Douglas Clayton Battram of Mathews, passed away on Sunday, March 17, 2013.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at Foster-Faulkner Funeral Home, Mathews, conducted by the Rev. Donald Ambrose.

Doug was born Sept. 21, 1928, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, to Judson Clayford and Jean Wilhelmine Battram.

He learned to play piano at age 8, and in his youth, studied piano at the University of Toronto’s Toronto Conservatory of Music, and then later continued his studies with a private piano teacher.

In the States, Doug served in the U.S. Air Force and then worked for many years in Gaithersburg, Maryland, as a consultant for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, from which he retired.

He has lived on the East River at Cardinal for the past 20 years, where he enjoyed gardening, growing tomatoes, and working in the yard, but his greatest love was his music and his baby grand piano. He enjoyed playing classics and popular tunes every evening, and entertaining family and friends with songs on birthdays and other special occasions.

Doug is survived by his best friend Greti K. Monroe of Cardinal, and her family who considered Doug to be a member of the family, including her son Michael and wife Lisa Monroe of Hayes; and grandchildren Mark and Eric Monroe, and their mother Lisa Oliver Monroe, all of Richmond.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent the Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 723, Mathews, Va. 23109 or the Mathews Art Gallery, P.O. Box 973, Mathews, Va. 23109.