SISSON -- William Harold Charles (Hal)
March 16, 1921 – December 26, 2009
Hal Sisson passed away of severe Aortic Stenosis after 18 days in hospital waiting for a heart valve replacement. He was able to spend Christmas day at home, but unfortunately the medical bureaucracy moved too slowly for the operation to take place.
The following was written by Hal:

The best thing about getting old is that you didn’t die young. Continual prompting by my comely, long-suffering wife Doreen, causes me to write my own obituary. Therefore I am telling you that I tried not to pass peacefully (as 99% of obits mention) to join my erstwhile loved ones in heaven, hell, the Emerald City or the choir invisible. Being of rational mind I tried to hang around as long as I could, knowing I wasn’t going anywhere else – the reason being that I am a dead atheist and they are persona non grata anywhere. I did not belong to any of the innumerable, fear-mongering, holier-than-thou religions plaguing our planet and causing the majority of society’s problems.

Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the oldest child of Karl and Lillian Sisson, I lived in nearby Pasqua till my school-teacher father died when I was seven. Two younger brothers, Ted and Alan, and a sister Karol, have predeceased me.

What did I do while alive? A good question. I spent four years in the RCAF as an armourer in Squadron #135 (Hurricanes in Alaska) and #422 (Sunderland Flying boats in Coastal Command in Ireland and Wales). It is not until you get a lot older that you learn the utter futility of war and who the s.o.b.’s are who cause and run these immoral and illegal wars in their own self-interest – I’m talking about the military/industrial/banking complex and the corporate fascist police state that has gradually taken over society. This is a planet we live on, not an American empire.

      I graduated from the law school at the University of Saskatchewan in 1951, and practiced law in the town and judicial district of Peace River, Alberta from 1953 till retirement to Victoria in approx 1990. As a defence lawyer I tried my damnedest to instil a sense of justice into the RCMP. While so engaged, and in order to preserve my sanity dealing with other people’s problems, my main hobby was stand-up comedy; and am particularly proud of my part in the formation of Peace Players, whose main annual production over more than twenty years was ‘Sorry ‘Bout That’ – a burlesque show in the true sense of the genre, for which I gathered the material, produced and acted in the show. You can’t beat a mixture of comedy, dancing girls and booze to produce a winning theatrical combination.

      Other projects I set my mind to accomplishing with fellow Kinsmen and others were the creation of: The Hart River Nature Trail, the Ball Park, Outdoor Pool and Twelve Foot Davis statue.

Shortly before retiring from the law I began to write – true small town humourous Canadian anecdota with my law partner Dwayne Rowe (Coots, Codgers and Curmudgeons; Garage Sale of the Mind); murder mystery and action-adventure novels featuring old fart sleuths like Dwart Farquhart and Phil Figgwiggin (Fat Lot of Good, Maquiladora Mayhem, You Should Live So Long, The Big Bamboozle, Potshots, and Caverns of the Cross); an anthology of authentic burlesque skits (Sorry ‘Bout That); and Modus Operandi 9/11 – a factional novel about the machinations of the New World Order and what really happened to the NY trade center buildings on that fateful day. You can still buy any or all my books – which reflect my views as best I could - and I strongly recommend that you do. Contact Lindy Sisson via email at lsisson@shaw.ca for purchasing details.

My other hobbies – marble collector and player (once made top 24 player world category); croquet player, International and USCA rules; fly fisherman and table tennis player. My siblings and friends my age have nearly all kicked the bucket. I regretfully leave my loving wife Doreen, my children loquacious and tenacious Ted and talented and loving Lindy, grandchildren Lindy’s children Cydney and Jeremy and Ted’s son Cory and grandson, nieces and nephews and younger friends, to carry on having as great a time as possible in an ever-increasingly complex and weird world. Goodbye and Good Luck – I loved you all.

When all is said and done, more is said than done – but just keep hoping for the best, expecting the worst, because life is a play and we’re all unrehearsed!

A remembrance celebration will be held at Hermann’s Jazz Club 753 View Street, Victoria, BC on Saturday, January 16 from 4:30 – 7:00pm. Flowers respectfully declined.