Page 9 West Vancouver Historical Society January 2005 TWO LOSSES We lost two graduates of West Van High in the first week of December, Richard Kingsley (Dick) Lester, and Brenda Joan (Wicking) Corkill. While neither had lived in West Van for some time, both were outstanding human beings and scholars. Both were dedicated to the community. Both were very bright and hard-working. Dick died on Friday, December 3, aged 86; Brenda died the next day, aaed 85. There’s some immediacy attached to losing Brenda. Only two days after doing the “West Van High’s First Annual†item I was phoned by Brenda’s daughter Valerie in Victoria to tell me that Brenda had just died, and that she had wanted Valerie to call me. It was a year ago this month that I wrote an item about Brenda in A Remarkable Woman Acknowledged. Brenda had a passion both for school and learning, and boundless respect for her teachers. (As did most if not all of her classmates.) Sixty-five years ago there was a camaraderie and mutual respect among senior students and their teachers. Customs were different, the community was smaller than now and the teachers lived in it. Sixty-five years ago, near the end of her Senior Matric year, Brenda and some of her fellow students gathered at the home of Mrs. E.M. O’Donnell, school trustee, for a buffet supper. Some of the staff were there as well: Mr. Mitchell, Miss Maycock, Mr. Kershaw, Mr. Brooks, Miss Parades, Mr. Smith. Also present was Betty Copeland (later married Charlie Merrick and lived in Roberts Creek), the school nurse. Brenda will have been in best of spirits, as she was at the top of her class and in company that pleased her. Brenda always had a good sense of humour. This extract from Glimpses mentions class work she did with Alan (Angus) Young: Angus had, besides an extremely good nature, a rare genius for making people laugh. Both of these qualities were evident all through his schooling. Some of the extra-curricular sessions at Inglewood involved learning the essentials of running a meeting. On several occasions, Angus was required to act as chairman, and Brenda Wicking, recording secretary. Brenda did everything unfailingly well, but she said it was utterly impossible to retain her composure anytime he even glanced at her; wherever he went, mirth was sure to follow. Dick Lester graduated-a month short of his sixteenth birthday- from West Van High in 1934â€"for years earlier than Brenda. Like Brenda, he was an outstanding student. But he was also a fine athlete, despite his size (135 lbs). In Grade Eleven he captained a soccer team coached by Mr. Mitchell, with players whose surnames some of our readers will recognize: Aldred, Masterman, McLintock, Timbrell, Watson, Willington, Mason, Harper, Grieve, Irish, Kerr, McIntosh, Lennox, Miles and Russell. In the same school year he was a member of the school’s rugby team, coached by Jimmy Sinclair. (Mr. Sinclair, a 1928 Rhodes Scholar, came to teach at the school in September of 1931.) For 4 years right after graduation Dick was employed by the Yamashita Shipping Co., during which time he was a member of the Supplementary Reserve of the RCNVR, which he joined in October of 1939. He trained at Esquimalt and went overseas in 1940. In November of 1942 this article appeared: He had been cited for “courage, resolution and devotion to duty in action against enemy U-boatsâ€â€" but he would not talk! Concluded overleaf)