I met Rhys Griffiths for the first time around ten years ago on the Langley City Parks, Environment, Recreation and Cultural Committee. It was my first time on a City committee, and Rhys stood out. He was passionately talking about trees being inappropriately planted in the floodplain. I knew in an instant that this person was a strong advocate for the Nicomekl Floodplain, Brydon Lagoon, and Langley.
He knew pretty much every square inch on the floodplain; he represented the Langley Field Naturalists well. At the Parks meetings, he would regularly call out areas where he thought the City could do better to protect the floodplain. He was not afraid to take you to task! He was also willing to be a part of the solution. I learned more about our parks in those meeting from Rhys than from any other source. My passion for the floodplain, and our parks system in general, is directly attributed to Rhys.
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| Brydon Lagoon |
I am almost certain that Brydon Lagoon would not be what it is today if it wasn’t for Rhys’ tireless advocacy for this special place in our community. Even though Rhys was already retired from the Parks Committee, he made special appearances for the Brydon Lagoon Task Force in 2014/15. Honestly, Brydon Lagoon should be called Griffiths Lagoon.
Rhys cared about people too. Rhys encouraged me to get more involved in Langley City, and supported me during my run for Langley City council. He would call me regularly, checking up on how I was doing, and would give me the latest news about the lagoon.
This weekend, Rhys passed away at the age of 94. There are some people who exemplify what it means to be a citizen in a community. Rhys was one of those people. He will be greatly missed in our community. I will miss him.
The Langley Times and Langley Advance both have stories about Rhys.
A celebration of life for Rhys will be held at St. George’s Anglican Church in Fort Langley at 2pm on Saturday, February 10.
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