Recently named West Vancouver's Citizen of the Year, Geoff Jopson credits his achievements as a volunteer and community builder to the influence of his Uncle Fred, "a model of citizenship for me and indeed for all of us."
The tradition of community contribution goes way back in the Jopson family. A seventh-generation Canadian, Fred's forebears include a Father of Confederation, the principal author of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and a naval captain who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Fred, who turned 96 on May 22, grew up in East Vancouver. He played soccer as a boy, switching to hockey when the Forum opened in 1931. "I was a rink rat working at the concession, throwing peanuts and catching nickels, in exchange for free ice time."
In 1938, he played for the Vancouver Bruins in the first NHL Oldtimers Exhibition game, opposing the legendary Cyclone Taylor of the Vancouver Millionaires, winners of the 1915 Stanley Cup.
Extra training in tool and die making and metallurgy "got me my first decent job, at the Boeing plant at Coal Harbour."
When the Second World War started, Fred helped set up the Boeing plant at Sea Island where he was in charge of tool and die design. It was a time of innovation in metals and technology, all introduced at speed while the war raged on.
A condition of Fred's exemption from army service as a skilled tradesman was his assignment to the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers, No. 2 Company, West Vancouver. With his rifle on his back, Fred patrolled Hollyburn Ridge, familiar and wellloved terrain from years of hiking and skiing, where there was space to dream.
"'What a beautiful place this would be to live,'" he recalls thinking.
After the war, Fred thought he might continue to work in the aircraft industry. He made his way to California but "there were no mountains and nothing green. I tired of it and came home."
In 1949, Fred married Corinne Ryder and his dream of a home in West Vancouver became a reality.
Fred and his brother Bob, Geoff's father, built homes in a new subdivision bounded by Taylor Way, Keith Road and a horse pasture on Marine Drive that became Park Royal North. They worked on each other's houses, building one after another from a plan made by contractor Vern Rest, and using the same tradespeople. "I wouldn't say I built the whole house, but I built a lot of it," says Fred, "the electrical and the plumbing and painting."
Fred and Corinne raised three children who grew up with their cousin Geoff. Fred was keen for the offspring to "hurry up and grow so they could play sports."
Since there was no ice rink on the North Shore in those days and plenty of playing fields, soccer became the family sport. Fred and Bob raised a team they called the West Vancouver Blue Devils that, coached by Fred, won four consecutive provincial championships or "it could have been three wins and one tie," says Fred - an outstanding record either way.
Fred had found his vocation: to help youth develop into well-rounded adults through sport. He was with the Canadian teams at the Olympic Games in Montreal and Los Angeles, at the World Cup in Mexico. He's a life member of a host of soccer associations, recipient of awards and had trophies named for him. Of all his achievements, Fred is most proud of developing youth soccer in Canada and the United States through team exchanges and international competitions.
When the FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in Canada, Fred will be listening to the games. Macular degeneration has affected his eyesight, but Fred still has his memory and his imagination.
"I see moves that others don't see; it's like ballet.
Soccer is 'the beautiful game.'" In the words of Fred's nephew Geoff, "Fred is one of the true builders of a new community here in West Vancouver."
There are others like Fred, whose contributions to our community are still within living memory.
Hopefully their stories will also be told and heard, recognized, preserved and celebrated as essential elements of our cultural and social heritage.
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. 778-279-2275 [email protected]
