Colin Leslie Smailes

My sincere condolences to all of you. He was such a warm, down-to-earth individual and he always had a twinkle in his eye when he spoke of or showed his boatbuilding project. It was always a pleasure spending time with him and your family.

It is my pleasure to have been able to call Colin a friend we spent many a day in the past discussing multi hull boats.He has been a fixture around the marina as long as I can remember.He will be greatly missed

Dr. Smailes was my family doctor since 1964, when I returned to BC after a few years on the Prairies, up until he closed his private practice. He told me he was semi-retiring, going into Geriatrics. I said "Good! Just when I'm becoming a Geriatric!" He said "Uh-uh, won't work. I'll be doing assessments of the elderly at the Hospital, as to what level care they will need upon discharge." Well, that left me out!! I had wanted to send him a sincere Thank You card upon his retirement as family physician, for all his years of valuable care of me and my three kids. He saw me, a single parent, through many a serious crisis. But I never got around to it. Only about three days before his announcement came out in the papers, I happened to think of him. I thought "No reason why I can't send him a card now! Better yet, I'm going to look him up and say Thank You personally!" Well, goes to show you what happens when one procrastinates. I lost my chance. But he knows! He's looking down on us now! Dr. Smailes, I cannot find another family physician anywhere near as caring as you always were! My condolences and best wishes to Catherine and all his family. He was truly a wonderful and very hardworking doctor!

Dr. Smailes was our family Doctor from when we were kids until he finished his pracitice. We would wait patiently in the office then he would make his grand sweeping entrance with coat tails flapping in the wind like a super hero. To us he was a super hero. We always felt a great trust with him like he was part of the family. Know that your loss is not yours alone but everyone who ever knew Dr. C.L. Smailes. Love from Tom, Angela, Pamela, Colleen and Billy McKeown

Dr. Smailes was my family doctor from the time that I was a little girl to the day he closed his practice. When I married he became my husband's doctor and as time passed he delivered our children. Dr. Smailes helped me through a broken back, a stillborn baby, colds, flu, our kids' ailments, etc., etc. and always made us feel safe and secure. Since 1999 it has been very difficult to find a doctor as good as he was. I shed quite a few tears this morning when I read his obituary - he was a wonderful human being and I feel so very fortunate that our family had the privilege of having him as our doctor. As we all travel through our journey of life we meet people who make a special impression upon us. Maybe even formulate the way we think and act. Dr. Smailes was one of those special people for me. Our sincere sympathies to his family.