He was always a class act.
That’s just one description about Doug Husband this week as the tributes continue for the former Delta mayor who passed away Sunday after a lengthy illness.
A descendant of the Pybus pioneering family, Husband, 82, was elected five times to Delta council, including one term as mayor from 1987 to 1990.
Mayor George Harvie, at council this week, noted Husband, after leaving civic politics, continued his efforts to preserve Delta’s heritage through decades of active volunteering.
His service in support of arts, fishing and farming heritage has helped ensure the preservation and promotion of Delta’s past for future generations.
“On behalf of council and all citizens of Delta, I want to acknowledge Mr. Husband’s decades of service and lifelong commitment to this community. Doug’s hard work, advocacy, and love for this community has helped influence and shape Delta into the incredible City that it is today. Thank you Doug, your contributions to Delta will always be remembered,” said Harvie.
A 1980 Delta Optimist photo of Doug Husband when he was a city alderman
On Monday afternoon flags at all Delta facilities were lowered to half-mast for the remainder of the week.
Coun. Lois Jackson, who served on council with Husband, said, “He advanced many things in this community which are lost in the annals of time, I guess, but he knew and I knew the things he had accomplished.”
She went on to say, “He was a real gentleman. We shared a lot of causes and a lot of agendas together and it was a pleasure to serve together with him.”
Also for a time serving on council with Husband, Coun. Bruce McDonald said they came to a good understanding of how best to work together for the benefit of Delta, despite being in rival political parties, and they became good friends.
“He was always there for Delta, he was always involved…He was just a class act, he really was. That has nothing to do with the fact he had 24 suits in the closest. He was an elegant man in all respects, and we’re going to miss him,” said McDonald.
Doug Husband in 1967 during his career in public and private insurance. In later years he was a chartered mediator
Noting Husband was always a supporter of the local farming community, Delta South MLA Ian Paton told the Optimist that Husband was always highly respected for the way he conducted himself and treated others.
“He was such a class act, always. He was always a real gentleman and I never heard him speak poorly of anyone. He was very encouraging to me when I was thinking about getting into politics and since he got out of politics he was always such a good guy for the community with his volunteering and just being there to help anyone,” said Paton.
Doug Husband was a proud Delta Secondary grad and still had his school jacket
Farmer Peter Guichon echoed that recollection, saying Husband was a stalwart for many including the farming community and those trying to preserve Delta’s heritage.
“Doug was a lot more for this community than just being an alderman and a mayor. He was a community guy,” said Guichon. “Doug always had time for you and never forgot a name.”
Many also commented on the story of Husband’s passing on the Optimist’s Facebook page, including former Delta police Chief Jim Cessford who wrote, “Doug was a good friend and mentor. We had tea together a couple of weeks ago and I’m so glad I had the opportunity. Deepest condolences to Maureen and the rest of the family.”
School board chair Val Windsor wrote, “Doug Husband's legacy to Delta will long be remembered. My sympathy to his family.”
Husband was a long serving community volunteer for many local organizations and, until recently, still a member of the Delta Heritage Society and director of the Rotary Club of Ladner.
Husband was named Delta Citizen of the Year in 2019.
In 2002, he was the recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for Community Service.
Doug Husband took part in a three-year fundraising campaign to purchase a significant oil painting by acclaimed local marine artist John Horton
In the past year, he also spearheaded a fundraising campaign to secure an original oil canvas of Port Guichon, circa 1903 painted by world-renowned marine artist John Horton.
The painting was donated last fall to the Delta Museum and Heritage Society.
This May, he attended a special ceremony for the soft opening of Delta’s new cultural centre, named the Douglas J. Husband Discovery Centre.
In 2012, Husband started writing the Community Comment column in the Delta Optimist and turned those columns that he wrote for five years into a book called Community Comments, which was released last year.
He was married to wife Maureen, from the Embree pioneer farming family, for 58 years.
He also leaves behind two daughters, four grandkids and a great grandson.
The family has not released any details yet on a Celebration of Life.
