On Monday, September 14, Wallace Kennedy Hackett, with his family by his side, left this earth to join his saviour, Jesus. Wally was born in Vancouver on May 20, 1928 to Margaret and Joseph Hackett, and despite falling off a bridge after running away from home on his tricycle at age three, Wally was destined to live an adventurous and surprisingly long life. Like his younger brother Peter, he had a wanderlust that sent him to live in many different places; however, Wally finally fell in love at first sight with Joanne, whom he lovingly called his own true love, and settled in her hometown of Cranbrook. In addition to his wife Joanne, he had many loves including: passing out candies to his seven grandkids (the diabetic kind, of course), watching spaghetti westerns (one after another, after another, after another . . .), creating unique words such as u-jack-a-pivy (AKA a remote control), camping Wally-World style (with so many tarps it would shame a circus), and salt (the kind you sprinkle on your food, or in his case, pour). Although his love affair with food was extensive, if you dared to try substituting Miracle Whip for Best Foods on his liverwurst sandwich, he might just turn it away.
His greatest gifts included the ones he passed onto his children: to his daughter Jo-Anne, he gave his sense of humour and the gift of gab; to his son Frank (whom he lovingly called Butch), he gave his talent of sharing the word of Jesus and love of camping and fishing; to his daughter Colleen, he gave his artistic creativity and drive to do things to the best of his ability; and to his daughter Lynda, he gave his loyalty to his family and his passion to stand up for what is right. Despite perfecting the art of puttering, spending countless hours embellishing his surroundings indoors and out, he would look for any excuse to celebrate in his Sunday best with a suit, tie, hankie and well-polished shoes. In lieu of flowers, please gather your loved ones, buy a quality prime rib, bake some Yorkshire pudding and a cherry pie, raise a glass of chilled red wine and say, “Chimo - to Wally.”
A celebration of life will take place at McPherson Funeral Home in Cranbrook at 3:00 pm on Friday, September 18.
Arrangements entrusted to McPherson Funeral Service.
Condolences for the family can be offered at:
www.mcphersonfh.com