What do you say about a man like Frank Manuel? We shall start with the formal announcement to get it out of the way.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Frank has left the building.
He passed peacefully in his sleep at home on Jan. 3, 2024.
He was ready. True to his nature, he went with class, dignity, and quiet reserve.
Frank was a Brit, born in Wallasey, England on May 22nd, 1943. Wallasey is across from Liverpool, which Frank would say made him almost a Beatle. His playground with his two brothers, John and Phil, was a field of WWII bomb rubble behind their home. His father was in the North Atlantic maritime fleet during WWII and by happenstance once put ashore in Canada. He saw Vancouver and vowed to bring his family. They arrived in 1953.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Frank’s occupations and hobbies were manifestations of his identity. Working backwards: Frank loved people, so he spent years as Santa in communities across the globe.
Most recently, he was known as the Squamish Santa and a stalwart volunteer at The Hotspot in Squamish.
Frank loved to learn and to teach; he was an educator in China for over a decade.
Frank enjoyed technology and tinkering; he got formal training and served as a computer technician at Simon Fraser University.
Frank was a rebel so he annoyed the Canadian Air Force for over 20 years.
There were also stints as an actor, doing Trager massage, and working as a deckhand on a troller.
His legacy lies in the connections he made with everyone he met.
Frank touched the lives of so many people. He had a smile and a witty comment for all. If you asked Frank a question, he always had an answer, and that answer was always four.
His wife, Victoria, survives Frank, as does his brother, John. In addition, he will be missed by his children Marie, Rob, Gayle, Faith, and James, as well as a legion of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, two ex-wives, and two cats.
A Celebration of Life will be held Online on Sunday, Jan. 14th, at 11 a.m.
Please email Victoria at [email protected] for the Zoom link.
