Founding family donates temporary parkland in West Kelowna

One of the founding families of the Westside is carrying on its legacy by dedicating family land in Rose Valley for temporary public park use.

The Mar/Marr family’s B.C. history began in the early 1920s in Revelstoke before moving to Kelowna in the later part of the decade. The family ran the Golden Pheasant Restaurant on Bernard Avenue. During the Great Depression, the Golden Pheasant Restaurant provided free soup after closing hours to those in need.

The Mar family in Westbank, circa 1950 Left to right – Jok (younger brother to Fee), Quentin (Fee’s son), Fee (older brother to Jok), May (Jok’s daughter) and Henry (Fee’s son). (Submitted photo/City of West Kelowna)

In the 1950s, Fee and Jok purchased a homestead of approximately 400 acres on the Westside in the area that is now known as Rose Valley. They grew asparagus, had a variety of fruit trees and raised domestic animals and birds. You can still see a few fruit trees and asparagus on the remaining land, which is the undeveloped parcel of approximately 25 acres, east of Mar Jok Elementary School. The school itself is named in honour and remembrance of Jok.

When farming stopped on the land, the family sold the majority of it for residential development and donations to the community. Fee’s youngest son, Quentin, retained the remaining land, which he allowed the community to use and enjoy.

Mar (Marr) Fee and his wife Quing Shen on the Westbank farm, circa 1960. (Submitted photo/City of West Kelowna)

Quentin was very active in a variety of sports and outdoor recreation and he envisioned the land would always be used for sports and recreation that would benefit the community’s health and wellness, and provide athletic activities/opportunities for youth. Since Quentin’s passing, his wife Ann and their family have honoured his dream by recently selling a portion of the remaining Marr property to the City of West Kelowna for soccer fields and donated land for a walking/bicycling trail.

Seeing the community’s enjoyment of the land, the Marr family approached the city to initiate a collaborative partnership towards the establishment of a temporary off-leash dog park and bicycling, jogging and walking area. This park combines undeveloped lands, which the Marr family and the City of West Kelowna own.

The parkland is located between McDougall and Westlake Roads, south of Rosewood Drive. It was important to the Marr family to also have a wellness/play area for our much-loved, four-legged family members.

“The Marr family has a long history of giving back to this community and this is no exception,” Mayor Gord Milsom said. “Ensuring this section of their family homestead will remain a piece of West Kelowna’s history is a wonderful tribute to a community they have called home for decades. Allowing the public to temporarily use this land creates a large connected park space for walking dogs, sports, biking and more. It is an exceptional way to give back for years to come and carry on the family legacy.”

“The Marr family is pleased to continue our longstanding support and contribution to the Rose Valley community and the City of West Kelowna, through this interim land use partnership with the city, for the residents and their pets to enjoy,” says Quentin’s son Adrian Marr.