'We are such stuff as dreams are made on,
and our little life is rounded with a sleep'
Shakespeare, The Tempest
Herbert Gerald Stephenson passed away unexpectedly on Friday October 25 at his home in Canmore at the age of 88. He was predeceased by his wife of 62 years, Avice, and survived by his daughter, Glennis, and his sister, Jennifer.
Gerry was born in London, England, on 4 August 1931. His parents were from the north and returned there, moving to Cumberland when he was a few months old. He was the eldest of three siblings. His younger brother, Harry, was lost in the Himalayas while descending Batura Muztagh in 1959, and the youngest, his sister Jennifer, now lives in Devon with her husband, John.
Gerry attended Workington Grammar School where he first met his future wife, Avice, then went on to study engineering at the University of Nottingham. He worked in the British coal industry from 1952 – 1960, spending three years at the coal face, then moving up through the ranks to undermanager. In 1954 he married Avice and in 1955 Glennis was born. At the age of 28, Gerry took responsibility for the operation of a large coal company in Northwest India and stayed there until 1965. He retained a great affection for the country and people throughout his life. As Senior Mining Engineer for Powell Duffryn, he then spent three years working in five different countries. When the company wanted to send him to the Sinai desert, he refused and was fired, something he always claimed was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Gerry had always wanted to go to Western Canada and so he hopped on a plane for an interview for the job of chief engineer of Canmore Mines. If the Rockies were the lure, for Gerry, an avid fisherman, it was the Bow River, the mayflies and the rising trout that reeled him in. Gerry and Avice moved to Canmore in 1968. At the time, Canmore had a population of about 1400, mostly dependent on Canmore Mines Ltd. It was a friendly and happy place, and, with the exception of some brief failed attempts to retire in BC which made them both miserable, they spent the rest of their lives here.
Gerry left Canmore Mines in 1974. He first established his own mining consulting firm and then was one of the founding partners of Norwest, becoming president and later chair of this international consulting firm in mining and energy development. He served as advisor to AOSTRA and was central in developing SAGD technology, something that has had a hugely beneficial impact, both economically and environmentally, on the province of Alberta.
When Avice was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Gerry cared for her at home for seven years. It was at this point that his interest in gardening developed: he created a beautiful English garden complete with pond, waterfall and goldfish in which Avice could sit and still enjoy the outdoors even when confined to a wheelchair. When Avice moved into Golden Eagle View in 2012, Gerry was a constant presence, continuing to take an active part in Avice's care until her death in 2016.
He was a man of many interests, from opera to the Goons, from rugby to theatre. He particularly loved Shakespeare, and for many years made an annual trip to the Stratford Festival in London, Ontario.
I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter. Winston Churchill
Gerry was also a huge fan of Churchill and Gandhi and you could count on anything he wrote to be peppered with quotations from his heroes. He loved to read about travel and India and the empire. He was an accomplished writer and participated as script writer or narrator in a number of videos, including Band of Brothers, a history of coal mining in the Bow Valley.
He loved conversation and entertaining and made a great Lancashire hotpot. He loved talking with people and connected with people of all ages, from the very old to the very young. He was a storyteller and a teacher, and he was a good and caring listener, too, making anyone he was with feel like their concerns were his foremost priority.
I like this place, / And willingly could waste my time in it
Shakespeare, As You Like It
Gerry travelled widely in his life, but his heart was always in Canmore, and he was concerned to keep the memory of Canmore's past alive through his Mining History tours for the museum and the talks he started giving to local school children. Equally strong was his desire to protect Canmore from overdevelopment and maintain its natural beauty for the future. He remained faithful to his principles, frequently quoting Polonius in Hamlet:
'To thine own self be true.'
Betrayal of principles was anathema to Gerry.
When he first arrived in Canmore, Gerry restored a kilometre of creek and reclaimed about 45 hectares of land severely damaged by mining, creating gently sloping hills planted with grasses and trees and a valley with a stream and ponds. The final touch was a lake with beaches and cliffs. The area was then further enhanced by the town, local volunteers and the Rocky Mountain Heritage Trust. This is doubtless his most important legacy - Quarry Lake Park - something he was passionate about preserving in as natural a state as possible for future generations.
And, of course, Gerry was from a very early age a passionate fisherman. In the early Canmore days, there were memorable treks up to Marvel Lake. More recently, he enjoyed fishing the Highwood as often as possible and looked forward to his annual fishing holiday in New Zealand: at the time he passed, he had already booked for February 2020.
His perspective on life is perhaps best summed up in some lines he loved from Robert Traver's
"The Testament of a Fisherman"
I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds are found which are invariably ugly. ... Because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience. Because I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip.
Gerry didn't waste one single minute of the trip. His boundless energy and enthusiasm for life never faltered.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Gerry's name to the Canmore
and Area Healthcare Foundation for the
"Feels like Home"
project at
Golden Eagle View.
There was a celebration of Gerry's life on Monday, 11 November 2019
at the Malcolm Hotel in Canmore.
Services provided by Russ Reynolds and Bow River Funeral Service.
To order
memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Gerry Stephenson, please visit our
flower store.
