Mervyn Leonard Colton
December 26, 2023
In Loving Memory
Mervyn Leonard Colton
Mervyn Leonard Colton, 81 (of Kamloops, BC) passed away peacefully at Marjorie Willoughby Hospice with family by his side, after a brief and courageous battle with Ampullary Cancer.
He is survived by his wife Ashe, his three children, Lance, Venita, Serena (Razvan) and his two brothers Adrian of Abbotsford, BC and Alistair of Blackpool, UK. He was predeceased by his parents Leonard and Bessie Colton of England.
Mervyn was born in Rochdale, England on Nov. 9, 1942 in wartime and did not see his father till after the war. He was raised by his mother and grandmother in those early years. After his schooling he joined Williams Deacon’s Bank and worked for them for a few years, before immigrating to Canada and joining CIBC. He continued to work with CIBC and became a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers holding managerial positions. He furthered his education at SFU obtaining a degree in economics. Later, he certified as an RIA. While working with the BC Govt as an auditor of Credit Unions, Mervyn saw a lot of small towns and communities across the length and breadth of the Province. He came across Credit Unions in the most unlikely of places and locations and had some interesting stories to narrate about his experiences.
Mervyn was working as an internal auditor for Ronalds-Federated Printing when he was offered the position of internal auditor of BC Central Credit Union. He did such a thorough job of streamlining the operations that he was able to leave and start his own business in computers and computer software in the very early years of that industry. Before retail computer stores had been established in Canada, Mervyn ordered, and received the 1st IBM home computer sold in western Canada and only the 2nd in all of Canada. This led to his establishing a small computer software retail store on Nanaimo and Kingsway in Vancouver. Later, the family of five came to Kamloops to start up a business partnership in computers. With time, Mervyn returned to being an auditor, this time for the BC taxation branch. Mervyn enjoyed travelling to many different parts of the world, both as a bachelor (at times with his good friend Lorne Bateman, his colleague at CIBC), and later as a married man. These trips encompassed Europe (Southern Spain, Italy, Greece and France) N. Africa, the Bahamas, Jamaica, different cities and coasts of Mexico, India (North and South) Pakistan (Lahore) and various cities and regions of the US including several trips to the different Hawaiian islands.
He was married to Ashe (nee Mayadas) in Port Moody, BC in November 1979. Of their 44 years together, 33 were spent in Kamloops raising their children and establishing a home. He enjoyed seeing his family grow and share his interest in gardening, archaeology, reading, computers, computer games, technology and travel.
Many thanks to the wonderful staff at RIH (special mention: RN Angie and Saha of 6N for their outstanding compassion and kindness)1 South Ponderosa, and Marjorie Willoughby Hospice. We also thank our long time family physician, Dr. Paul Farrell, for his overall care and finding ways to connect to Mervyn, thus making his last days easy to bear. Thanks also to Dr. M. Laghari for his expertise and quick response when needed. We would like to acknowledge and thank the commitment of the Home Health nurses: Leslie and team, Klaus (OT)…your visits made home care so much easier. Last but not least, our thanks extend to our friends and neighbours(you know who you are) who helped us in so many different ways. We are truly blessed to have you in our lives.
The family plans to hold a celebration of life for Mervyn in the Spring of 2024.
Arrangements entrusted to
Cypress Funeral & Cremation Services 250-554-2324
Condolences may be expressed to the family by phone or email through Cypress Funeral & Cremation Services:
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Comments: 21
A tribute to Mervyn Leonard Colton.
Mervyn was a lovable and friendly man as I came to know through Ashe. He will be always remembered and missed by all who knew him.
Ashe as you know her by ,she was my pearl,we in college called her Pearl .though I never met Mervyn I always felt I knew him thru My Pearl.many times I would exchange some messages thru Pearl .He was a good man,will be missed,by us all.pearl he is watching you from above.
I hope I can make it in April.
What a lovely time when all the flowers are blooming .love you lots Pearl❤️🍀🪷
Sending prayers to the family for this great loss. Mervyn lead a wonderful life with so many achievement, loving his family and helping each member in different ways. Pearl my dear friend cherish the wonderful time you spent with Mervyn . Life has to go on ,remember I am always there to share your sorrows and joys.
Sending love and a big hug dear Pearl
What a wonderful life Mervyn led and his achievements are so varied !! May he be at peace wherever he is and may the family feel his warmth & presence around them always!!
Our heartiest condolences to the Colton family. At this grieving time, may God give them peace and comfort.
Dear Ashe and family,
We are sad to read about the passing of Mervyn, and we know you will all be missing him. I always enjoyed our pleasant conversations and his sense of humour. It is very interesting to read about Mervyn’s many accomplishments and international experiences. We wish you all strength and comfort at this difficult time.
