Edwin Landale

On May 14, 2022, Edwin Conde Landale, aged 73, passed away from cancer. He fought his sickness quite privately, not wanting to worry others. He is survived by his daughter, Audrey Landale, who was with him during the last weeks of his life.

Edwin, also known as Conde or Ed, led a remarkable life. He was born in Vancouver in 1948 and spent much of his young life on Savary Island with his parents Phyllis and Alec Landale. Later, after studying Philosophy at UBC, he changed course and became a salmon fisherman with his first wife Zoe. Their adventures were captured by Zoe’s book Harvest of Salmon.

Fishing piqued Edwin’s interest in Marine Biology, and after a BSc from UBC in 1980, he was accepted at the University of Miami, where he completed his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology in 1987. While at a microbiology conference, he met his second wife Nancy Hamlett. Their happiest times were spent sailing and living and working in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where their daughter Audrey was born.

Later, they moved to Claremont, California, where Edwin worked at Loma Linda University as a postdoctoral fellow and researcher. After several years, he returned to the family farm in Whonnock, BC. For the rest of his life Edwin judiciously divided his time between Whonnock and Savary, both of which he loved.

Edwin had an amazing memory and was a superb historian and record keeper with a fascination for genealogy. He thoroughly researched his own family history and was an authority on the history of Savary Island. In 2002, he founded the Savary Island Heritage Society, which is dedicated to collecting and preserving the history of Savary Island.

If desired, donations in Edwin’s memory can be made to the Savary Island Heritage Society by contacting savaryheritage@gmail.com. Donations will support completing some of Edwin’s research projects that were well underway.