Edward (Ed) Pryor

Edward (Ed) Pryor born October 20, 1949 – deceased January 2, 2025.

Ed was born in Whitehorse on October 20, 1949, to Marlis and Ken Pryor. The family later relocated to Cassiar, BC when Ken had the contract to supply the town and mine with wood. Ed spent his childhood in Cassiar before being sent to Vancouver for post-secondary education.

Ed first stepped on a plane when he was 10 years old. Flying instantly became a passion, and when Ed was old enough to get his license, he built a career that would span over 40 years.  He was a mentor to many younger pilots over the decades and many turned into lifelong friends. Ed flew across the North from Yukon, NWT, Nunavut and Alaska. He flew varying disciplines, from float planes to bird dog for forest fires to medevacs. Medevacs is where the majority of Ed’s career was spent. Medevacs was a way to combine his love of flying with helping fellow northerners when they needed it most.

In his retirement, he loved to tell stories about life growing up in the North and he loved to travel, often spending time in Mexico or Hawaii. Ed inspired younger generations of pilots with stories of adverse conditions (“they were gentler times” he would often say) and the related successes. Ed will be missed by many friends he made throughout his life.

Left behind to carry on his stories are daughters Wendy (Brent) Eby and Kelsey Wiersma; grandchildren Kira (Shaun) Porter, Charley (Cameron) Smith-Schofield, Elisabeth, Lee and Lucas Wiersma. Dad was lucky to have met his first great -granddaughter Peri.

Ed is survived by his sister Charlotte (Bill) Mitchell of Delta, BC.

Ed will be deeply missed by his partner of almost 25 years, Lenore Calnan.

Ed was pre-deceased his father in 1967, mother in 1988 and by son in laws Bruce Schofield in 2001 and Dwight Wiersma in 2022.

There is a missing piece of our family that can never be replaced.

We are so thankful for the exceptional care that Dad received during his battles with cancer. Dr Savage, from BC Cancer, was with Ed from the start and through her expertise and knowledge, 10 years were added to Ed’s life.

We also would like to thank Dr Van Camp for his care, knowledge and management of Dad’s case in Whitehorse. Dad loved sharing stories of the north with a fellow northerner.

Thank you to the Cancer Care team at Whitehorse General Hospital. Each person played a role in giving Dad more time to enjoy life.

We also want to thank the nursing staff of Whitehorse General for their care and professionalism in Emerg, Medical and ICU units.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to BC Cancer, Lymphoid Cancer Research.