About Gerry...
Gerry was born in the upstairs apartment of the Crystal Dairy on Killaly St in Port Colborne. Soon after he was born there was a parade in town to celebrate the end of the war. His older sister Jeanne, not knowing why there was a parade, assumed there must have been something special about this kid for the town to have a celebration for him. And so began Gerry's journey...
When he was 13 he was sent to the seminary in Quebec. Needless to say, that life didn't stick. A restless spirit, he lived by his own rules. He also broke a few rules along the way, often from the back of his motorcycle or behind the wheel of his car. One morning he asked a girl walking to school, if she and her friend wanted a ride. Elida and her friend got into the back of his Parisienne and the rest, as they say, is history.
Gerry was known to many friends as Squirt, a nickname from childhood. He had a big heart and loved to have a good time with his family and friends.
His family was his anchor in the wind. He was an adventurer and always looked for new challenges. He learned to sail and restored a sailboat called the Gusto. The Gusto lived up to her name, surviving a tornado and a near escape in rough seas with his family aboard.
Gerry enjoyed water skiing and downhill skiing with his family. He had a particular love for tennis, winning the local club championship. He rode thousands of kilometers on his bicycle and competed in the Lake to Lake bike race in Niagara for many years. He never tired of trying new things, pushing them to whatever extreme that he could.
He worked hard and spent 40 years at Atlas Specialty Steels in Welland, retiring at 58. His passion however, was the outdoors, hunting, fishing and canoeing. This was where he was truly at home. He paddled rivers from Ontario to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. He introduced his boys, nephew and niece to canoeing, and joined friends on the river. The most epic river journey being with Dan, ending at the Arctic circle.
He spent his entire life enjoying hunts with his friends and his boys. Some of his most cherished times were the weeks spent at the moose camp. Each hunt is a dear memory where stories were told, whiskey was drank and where we reminisced, learning more about each other. He was lucky enough to share his final hunts with his grandson.
For Gerry, life and love required participation, not observation. He challenged himself and that brought him joy.
His family will carry that ethos with them always. They will remember his strength in times of struggle, his courage in times of fear, and his joy in times of celebration.