On Friday September 1st 2023, we lost our beloved father, Arnold Trewhitt at the age of 99.

Arnold was born and raised on the family farm in Oyama BC, returning there after WWII for good to farm the orchard and raise his 9 children with the love of his life, Gladys.

In 1920, the original orchard was carved out from heavily timbered land by his mother and father. Young Arnold, his sister and his parents worked the family farm together during some of the most challenging times including the Great Depression.

Arnold attended Oyama School from 1930 to 1942, and it was there that he made friendships that would last a lifetime. Most importantly however, in Grade 4, a beautiful little girl named Gladys moved to Oyama and caught his eye. After she received a Valentine card from him, they remained sweethearts for life.

When WWII broke out in 1939 he knew he was destined to join the war effort and follow in the footsteps of his father, a highly decorated WWI veteran. After graduation and as soon as he turned 18, Arnold and his friend Dave Whipple from Oyama went to the Vernon recruiting office in August of 1942. Arnold enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force where he trained, became a pilot and served as a Flight Instructor with the British Commonwealth Flight Training Program at several Canadian bases including Regina and North Battleford– training future fighter pilots from many countries of the Commonwealth.

During three years of service, earning the rank of Captain Pilot, Flight Instructor and logging over 1015 hours of flight time, Arnold married his childhood sweetheart Gladys. He returned to Gladys and Oyama after his military duties concluded and an honorable discharge in the summer of 1945 at the age of 21.

As Arnold and Gladys began their life together, they purchased the family farm from his parents and began to grow the business. Arnold also became a long-time employee of the Wood Lake Irrigation Company as a water bailiff, and the Province of BC Water Branch monitoring wells and snow levels to support his growing family. He was known as a hard worker, unassuming and humble, and never shied away from an opportunity to help a friend or neighbor in need.

Side by side, Arnold and Gladys dedicated countless hours as volunteers to make the community they loved, a better place to live. Arnold was the first Chairman of the Oyama Parent Teacher Association and spent 3 years as a School Trustee. He was a lifetime member of the Oyama Community Club, spent 14 years as a Boy Scout and Venture Leader and volunteered to work on the first and only Oyama Outdoor Skating Rink. For 16 years he was a Trustee of the Wood Lake Improvement District, spent 14 years as a volunteer member of the Oyama Cemetery Committee, and for 22 years was the Parade Marshal for the Oyama Community Fun Days.

Arnold was also an avid outdoorsman, hunting, fishing and hiking almost all his life and sharing an appreciation and love of nature with his family and his community. When the war was over, Arnold and Gladys built a cabin at one of his favourite fishing lakes as a peaceful getaway. Mabel Lake became a second home for family and friends and is still to this day, treasured as a quiet place to relax, or gather with family. He and Gladys and their close friends made many trips to wild and beautiful places around BC, and as a couple they volunteered to host in some of the most remote BC Parks in the province; places such as Spatsizi Plateau and the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary. Closer to home, Arnold volunteered to develop the Oyama Pioneer Park as a BC Centennial Project, spent years as a member of the Regional District Trails and Parks Committee, and the Grizzly Hills Ski Club. He was a founding member of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee from its inception in 1996 until 2002 and led a volunteer group of trail builders that developed and maintained the 55 km long wilderness High Rim Trail from Highway 33 in Kelowna to Kalamalka Provincial Park in Vernon. Arnold was one of the founders of Walk Around Lake Country, a volunteer organization to promote and develop walking and hiking trails in and around Lake Country, including planning and participating in work-bees to build, clear and sign trails on Spion Kop, the High Rim Trail and many other walking and hiking paths throughout the community.

Over the years, Arnold was formally recognized for his dedication to community, receiving the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the BC Achievement Community Award at Government House in Victoria in 2019. He was a gracious recipient, always making sure to acknowledge the contributions of the other volunteers of the countless organizations and projects that he was involved in.

Finally, Arnold was the beloved heart of our family. A loving husband to Gladys, caring and devoted father to Arlene, Cheryl, Carolynne, Teresa, Beverly, Trudy, Deborah, Lori and John. He will be deeply missed by all of us – his children and our partners, his 16 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. To us, he was a patient teacher, role model and could build and fix anything. He was an articulate and fascinating storyteller, sharing his memories and glimpses into the past of his adventures, our family and community history like it was yesterday. His sense of humour was second only to his incredible memory for details. He was a proud WWII veteran, farmer and family man that has left a wonderful legacy of an extensive, close and loving family.

His was a life well lived.

A Celebration of Life for Arnold & Gladys Trewhitt will be held on November 4, 2023  at 2:00pm, at the Oyama Community Hall, 15710 Oyama Road, Lake Country, BC.

 

Funeral Arrangements have been entrusted to Pleasant Valley Funeral Home,

Phone: 250-542-4333

Condolences may be offered at www.pleasantvalleyfh.com