Dear Asha & family,
We offer our most sincere condolences to you dear friend and your beautiful family in the loss of your life companion
Mervyn .
We have good memories of you both joining us for Christmas dinner and making memorable moments.
Also when we visited your home Mervyn would greet us at the door and say” let me get that for you “ always the gentleman.
It’s a pleasure having you and your family as friends for the past 33 years ,you have a special place in our hearts.
As always.
Pamela & Brian
Dearest Ashe and family,
You all travelled through a year with Mervyn and his terminal illness. Mervyn and all of you took the time to reconnect with their father and husband. You all supported each other and much love and care was given to Mervyn.
I remember Mervyn the most when I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner. I had not seen in many years what a true gentleman did. It was lovely having my chair pushed in, watching him carve the turkey and keeping our wine glasses filled by him as he came around the table. He was such an intelligent man to listen too.
Mervyn, you are now at peace, met by your loved ones as you entered the gate of heaven.
Our sad condolences to Ashe and the Family
We mourn the loss of our good friend, Mervyn, whom Peter knew from their early working years at CIBC, and from batching together on Merivale Street in New Westminster. Peter remembers a favourite hobby of Mervyn’s while living in New Westminster was assembling and working on the parts to a radio, which he kept in his bedroom, bringing it out to work on in the evenings.
We both miss his presence very much, even though we lived in different cities for many years.
All our best wishes to his family, of whom he must be very proud. May God provide comfort for them during this sorrowful time.
All our love and prayers for a wonderful family of Mervyn. What an inspiring life he spent.
I wanted to share with all friends and relatives.in his memory I have planted a magnolia tree and have named this beautiful tree ‘ASHMER ‘
One always had a lively conversation with Mervyn when he was in his garden or away from his computer. His eyes shone with his love of family when he spoke of them. He will be missed. May Peace, Grace and Love surround Ashe, Serena, Venita and Lance.
Dear Ashe and your wonderful children. I knew Mervin primarily through you Ashe. He would frequently be gardening in the front yard and was always up for conversation. He kept his gentlemanly manner right to the end and will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Rest in peace Mervin.
My very dear Ashe,
Thinking of you dear friend as you and the kids go through this very difficult time.Youhave always been a strong person, but please do look after yourself and stay well.
Much love
Leila
My deepest sympathy and condolences to you dear Pearl, Lance, Venita and Serena for the loss of a beloved husband and father and wishing you peace and healing through this very difficult time. Mervyn had led such a rich and full life and endured
his illness with great fortitude. May you treasure the wonderful times you had and the precious memories you created. Thinking of you dear friend and praying for your welfare
Lots of love and a big hug
Dear Asha,
I was saddened by your email. So much time has passed, and so quickly, since I last saw you, Mervyn and your children in Kamloops back in the late 1990s.
My condolences to you and family on the passing of Mervyn.
Love
Harish
Hard to believe Mervyn is gone to his Maker…
He lived in this world peacefully and softly and left it the same way . We enjoyed knowing him and his amazing sense of British humor, always warm and respectful of me and I felt the same way toward him any time we communicated.His family was to him always a top priority .
He will be missed.
Wishing his Family God’s warm comfort and Grace as they grieve his passing.
Gary and Silvana Tahmazian
Ashe, Lance, Venita and Serena
You are always in my thoughts and prayers. I have many fond memories of Mervyn over the years when he and his buddy Lorne travelled together, he was part of our family while we lived in Victoria, and many fun times were had when our children arrived and we spent Halloween’s together taking them tricking or treating, and many other memorable times. Everyone grew up into beautiful adults which is a great compliment to you and Mervyn as parents.
“Uncle Mervyn” will always be in our thoughts along with many happy memories and fun times spent together!
I am sure he and his buddy Lorne are having a great time catching up with each other!!
Take care Ashe and family and know Mervyn will never be forgotten. RIP Mervyn.
We were so sorry to hear that Mervyn had passed away.
Mervyn was a kind and gentle man and he will be sorely missed.
We would like to express our sorrow and condolences to you and your family Ashe.
We wish you peace, and send comforting thoughts for the courage to face the days ahead.
Losing someone we love is never easy. We pray that you will aways have loving memories to forever hold in your hearts of such a fond companion and father.
Sending our love and hugs your way.
Diane & Rick
Dear Ashe, Lance , Venita and Serena, Norm and I send our heartfelt condolences on hearing of Mervyn’s passing. We are praying that God will comfort you through this difficult and sad time you and your family are going through . God bless. Love Jenny (your cousin in Australia ) and Norm.
Thank you for allowing me to connect with you through you husband’s, father’s, father-in-law’s , obituary and the beautiful hymn, “Be Still My Soul”.