Dell and Charles.

Dell and his brother Charles returning from a camping trip.

It is said that you can pick your friends but not your family.  In this, both Dell and Charles were blessed with the benefit of being both family and friends.  It is also said that a good friend knows all your stories, but a best friend has lived them with you.  In many ways, Charles was Dell's best friend; not only was there a great fondness each for the other, but they had experienced many things together and could regale at length those situations which they shared.  I have heard a lot of those stories and want to retell them now as part of my tribute to Dell.

Dell and Charles went around the world together in the fall of 1979 and returned in the winter of 1980.  There were good times and bad, times when they enjoyed each other's company and times when they needed a break from the other.  Charles recounts a situation in Hawaii when Dell was harassed by some gang-related thugs and was slapped in the face by one.  They did not know who they were dealing with though and Dell got the better of them, making one pass out and kicking another in the head.  I remember Dell telling of Charles' reaction when Dell was taking them on; he animatedly spoke of Charles hopping up and down and yelling something about the men trying to rob them.  He got quite a chuckle out of that.

Dell and Charles worked together a lot doing concrete and other projects.  They both have been rather adventurous in the way they tackled repair and construction jobs around the house.  Charles had a house in Delburn and wanted to put a second set of stairs in.  He cut an opening in the floor for the new stairway but had no stairs to place there.  His solution was to put a very long aluminum slide in place where the kids could travel down.  They had a great time going down the slide, running up the other set of stairs and repeating the process again and again.  Dell said to me once, "I was becoming worried about Charles until I saw him put that slide in his basement."  He appreciated the uniqueness of the idea.

Dell and Charles camped together a lot.  The adventures at the cabin are legendary in themselves, but they also did Pinto Lake, the Chilcoot Trail, the West Coast Trail, canoe trips down the Red Deer, and a number of other outings.  I remember a trip to the cabin once when the ice was still on the Nordegg River.  A bunch of us were out on the surface with large sticks pounding away at the ice beneath our feet trying to break pieces of it off.  Dell was either on a thin spot or hit the ice very hard, because he suddenly fell into the river's icy grasp.  If he had been sucked under the ice that would have been it for him.  He was finished, but the rest of us kept at it.  Funny how stupid one can be sometimes; I would never do that now.

Dell and Charles played many a game together.  Sometimes it was just the two of them, other times a threesome or foursome got involved, and when the family got together a dozen or more could be up for a game.  One of the family favourites Dell liked was "King Oil."  It was never a game I cared for but they played it time and time again.  There were also all types of card games.  If the two of them were together you could be sure a deck was close at hand.  Dell often won, but Charles could hold his own.  What was especially interesting was to see how Charles manipulated a situation; he didn't usually care about winning but loved to stick it to Dell when he could.  If I was in the fray we would often both try to get Dell.  He inspired us that way.

Dell and Charles were heavily involved in the extended family.  Everyone pitched in when dealing with problems and issues; they often worked together to overcome challenges.  They were not always on the same page though, as Dell could be very strong-willed and opinionated, but it never kept them from trying to work towards a common goal.  For both of them, family was important.

Dell and Charles each appreciated each other's unique perspectives.  It was a common theme for Dell to do or say something to provoke a response from his brother, and Charles could come up with something equally off base to turn the tables.  Dell got quite a kick out of some of the funny or odd things Charles could come up with.  One of his favourite sayings was (you will have to fill in the blanks), "F___ing Char!"  He would have a big smile on his face and be shaking his head in a combined appreciation and surprise at his sibling's uniqueness.

Dell and Charles often wrestled, although I can say with a high degree of confidence that Charles never got the best of Dell.  There would some physical interaction showing manly bravado with the inevitable appeal for mercy from Charles.  It never lasted long;  Dell's philosophy of Tit for Tat squared kept the friendly squalls short-lived.

When Dell passed away I got a call from Beth (Charles' wife) with the sad news that Dell had died.  I was stricken by the news and spent the days in tears.  Charles couldn't make the call because he was in such a state of grief.  He did eventually get a hold of me and begged me to come and be with him during one of the most difficult times in his life.  I flew into Calgary and soon met up with him; he had just lost one of the most important people in his life.  I was grieving myself and appreciated being able to share the burden of loss.  I lost a friend, but Charles lost a best friend and brother.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com   Eric Svendsen