Len Grinnell, a former Mountie and the husband of a Langley City mayor, died Tuesday.
He was involved in various community efforts, including being the parade marshall of the annual City’s summer parade.
At the age of 20, he entered the RCMP depot and served in various one-person detachments around B.C. Grinnell transferred to the Security Service of the RCMP in Ottawa in 1969. In 1972 he returned to B.C. working in the detachments of Surrey (1972-85), Vancouver (1985 to 87), North Vancouver (1987 to 93), and Langley (1993 to 2000).
Grinnell was an Emergency Response Team lead for 10 years, firearms and sniper instructor and worked with many members of foreign services. He was awarded the RCMP Long Service Medal, with a gold bar for 30 years of service.
His wife is former mayor Marlene Grinnell. They met during the Doukhobor trials in the early ’60s. After a long-distance courtship, they married on Aug. 14, 1965. Marlene was the City of Langley mayor for 12 years and Len was fond of saying she, “was the best mayor we ever had,” according to the family obituary.
Len is survived by his wife; two children, Grant and Cheryl Lynn.