The Reverend Derrick Spilman died September 30 in the palliative care unit at Burnaby Hospital after a long illness. His wife Jan was with him. He was 77 years old.
Born in England, Spilman trained at Rochester Theological College there and served as a British Army Chaplain in Aden and England. He also served four years in Holland with the Mission to Seamen. He came to Vancouver in 1971 to serve as port chaplain with the Mission to Seamen.
From there moved on to serve as the Rector of St. Margaret of Scotland in Burnaby in 1975 where he stayed until retiring in 1992. In retirement, he served as a supply priest for many parishes in the diocese, including two years at St. Oswald's, Port Kells, and had an active spiritual direction practice for several years.
The funeral will be held at St. Stephen's, West Vancouver, 885 - 22 Street, West Vancouver, on Saturday, October 9 at 10:30 a.m. Bishop Michael will preside. Clergy are warmly welcome to attend but are asked not to vest for this service. Besides his wife Jan (nee Cameron), he leaves his children Lesley and Nigel, and three grandchildren.