Edward Nadort

Ed died peacefully at Eagle Ridge Manor on September 13, surrounded by the love of family.

Adri van de Nadort was born in The Netherlands on August 1, 1929 near Rotterdam. World War II happened almost in their backyard, and the family could watch the German airplanes as they bombed Rotterdam.

Ed trained as a watchmaker and answered the call of adventure in 1953 in the form of a tiny ad offering a job in Alberta. Before emigrating, he met a lovely young woman who was camping with a friend – Micki wrote her information on his shoe, and they stayed in touch. When he visited from Canada he somehow convinced her to marry him. He moved to Vancouver, and she joined him in 1956, marrying a near-stranger less than three weeks later on November 24.

They moved a few times, ending up in Coquitlam, when he branched out and opened his own jewellery store on Hastings. Their first child, Reg, was born in 1962, followed by Lori in 1966. Ed eventually worked many years as a jeweller and in sales, before returning to his love of clock and watchmaking in his basement workshop.

Ed could fix anything, but couldn’t abide small talk or bad grammar. He was clear in his opinions – and that he was right; the correct pronunciation was KILL-oh-metre (you don’t say Cen-TOH-metre!). Ed was known for being the person at Rotary who always started the group’s singing of O Canada – but that was only so he could keep it in the ‘correct’ tempo (same for Happy Birthday).

Though he kept people at arm’s length, he showed his connection through actions – fertilizing Micki’s name into the lawn, designing and building a playhouse and treehouse for the kids. He also gave to the community, working with Rotary and his church for many years, donating blood over 75 times, and problem-solving solutions for the less-abled via Tetra Society.

Ed became a grandfather in 1993 with Erin, and again in 1996 with Alex and 2007 with AJ. Having grandkids softened him, especially as he and Micki provided childcare and he changed diapers, and learned to play with the kids. He made beautiful things for them in his workshop including a play kitchen, custom dump truck, and an outdoor digger.

In February of 2014 Ed was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, which eventually evolved to Vascular Dementia. The decline in thinking skills was a cruel irony for someone who loved sudoko and prided himself on membership in MENSA, the high IQ club. Dementia created losses, but also made him more funny! We asked whether he’d like a memorial bench in his name, and he replied, “Why would I want a memorial bench? People just fart on it.”

Survived by his devoted wife Micki, son Reg (Jo-Anne, grandson AJ) & daughter Lori (Gary, grandchildren Erin & Alex). In lieu of flowers, donations to Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation to honour the amazing care he received would be gratefully accepted.