Obituary of Michael Priestley WOODHEAD

January 8, 1925 – Harrogate, UK
May 23, 2020 – Calgary, AB

Michael passed away on Saturday, May 23, 2020 at the age of 95 years. He was pre-deceased by the love of his life, Valerie, in 2016.

Michael was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK on January 8, 1925. He was educated at Stowe and, for a time during the war years, at the Hill School in Pennsylvania, USA. He completed his degree in Geology at Trinity College, Cambridge, and emigrated to Calgary, AB, Canada in 1948 where he started his career as a junior geologist with Imperial Oil, working at the Redwater site.

In the summer of 1957, Michael returned to Harrogate for a family holiday and met his soon to be wife, Val, at a tennis party. After a whirlwind romance, the two married in England on December 28, 1957 and returned to Calgary.

Michael was fortunate that his career coincided with the exciting oil boom years. He spent a number of years supervising the rigs as a young geologist before moving on to ultimately become the Head of International Geology at PanCanadian. That position allowed him to travel the world seeking out investment opportunities for the company.

In addition to a rewarding career, Michael had many outside interests. He loved nothing more than hiking in the mountains around Alberta and BC and he was a keen cyclist. He loved to dance—he and Val were gold medalist ballroom dancers—and was an avid participant in Scottish Country Dancing with several different clubs.

He was also a talented carpenter and enjoyed DIY home renovations and building furniture. But his favourite hobby was building model trains from scratch. We grew up to the sound of the lathe and the smell of the soldering machine as he built the engines. When he retired, and he and Val moved to Mill Bay on Vancouver Island, he filled the basement of a large country home (which he designed) with tracks, trains and scenery, which he loved to show off to anyone who displayed the slightest interest! 

Michael was a supportive father and an engaged grandfather, always with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. He was a loyal friend and an incredible life companion to Valerie. He will be greatly missed by his children and grandchildren. 

Michael was the only child of Arthur and Dorothy Woodhead (nee Bainbridge) and is survived by his loving family: daughter, Diana (Patrick); sons David and Anthony; and grandchildren Brendan and Liam Mahoney.