Series 2022.0024.0004 - Lavington Family History

The Lavington family, English-Canadian and Scottish-Canadian homesteaders, lived south of Baker Creek, 65 km west of Quesnel, from 1931-1972. Harold “Dude” Lavington and his brother, Art, built a cattle ranch on the property, registered as the Lavington Co. Ranch until 1945. When Art moved with his wife, Emma, and children, Eva and Bill, to a ranch of their own in the Nazko Valley, Dude renamed the ranch the Bar HL Ranch.

In 1946, Dude married Ruth Rennie of Courtenay, who moved to the ranch, and gave birth to their child, Jean, in 1947. Ruth died during the birthing process due to heart damage caused by rheumatic fever. A single parent, Dude raised Jean with the help of several community members in Quesnel, and fellow ranching families who boarded with him in the winter. In 1952, Dude married Margaret Paul of Vancouver, who joined the family on the ranch. She brought innovative ideas along with skills in drawing and singing. Margaret became a mother to Jean while extending the family’s correspondence to her vast network of family and friends. In 1972, Dude and Margaret moved to the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, living briefly in Shuswap Lake and Salmon Arm before settling in Sorrento in 1974. Margaret died in 1975.

Jean Lavington became an active artist and poet while helping out with ranch operations. After graduating from Quesnel Secondary School in 1966, she earned a B.S. in Agricultural Studies from the University of British Columbia in 1971. In 1971, she married John Tibbles, who was also raised in Quesnel, and moved with him to Clearwater, BC, where they had two children: Michael and Alan.

In 1976, Dude married Florence Montgomery (née Marsh) of Quesnel, who joined him in the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, where she remained until her death in 2022. Dude died in 1993. Dude’s records were passed to Jean and John Tibbles, who returned to Quesnel later in life. Jean died March 1, 2023.