| Sergius de Bucy |
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| Written by Shellene Van Der Beke |
| 13 February 2017 |
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Astoundingly, for 96 of his 100 years (other than for a short Army leave) Sergius was raised, went to school, married, brought up his family, worked and is now retired right here on Haida Gwaii! In no time I realized I was speaking with a very kind, humble and happy soul. When asked about his life here on the islands, Sergius said, with a genuine smile and a twinkle in his eye, “I look upon everybody much the same”…words that support a happy life, for sure.
Today, Sergius and his longtime sweetheart, retired Tahayghen schoolteacher Mavis Mark, enjoy nearly daily visits to their favorite coffee shop, Queen B’s, and admire ongoing seascape marvels from the view outside of their lovely waterfront home.
Sergius de Bucy’s 100th Birthday - Open House! Wednesday, Feb. 22nd from 2-4pm at the Eric Ross Room located at the back of the QC Community Hall. Open to everyone who would like to drop by and wish Sergius a Happy Birthday! Come one! Come all! Photos are courtesy of Sergius de Bucy
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Kind, Wise, and 100 Years Young
Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, Sergius was raised by his Mother, Sybil de Bucy, and in 1921 when Sergius was just four years old, they moved to Tlell and onto her brother, Eric Richardson’s family farm, then and still known as Richardson Ranch. Sergius remembers milking cows and helping out in the garden. To be closer to where he could attend the little 8-10 student school, Sybil purchased a cabin for $75 in Skidegate Landing. She worked at various jobs to keep food on the table for her and her young son, one being the famous Hippa Island Bakery that she ran in 1925 with her friend and partner Mary Sinclair.
Sergius and his Mom later moved to Lawn Hill where, together, they purchased and ran their own farm. He proudly remembers working the land with their two oxen Sambo and Moses. “If you didn’t work, you didn’t eat,” he recalls matter-of-factly.
When asked for a positive memory from this time in his life, he fondly recalled the jazz-swing, dance music of The Harmony Boys big band orchestra. Made up of numerous talented, local musicians such as Fred Williams, his brother Lloyd and six-foot three Jack Dempsey, they played instruments such as the piano, accordion, drums, saxophone, trumpet, violin, banjo and guitar. It was heartwarming music with plenty of hip-swaying, thigh-slapping and foot-stomping fun.
In the early 40’s Sergius met and later married his wife of 28 years, Christina McKenzie. They had four children, Kathy, Wendy, Janice and Roger. Chris worked in the school, the library and helped with Sergius’ taxi business where he drove a bus (that looked like an ambulance) between Queen Charlotte and Port Clements. Sergius also operated a water taxi service to and from Sandspit. Chris’s brother, Stan McKenzie, partnered in business with Sergius over a span of more than 40 years doing many different things such as hand logging, hauling gravel and clearing land, to name only a few.
I asked Sergius if he had any favorite jokes and his response had me in tears. He said “There were two ladies in Port gossiping on the street. One said to the other ‘You know, those dang neighbors, they were so lazy they brought the toilet right into the house!’” Wait for it… Ha! Ha! Good one! (Back in the day, everyone had an outhouse!)
Of course, I could not leave without asking for a few of Sergius’ words of wisdom. He was happy to oblige saying “Most problems in life are the ones you make yourself,” along with “We’re all in the same boat, let’s all row together.” Wise words indeed.
