Memorial set for Dinwoodie

UPDATE MAY 21: A celebration of life for Aaron Dinwoodie will be held Sunday, May 25 at 2 p.m. in the Lakeview Community Hall on Anders Road in West Kelowna.

Dinwoodie passed away May 6 following a battle with cancer.

He was 54.

West Kelowna has lost one of its more polarizing but effective political figures.

Photo: Wayne Moore - Castanet File Photo

Aaron Dinwoodie, seen here checking election results during his 2007 mayoralty bid in Westside, died Tuesday at the age of 54.

Aaron Dinwoodie, who spent 11 years as a Westside Director on the Regional District, passed away Tuesday night.

He was 54.

He passed away at Vancouver General Hospital after a battle with cancer.

Dinwoodie served four terms as an area director for the Westside. He was first elected in 1996 and served until 2007 when the position was eliminated after Westside voted for incorporation.

He did run for mayor of the newly formed Westside municipality but finished second to Rosalind Neis.

"He was very energetic and liked to take charge of issues on the westside," said Regional Board Chair, Robert Hobson.

"He was ambitious. He was interested in becoming the UBCM president and became the UBCM president through a lot of hard work."

Hobson recalled Dinwoodie as a smart politician who was able to get along with other politicians at all levels of government.

"He was quite good at lobbying for things that he felt would be of interest to his taxpayers. He knew how to talk to those folks."

West Kelowna mayor, Doug Findlater, sat across the table from Dinwoodie on the Westside Governance Committee for four years.

After the region voted to incorporate in 2007, Findlater served as Dinwoodie's alternate on the regional board for six months before elections were held.

"Aaron did a lot of good for this area despite his problems. He was an effective Regional District Director for this area," said Findlater.

"He was very good at getting access to grants for us for infrastructure. That's one of the advantages of being president of the UBCM - you have access to those folks and committees that allocate the funds."

Dinwoodie was also instrumental in a change of governance which saw the westside go from two separate regions with its own area director to one region represented by three directors.

Since losing a bid to recapture his regional seat in 2011 Dinwoodie had returned to private business and spent a lot of time in the Philippines.

Dinwoodie's daughters Lauren and Allison say their father will be missed dearly and they will provide funeral information when it is available.