http://www.spca.bc.ca/support/donate Contact Evexandra at evexandra@shaw.ca

 A big thumb’s up.

Barry entered St. Joseph’s Hospital in Comox, BC on March 11, 2011 after a fall at home.  Barry was suffering from congestive heart failure caused by kidney disease and passed away with his wife Evexandra by his side.