David Threlfall was a father, grandfather, partner, friend, educator, counsellor, and friendly face to many as he always had an open door and a warm smile. Gifted with a passion for helping people, he mentored people on his ideas around Quality Schools and Choice Theory. David loved travelling and having adventures, being on the water, enjoying the cabin with grandchildren, as well as coffee/beer chats, and times with family. In the last years of his life, David remained positive and ready for new adventures in the face of Alzheimer’s Disease.
He passed peacefully surrounded by the love of his family and friends. He is survived by daughters, Pamela (Rob, Victoria, Mathew, Sam) and Andrea (John, Ben, Amelia), his long time friend Ellen and wife Joanne. Thanks for the wonderful care at Carlton Gardens and especially for Ram!
All are welcome to the celebration of his life to be held 2 pm, February 1st, 2020 @ Shaughnessy Heights United Church.
In lieu of flowers please donate to First United Church Mission, Vancouver where David volunteered https://firstunited.ca/donate-one-time/ .
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Sarah Looms
RIP Mr Threlfall, you were a wonderful principal and always made us laugh. You always pushed us to try to think differently and to challenge our minds, thank you for supporting us for all those years. We’ll never forget you.
Judy Tipple
My sincere condolences to Joanne and family.
I learned much from David about educational theories and felt that he always thought of our students with compassion.
May he rest in peace.
Tim Leaver
I am forever grateful to all those who dedicated their careers to equipping me for my future. There was no doubt that Mr Threlfall was doing what he did for this reason – to educate, empower and create new leaders for our world. I hope his family knows that he has left an impact and legacy.
Karl Moser
Thank you, David, for your support and encouragement to me as a teacher at Burnsview in the 1990’s. Thanks also for your mentorship of me as a young Vice-Principal at Delta Secondary School in 2000. Thank you for being a caring friend. Your hard work teaching others how to use Choice Theory to become better humans, teachers, and learners was of benefit to hundreds of people. My sincere condolences to Joanne and the rest of the family.
Greg Dennett
I learned so much from David. His commitment to education without coercion shaped my teaching for the rest of my career. He was a great listener and a kind and insightful administrator. My sincere condolences to his family and to all of the other teachers his work touched.
Judy Halbert
David was a wonderful counsellor and his expertise with Glasser helped me as well as many other counsellors and countless young people. With fond memories and sincere condolences.
Jean Thurley
Sorry to hear of the passing of David, as a school counsellor he helped my children with their many lives problems,
he made frequent home visits. I also enjoyed the many conferences we both attended.. He wasa a positive influence in our family lives. Thank you David Blessings Jean Thurley
Janet Balzarini
My heartfelt sympathy to the Threlfall family for the loss of such a well-loved man and family member. My thoughts will be with you all in the next difficult days. Peace be with you.
Ann Marie Willemsen
My sincere condolences to
David Threlfall’s family.
I was fortunate to be in his work experience program in 1978/79 at SDSS . He was such a caring and patient educator. He helped me thru hard times and will always have a special place in my heart.
RIP Mr Threlfall ❤️
Lilijana Merc
I’m sincerely and truly sorry .We are all very sad knowing bad news. I and all his Slovenian friends admired him and his great open heart and his work which he shared with us every time he visited us in Slovenia. We all loved him. Thank you for letting us know. We’ll keep him in our hearts for ever.Friends from Slovenia
Lilijana Merc
My deepest sympathy to David’s family. I and all David’s friends from Slovenia feel very sad hearing bad news about David. He was a person with open and warm heart, always prepare to help and support people . We are very grateful for all his knowledge that he shared with us, for his kindness and sincere friendship. We always enjoy spending time together and having fun with him. We’ll never forget you, you are and will be in our hearts. Lili with all friends from Slovenia
Jeff Lean
What an incredible man. He was my vice principal at Seaquam and the sponsor of the high school soccer team I coached. As a 10th grader, I coached our junior soccer team and our senior team as a 11th and 12th grader. Most vice principals would have said “I’m not letting some high school kid coach his classmates!” and would have shut down the team. Yet, he always worked with me on my outlandish ideas and never dismissed me as a “kid.” I will cherish the hours spent in his office, spending time planning transportation to games, scheduling and anything else I needed help with. I live down in Tennessee now and to this day, talk about how special it was to have mentor and friend like Mr. Threlfall. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and please know how many lives he touched and made a difference in.
Ladislav Pepelnik
David was a great friend and a man who was respected by all of us.I’ve learned from him a lot, but most of all, I’ll never forget David’s sencere and warm smile and the moments that we spent together. Spending our time together is unforgetable,he was so natural and it made him unique and special.I deeply feel sympathy with his family. Let him rest in heaven and look after us.
Carolyn Dodds
I am sorry to be unable to attend the service. I learned a lot from David and many benefitted from his caring and knowledge. Choice theory was a great tool to have available when dealing with students. Thinking of his family and friends at this difficult time.
Daphni Clifton
January 30,2020
So sorry to hear the news, David, but your loved ones need to know how far reaching your gentle caring ways exemplified the One of whom you zealously worshipped and followed so well; ” He touched no life but to influence it; He influenced no life but for good. ” I will miss our intricate exchanges on Glasser’s great work but I believe you have been called home to bigger and greater works. We will indeed miss you.
Kerry Cuthbert
David was that person… who always looked for another way. The children to whom he devoted his passions are forever a tribute to him. Just enter a school in Delta and there are legacies all around. The floor at the front entrance of DSS gives those who pass the threshold and opportunity and an acceptance. I was on of the lucky ones who spent hours and hours sharing ideas, creating plans and learning from one another. One of my fondest memories was when David called me and said” how can we get the world to know Bill is here in Vancouver?” A few phone calls later we had Glasser on the Bill Goode show and we took him down there. We laughed and laughed about how it all came together. Of course Bill Glasser was a HIT! and our workshops were filled. What a special man! He was the eternal optimist, the man with the vision and a person whose friendship I will cherish always. A champion of Choice Theory and integrating the ideas into our world. Peace be with you … to David’s family …all of you… know he made a difference to the world and to the lives of many… forever in our hearts, finding freedom, taking our own power and laughing always xoxoxo
Natalie Speckmaier
Our sincere sympathy for the family of David Threlfall. Mr. Threlfall (as we knew him all those years ago) was our daughter’s favourite teacher. She felt that if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have made it through school. He was a dedicated teacher whose goal was to ensure that each of his students achieved theirs. He was caring and compassionate and saw each of his students as unique individuals and tailored his lessons to embrace this. We appreciated his occasional home visits to address concerns and were glad we had the opportunity to give full credit to him for his efforts. I know he will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. His successful students are his legacy.
Lynn Sumida
I knew David through his long and passionate involvement with the William Glasser Institute. He cared deeply about making a difference in the world and it was wonderful to connect with hime each year at conferences. His legacy lives on through his work in Delta and all the lives he touched. I will never forget his gentle support for me when I brought my new baby to a conference. I send love to all his family and know his spirit lives on.
Susan Mitchell
My sincere condolences to the Threlfall family. I only worked with David for one year but in that brief time he influenced me both as an educator and as a parent. David treated students with respect and interacted with them in a non-confrontational way. There must have been times when he felt discouraged but I never saw him respond with frustration or anger. only an open mind and patience. Such patience. Thank you for showing me another way.