Dr. A.B.L. (Brice) Whittles passed away peacefully on December 30, 2025.

Born in Wilkie, Saskatchewan during the Great Depression, Brice was raised in a world of dust storms where nothing was wasted and everything was earned. He carried that practical ingenuity to the Comox Valley, serving as the steady, protective anchor his sisters could always turn to.

His adulthood began with a spark at UBC while working amidst the busy rush of the student cafeteria, where he met his future wife Marie Holman, a dedicated student training to be a school teacher.

After training at U of T under plate tectonics legend J. Tuzo Wilson, Brice earned his Geophysics Ph.D. at UBC in 1964. His research used lead isotopes to interpret the Earth’s long memory, charting the evolution of the crust across deep time and seeing the history of a mountain inside a single specimen.

Post-thesis, he taught first as founding faculty leading the Math & Physics Dept. at Selkirk College and later Physics at BCIT before moving to Marie’s hometown, Nanaimo. In 1969, he became a foundational force at the newly opened Malaspina College. Brice personally retrofitted the Old Hospital into chemistry and physics labs. As the first Director of Technical Programs, he was the architect of the curriculum, establishing rigorous pathways for Island students in Earth Sciences and Engineering. His 1986 P.Eng designation stood as the capstone to a career of scientific intrigue.

Brice’s affinity for the natural world flourished through canoeing, camping, and Island explorations with the family. Always with Marie, whether in mixed doubles badminton or tending the garden, he remained the solid foundation of the family he adored.

Predeceased by his wife, Marie, and sister, Ora. Survived by sister, Waldyne; children, Brice, Marjorie, and Jack; grandsons, Chad, Craig, Kyle, and Xander; and great-granddaughters, Astrid and Alina.

Celebration of Life: Sands Funeral Chapel Nanaimo, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at 1:00 pm

• Date : 2025-12-30
• Location : Nanaimo