Born in March of 1969, Neil Van Paridon was the youngest of six children. He grew up in Surrey and from an early age established himself as an intensely curious natural-born tinkerer. As early as first grade, he could be found taking apart whatever came his way, be it Legos, old electronics from his dad’s shop or alarm clocks- one of which he took apart and reassembled frequently enough to be considered his favourite toy.

Growing up, he was closest to his next oldest sibling Elaine, but often spent time alone as well. He was an easy-going boy, always content to quietly amuse himself and developing an affinity for cars very early on. His teachers often commented that he was very intelligent and a delight to teach, but foremost among their comments was that his sense of humour.

Neil was always possessed of a dry wit, and frequently found at the back of the classroom providing entertaining if somewhat caustic commentary; despite this he was an academic leader throughout his whole school career. He would also spend long hours on the phone in the evenings, leaving his parents to wonder what he was doing. It turned out he would be helping his classmates, offering his assistance wherever he could.

His love of all things motor driven also extended into helping with his Uncle’s tulip business, where he had an old mini-bike he would keep maintained and use to take the back roads to work. Loath to let anything go to waste, he was always an advocate for reusing and recycling over throwing anything out. From twist ties to televisions, he was adamant that things be reused or repurposed rather than tossed.

It was in junior high that he met his lifelong partner Liz. They shared a course schedule for many years, taking the Enriched challenge stream of courses, delving deeper into the academic world. Even still, his tinkering never let up, between working alongside his dad on cars, or custom designing an award-winning Halloween costume (a black hood, black t-shirt and jeans- complete with two electronically controlled light up eyes that would roll around on command from a panel in his pocket).

He ended up foregoing his dream of owning a classic muscle car, and purchased his old Datsun 210, and saving the difference toward an early computer- the start of another lifelong passion. Despite the reservations other had about his car, it was still one he drove for many years, sustaining teasings and exploding coke cans to the amusement of the family.

He and Liz transitioned from classmates to dating in their high school year, and attended classes at Simon Fraser University together. His academic dedication paid off, resulting in him graduating with the Governor General’s Award and a President’s Entrance Scholarship. He began working in engineering, but switched majors to Computer Sciences and Mathematics. By this time he had also taken on a job at Yuen’s corner store doing stock and inventory over the weekends (to the chagrin of his girlfriend and friend base, who would have liked to have him join their gatherings earlier in the night).

Neil worked a co-op term in Edmonton for Esso, and then finished his program (despite the long treks up to Burnaby mountain, and variety of car troubles that happened therein). It was in this time that he parted ways with the Datsun and began driving a Micra as well. He started a temporary position with Westminster Savings, and in the mid-90s moved in with Liz in a basement suite in New West.

His new job allowed him great opportunities, as it was a smaller office. He was exposed to a lot more than his other classmates with similar work placements, and got to help transition a lot of the staff into using modern computerized systems. This could often mean dealing with more mature and entrenched staff who were reticent to change their ways, as well as people with limited or no exposure to computer systems.

Still, Neil was a paragon of patience, and this helped hone his skills. Naturally a quiet person, with a tendency to make jokes, Neil really learned how to socialize in a work setting here, and hone his troubleshooting craft. He also picked up his infamous Rambler in this time, and loved taking it on trips. Normally more reserved, when Neil had the chance to talk about his Rambler with folks on the road, or on these trips, he came alive. Some would say he loved the car more than it warranted, and even after he stopped driving it, he kept it around with the intention to restore it one day.

Very work driven, Neil still always made time to help friends and family. Whether it was blasting himself against the wall tinkering with his sister Elaine’s electrical systems in her new home, or redoing the plumbing in his sister Diane’s, he was always ready to take on a project. He moved to a house in Coquitlam with Liz in 2003 which afforded him some similar opportunities of his own. Still, throughout all of this, Neil would never take over a project when someone else had the opportunity to learn something. He would instruct first and do second, so that the takeaway for whoever he was helping would be the experience first and the project second.

As his job transitioned over the years, with Westminster Savings outsourcing their IT needs to ISMBC, who later became part of Telus, Neil maintained his love of odd hobbies, including unicycling, and getting involved with security and hacker conventions. He even picked up a lockpicking kit from a convention in New York. Never one to cause mischief, though, Neil kept this as a hobby and never did get actively involved as a hacker. For Neil the more fascinating thing was always knowing how things worked and how they could be done.

He also began to get involved in the CBC Radio3 community at this time, and was an active member of their blog for many years. He would be part of the welcoming committee over the years, and would give tours and go out to meet with any out-of-town fans and visitors who would come by Vancouver.

By the time the Vancouver Olympics came around, he and Liz began going to more live music shows in the area, and became avid concert-goers. He also became interested in the craft beer scene, and would make trips out with family to sample and fill up growlers from many of the local breweries. He and Liz would also go to many museums and lectures, having seen Jane Goodall, Stephen Hawking among others.
He was a staple at family and friend gatherings, always bringing some sort of exciting new baking, and his infectious laugh. Whether it was with nephews and nieces or the children of friends, Neil was able to connect with anyone and find common ground to enjoy.

Throughout all of this, Neil maintained his love of environmental causes, repurposing and repairing anything he could rather than throwing it out. His tendencies as a tinkerer, fixer of things and all around white knight of handiness were known to everyone in his life. Truer still to who he was, Neil’s dry wit, his sense of humour and his kindness were core defining traits, right up to his passing in March of 2016.