Former Whistler mayor Ted Nebbeling dies

October 29, 2009

A former Whistler mayor and one of the people most often credited with having helped bring the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics to Whistler died this week.

Ted Nebbeling, who served as Whistler’s mayor from 1990 to 1996 and as a Member of Legislative Assembly for West Vancouver-Garibaldi from ’96 to 2005, passed away early Wednesday (Oct. 28) in Vancouver after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 65.
Nebbeling, who was born in Amsterdam and immigrated to Canada in 1977, is survived by his longtime partner and spouse Jan Holmberg, whom he married in 2003 shortly after same-sex marriage was legalized in B.C. At the time, Nebbeling was B.C.’s Minister of State for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and was thought to be the highest-ranking government official in the world to have married his same-sex partner.

Longtime friend Peter Alder on Wednesday praised Nebbeling as an energetic person whose contributions to Whistler were enormous.

“Our friendship lasted over many years,” Alder said of Nebbeling, who he first met in 1978 in Vancouver. “Ted is quite a person — full of energy and full of ideas. Sometimes he would shoot from the hip quite a bit, but he had a good heart, and was a very good person.”

Alder and his wife Trudy visited Nebbeling at a cancer treatment facility in Vancouver last week. During the visit, Nebbeling expressed optimism about his future but appeared weak and frail.

“He said, ‘I’m going to lick this thing,’ but you could see that a lot of his energy was just spent trying to survive,” Alder said.

Though he sometimes had disagreements with Nebbeling, Alder said their friendship stood the test of time.

“When you have good friends, you can disagree on some things. He was always willing to help everybody. He helped many, many people get started here in Whistler.

“Jan was the businessperson. Ted was the spokesperson and the one in the public. They made an excellent partnership.”

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, who named Nebbeling to his cabinet as Minister of State for the 2010 Olympics and Minister of State for Community Charter, said in a statement that Nebbeling “was instrumental in securing the 2010 Games for British Columbia and giving all British Columbians the gift of an event that will last in memory for generations.
“As one of the world’s first sitting cabinet ministers to marry a same-sex partner, Ted raised awareness of the important principles of equality and inclusion for all citizens.
“Ted will be truly missed by his friends, family and all British Columbians. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

Nebbeling, who moved to Whistler in 1978, was first elected to municipal council in 1986, serving for two, two-year terms until 1990, when he was elected mayor. He was re-elected to that post in 1993. After serving two terms as MLA, he again ran for mayor in 2005, but finished second in a six-person race to Whistler’s current mayor, Ken Melamed.

Bill Barratt, chief administrative officer for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, who served with Nebbeling in several capacities during Nebbeling’s time in office, said in a statement, “We were sorry to learn that Ted Nebbeling passed away today. Ted’s service and commitment to Whistler were significant.

“The Ted Nebbeling pedestrian bridge will remain as a lasting reminder of Ted’s commitment to our community. Our thoughts are with Ted’s friends and family.”
Mayor Melamed was en route to Greece on Wednesday to take part in the Olympic torch handover ceremony, and was unavailable to comment on Nebbeling’s passing.
Alder said a public memorial service is in the works, most likely in West Vancouver. Details had not been finalized by press time.