Bustard, Jeffrey Edward

Jeffrey Edward Bustard died on Wednesday August 28, 2024, he was just shy of 69 rotations around the sun. He grew up, the third of five children, on a veteran’s lot in Carleton Heights in Ottawa. His parents, Reg and Alice, built the family home at 1512 Claymore and it became a foundation that saw all the family raised in a busy household. Jeff’s parents were active participants in their church, and both were church camp counsellors. This influenced Jeff’s love of the outdoors and a skepticism for too much organization around play or religion. He met his wife, Lorie Langford, at Brookfield High School and was adopted into her family. Jeff’s family was four boys and a girl while Lorie’s family was four girls and a boy. This possibly provided an appreciation by siblings in each family for the welcome addition of a new brother and sister.

Lorie and Jeff were married in 1979 and then moved to Nelson. Jeff took up driving a transport truck for his uncle’s moving company. Upon buying their first home on Park Street, Jeff completed a total renovation of this heritage home. It soon became a gathering place for many family and friends. Jeff had many different vocations along the way, forestry work, moving household furniture, and park attendant. It was a Diploma in Desktop Publishing at Selkirk College and the advent of laser color copying and computer design that led him to a successful career in graphic design and production.  Jeff’s Laser Graphix business was a landmark on Nelson’s Baker Street for many years.

In 1993, Jeff and Lorie then moved to New Denver and ran Sweet Dreams guesthouse for over twenty years. He was involved in every aspect of the business and there wasn’t anything he could not fix. He took pride in keeping things well organized and operational. His hard work truly exemplified his strong work ethic.

Jeff was athletic and played most sports, basketball and cross-country skiing were his favorites. He was a firm believer that being active was the way to a good life and would get you through any rough patches, his remedy for everything was “Keep your body moving forward”. Jeff was particularly proud of his distance achievements, once skiing 100km in a single day, he kayaked around the Gulf Islands solo in an inflatable kayak, several times, and ran a full 40km marathon for his 40th birthday. Not shy of solo journeys, he also enjoyed planning outings for others. He initiated all the nephews and nieces to kayak adventures on Slocan Lake and loved waxing everyone’s skis on many a cross-country adventure.

He was gifted with good coordination and a generous team spirit participating as a ski patroller at Whitewater Ski Resort and gentleman’s hockey and basketball. He participated in the local Cyswog’n’Fun several times and one year joined with his dad as the swimmer, the year Reg turned 70.

He was a very deep and progressive thinker, a creative and imaginative force that made you laugh and think at the same time. A no-nonsense guy who loved challenging others to match his wit in a friendly, loving and teasing manner. These skills helped him to become a storyteller and archivist for both his and Lorie’s families. He produced a book about his father- in-law, a family tree, and many video and photo collections enjoyed by all.

He loved maps, mapping, movement and nature. The Galena Trail is a legacy to the time and effort he put into the development and construction of this trail. It was important for him to give to his community, which was evident by his efforts to improve Nelson and New Denver that are too many to recount.

Jeff is survived by his wife, Lorie, his mother Alice, his brothers Brian, David and Mark and his sister Deb. He was close to all his family, and extended family. He will be deeply missed by his in-laws, his nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his father Reg.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation on Jeff’s behalf to KidSport Canada, as he loved being involved in helping children and young adults develop a love for the fun of sports. We would like to thank Dr. P. Malpass and his team, Dr. Charles Burkholder, and the entire Kootenay Region cancer and oncology care teams for their care and professionalism.

A celebration of life will be held on September 28th, 2024, from 1:00PM – 5:00PM at Jeff and Lorie’s home in New Denver, previously Sweet Dreams Guesthouse.

Please bring your stories and remembrances of Jeff. We hope to be outdoors for some of the time. Dress comfortably and there will be some food and drink.

We also advise for those wishing to stay over that our Village Garlic Festival is happening on Sunday the 29^th.

Come as you can, stay if you will and leave as you must.