Cliff Dezell, Freeman of the City, former City Councilor and his wife Sharron (Haynes) Dezell are the subjects of my column today.
Here is a snapshot of their long history together, here in Prince George.
Cliff was born in Williams Lake in 1935 to Garvin and Bea Dezell.
His parents arrived in Williams Lake, from the Lower Mainland in 1932. They owned and operated the Williams Lake Auto Court and a very successful construction business in the Cariboo which eventually moved them and their two children - son Cliff and daughter Noreen (Jim) Rustad to Prince George in 1946 after stays in Wells and Quesnel.
Cliff was 11 years old at that time and attended school at Prince George junior senior secondary; little did he know that one day he would be the chairman of School District 57 and an elected school board trustee.
When the Dezell family arrived in Prince George they moved into the basement of a house still under construction on McBride Crescent.
The house like others of that time had a sawdust burning furnace. The furnace had a huge hopper and it eventually became Cliff's job to fill that hopper with sawdust before bed time and then again at three o'clock in the morning.
Cliff said, "I remember those days of no pavement and board sidewalks; the city limits ended near Alward Street. We biked in the bush and swam in the Nechako River. I had a kind of carefree Huckleberry Finn boyhood and as I look back I feel sorry for the kids that did not have the experiences that I had while growing up. When we weren't in school, my friends and I could be found playing ball in empty lots, school fields or on the golf course."
As a young teenager Cliff worked as a delivery boy for Sid Perry at Perry's Pharmacy Store on Third Avenue. Many things would transpire in his future because of this afterschool and weekend job at the pharmacy.
He was influenced by what he saw and decided he wanted to be a pharmacist. He graduated from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1958 with a degree in pharmacy, went back to the store and worked along with fellow pharmacists Sid Perry and Gordon Wood.
In 1963 he changed jobs and was hired as chief pharmacist at the Prince George Regional Hospital. Until his retirement from the hospital in 1994, he filled such positions as director of materiel management and finally assistant executive director, diagnostic and support services.
It was in those early days at the pharmacy that Cliff met and married Sharron Haynes; they will soon celebrate 55 years of marriage. Sharron and Cliff raised two children - Michael, who is married to Jennifer Baldwin and Vicki who is married to Myron Roth.
They now have three amazing grandchildren - Sophie, Sam and Thomas.
Sharron Dezell was born in Duncan in 1939. Her father worked for the B.C. Police which later became the RCMP so that meant many moves all over B.C. By the time Sharron was in Grade 12 the family had moved ten times.
Sharron said, "We moved from the Lower Mainland to McBride and that was a big change especially since at that time there was no road to McBride from Prince George. From McBride we moved to Prince George and I graduated from high school at PGSS. My parents were transferred to Victoria and eventually retired there. After graduation I worked in Perry's Pharmacy for the summer and it was there that I met Cliff. I then went on to Victoria College where I took my teacher training. I graduated in 1959 and moved back to Prince George where I taught at the Connaught school which is now Ron Brent. I taught at several other elementary schools and at CNC in the Early Childhood Education program. I still run into many of my former students and I am always amazed and proud of them when I hear about their lives and how well they are doing."
Sharron retired from CNC in 2003 and then volunteered at Spruceland elementary school for five years.
She is an active member of the Quest Club, volunteered for the Hospital Auxiliary for many years and works diligently at staying fit and healthy.
No grass ever grew under Cliff's feet and his accomplishments are many.
He retired as a pharmacist, worked as a hospital administrator, a health care consultant, the office manager at the Wilson King law office, conducted a federal referendum and was a returning officer for two federal elections.
Cliff was first elected to Prince George city council in 1983 and put in 23 years in local politics.
He said, "I actually got into municipal politics by accident. Politics was a way of life for my parents and breakfast usually consisted of political talk. My father was mayor of Prince George for 14 years and I enjoyed working on his campaigns.
"When our children were young I became involved in the community school movement and then was elected to the school board as a trustee. I had no intention of going into any other form of politics but the provincial government took taxing authority away from school boards so I took a year off and then ran for city council. It is kind of thought provoking but my entire life has evolved without much of a master plan."
Cliff has served on various boards and has received many distinguished awards over the years including the Roll of Honour from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Freeman of the City of Prince George.
Cliff has worked diligently for the B.C. Mental Health Society (Riverview Hospital), the B.C. Regional Planning Committee, the Northern Interior Health Society, the Children First Initiative Steering Committee, and the Multicultural Heritage Advisory Committee.
He was also a part of the No Name group who campaigned for the University of Northern British Columbia and he led the committee that designed and built the Northern Sport Centre at UNBC, following which he served as board chair until resigning this summer.
Cliff plays a "bit of golf," duplicate bridge and he used to play serious badminton.
He also plays squash three times a week and he proudly says, "Even though I am 80 years old I can still move around!"
