Peter Alwin Boldt

1923 - 2021

BOLDT, Peter Alwin July 11, 1923 - July 6, 2021 Peter passed away, surrounded by family, in his beloved custom-built home of more than fifty-five years overlooking Juan de Fuca Straight and the Olympics just five days shy of his ninety-eighth birthday. Peter was the son of Peter and Anna (Braun) Boldt. Raised in Standoff in Southern Alberta twenty miles south of Fort MacLeod, he was the second of eight children. For the first eight years of his schooling, he was taught by his father, as were all of his siblings, in a one-room school located on a Hutterite Colony. After high school graduation in Coaldale, Alberta and a Normal School two-month crash course in the summer of 1943, he was assigned, without any practice teaching, to a one-room country schoolhouse. The closest town was Etzicom, Alberta, thirty miles away, which consisted of, as he remembered it, a hotel, garage, post office, grocery store, three grain elevators and lots of rattle snakes. He completed his Normal School training in 1943 and immediately enlisted in the RCAF. Pat Bay was the site of a part of his training prior to being posted to the newly formed 435 Squadron in Burma as a wireless technician. After the war Peter enrolled at the University of Western Ontario specializing in radio physics. He found himself drawn back to the field of education and switched majors partway through. With his degree he returned to teaching in Southern Alberta. Pat Bay and Victoria had left an impression and with the enthusiastic support of his wife, Alma, they moved their then growing family west to Victoria in 1955. He first taught at Lansdowne Junior High, then Victoria High, before returning to Lansdowne to serve as vice-principal. He was then moved to Oak Bay Junior as principal and from there to Central Junior High, again as principal. He ended his career as principal of McKenzie Elementary retiring in 1983. Peter was born to be a teacher and most relished his time in the classroom. While working as an administrator at the junior high level he made a point of always teaching one course each semester. He loved to stay in touch with former students. It was largely through his enthusiasm and leadership that the tradition of annual science fairs became firmly established. He built a cabin on Shawnigan Lake where many family memories were made and where he enjoyed entertaining colleagues and friends. Most memorable were the times spent with his "Coffee Clatch" buddies, most of whom began teaching at Lansdowne in 1955. Prior to retirement he turned his attention seaward and purchased a boat. With Marion, his second wife and first mate, he set to sea. Alanje took them on numerous cruises up and down the B.C. - Alaska coast. An epic trip in 1983 started in the headwaters of the Mississippi after trucking their boat overland. They then headed down river to the Gulf of Mexico. After wintering in Florida, they returned via the East Coast Waterway to the St. Lawrence, ending up sixteen months later in Thunder Bay. In addition to being a teacher, a home builder and a sailor, he was a wonderful storyteller, an accomplished woodworker, an inventor, a ham radio operator volunteering for the Oak Bay Emergency Services, a curler, a world traveler, a church goer (St. Andrews and Knox Presbyterian) and a devoted family man. He was an enthusiastic lifelong learner and seeker of adventure. Perhaps most of all he was a collector of very good friends and many acquaintances. He lived a very full life from start to finish. Peter was predeceased by his much-loved wives Alma (Robson) (1975) and Marion (Lucy, nee Moss) (2008). He then shared a further five years of travel and good companionship with Mary Campbell (2014). He was lucky in love as he would often say and indeed he was. Peter is survived by three brothers, Dave (Calgary), Rudy (Crawford Bay) and Ed (Lori) (Winnipeg), his four children, Anne (Lorne DeGirolamo), Jeanne, Rob and Don (Tere Calderon de la Barca) and his three grandchildren, Savannah (Jeff) Biederman, Oscar Gomez (Cornelia) and Peter Boldt as well as many well loved nieces and nephews. Most cherished of all in his final years, he is survived by his two great-granddaughters, Ava and Stella, whom he loved to the moon and back. He is also survived by his step-family, his step-children Bob (Sue) Lucy, Cathy Oleson (Pete) and Jan Lucy (Don Evans), his step-grandchildren Shannon, Devon, Valerie, Mitchell, Vincent and Omar and his step-great-grandson Wulfric. The family would like to thank Pacific Coast Health Services, most particularly Miko and Alison, and his G.P., Doctor Derek Carroll, for their many years of care and attention. A service will be held at Knox Presbyterian Church on Richmond Road in September, time and date to be determined. Donations may be made to Victoria Hospice. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/