The Heritage Inn and Conference Centre needed to utilize the lounge adjacent to the conference room in order to find space for the several hundred people who turned up to remember and mourn the loss of one of Cranbrook’s most revered icons – Phillip (Bud) Abbott on Feb. 2.

Among the eloquent speakers at the memorial service was Kootenay-Columbia MP Wayne Stetski. The word “amazing” was used by many speakers, including Stetski, who promised he would pay homage to Bud in Parliament this week.

On Feb. 5, Stetski made good on that promise and informed the people of Canada about ‘the amazing’ that was Bud Abbott.

“Bud Abbott was born on January 26, 1921,” said Stetski. “During his life he was many things: A British fighter pilot during World War Two. A family man to his wife Linda, his children Louise, Christopher, Becky and Greg and to his grandchildren and great grandchildren. A Rotarian. A volunteer for Mental Health, Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, Heart and Stroke, reading with elementary school children, singing with seniors, and starring in Community Theatre — he was Cranbrook’s leading man for 59 years!

“What made Bud truly amazing was that he did all of this up until just a few weeks before his 98th birthday, with an incredible memory for music, an insatiable desire to learn, and a passion for theatre and for the people of Cranbrook.

“He was a community icon, a model for how to live your life as a senior, and a much-loved friend to many.

“Bud died on January 30, 2019. The City of Cranbrook, our riding of Kootenay-Columbia, and indeed all of Canada, has lost an amazing man,” Stetski told Parliament.

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