Written by Elaine Golds

We are so very sad to announce the passing of Don Gillespie at the grand age of 90.  Don had been a wonderful, very important volunteer and one of our hardest-working Board members ever since we decided to form a Colony Farm Park Association (date?).  For much of that time, he served with his wife Norma on our Board.  Don and Norma were especially keen to see the bunkhouse preserved as a heritage building at Colony Farm.  They felt this building has great potential with its small bunkrooms - one of which could serve as a museum and, through photographs, inform people of Colony Farm's significant history.  They felt there would be sufficient room at the rear of the bunkhouse to host meetings with up to about 30 people.  They suggested the former kitchen (at the front of the building) could be a useful place for the community gardeners to test new recipes using produce grown locally in the community gardens.  Of course, there was always a concern about the bats in the attic.  But Don felt that the bats offered great potential to help people understand the importance of the role played by bats and their contributions to our local ecology.

Don really knew his history and remembered especially well the early days of Colony Farm.  We all learned a great deal from him.  Don had a truly friendly way of engaging with people and sharing his stories of Colony Farm with them.  I soon learned that there was nothing better than going on "a walk and a talk" with Don.  I always came away from these walks with a far better understanding of local history and why a place was so special after one of those walks with Don.

Don was a terrific volunteer - he liked nothing better than getting people excited about the potential for  an interesting and often neglected area, like the old Colony Farm to become a new regional park. Don was one of the early proponents who wanted to see the Farm protected.  There was absolutely nothing that could prick up Don's ears, bring a big smile to his face, and ramp up his enthusiasm like that simple four letter word,"Park".  Don was always full of excellent ideas on how to get other people to appreciate his new "park" concept.  His enthusiasm for "Parks" was absolutely contagious.  He soon learned how to get people to write letters to politicians supporting the odd new park here, there and almost everywhere.  When he learned the Burke Mountain Naturalists were discussing the potential to create a new Park on Burke Mtn. he spent all of one entire summer working with his friend, Doug Bennie to brush out overgrown logging roads.  By summers' end, they had created a fantastic trail network that took people to beautiful wetlands, led them out of the forest to stunning vistas and through magnificent stands of old growth trees.  One day, it occurred Don, Doug and other BMN members that people would probably enjoy being able to stroll up along the Coquitlam River.  There was only one problem: there was no trail and several streams created barriers.  In a situation like this, i.e., if there were only a few streams that needed to be crossed; you could count on Don to find someone who had some old lumber to donate that would just be perfect for building  several small footbridges. 

The trail that Don and a few BMN members developed along the Coquitlam River quickly became so wildly popular that it took years for Metro Vancouver Parks to finally shut it down. It was truly a perfect project for Park lovers. Don had a knack for knowing what people would enjoy in terms of new trails and, once built, word would get out and VERY soon, others would discover what had been created for their pleasure and enjoyment.  Don also excelled at getting people to write letters to politicians to ask for more parks. By 1995 Pinecone Burke Park was declared as a new Provincial Park and Colony Farm became a new Regional Park.  The trail network on Burke Mtn. was essentially created by Don. It’s true that he had the help of many very capable and hardworking BMN members - but please remember that if you have ever hiked on Burke Mtn.  you are likely walking on a trail created by Don and that you are, literally, walking in Don's footsteps. Don's contributions to this community are truly immense and he has left a huge legacy for everyone in this community to enjoy.  Just one more thing, there is something else Don would like you to know:  you should never doubt for even a millisecond that one person is not enough to make a difference.