Garry Nohr

With love, sadness, and a profound sense of loss, the family of Garry Nohr commemorates his passing, this summer, at Vancouver General Hospital.

Garry was born in Vancouver and attended Gladstone Secondary School. After serving ten years in the Canadian Navy, he earned a BEd in secondary education from the University of Victoria (1976) and later received an honours MA from Gonzaga University (1981). He taught math in BC schools in Lytton, Midway, and Vernon, before moving on to administrative positions in Fort Nelson, BC; Vegreville, AB; Whitehorse, YT; and Maple Ridge, BC.

As an educator, Garry believed that a school was not just a building for formal education, but a place where young people gained experiences that would shape the rest of their lives. The high point of his education career was his time as principal of F. H. Collins Secondary School in Whitehorse (1991 – 1998), where he oversaw the introduction of experiential programs in such diverse areas as outdoor skills; computer science; and music, art, and drama — the latter program, known as MAD, was praised, with Garry’s role acknowledged, in the Yukon Legislative Assembly (Hansard, 34th Leg, 2nd Sess, No 110, 5 Nov 2018).

After retiring from education administration and moving to the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD), Garry became the elected Director of Halfmoon Bay from 2005 to 2018 and served concurrently as Chair of the SCRD Board from 2010 to 2017. He also held the positions of Chair of the Corporate and Administrative Services Committee and Infrastructure Services Committee, as well as Vice-Chair of the Community Services Committee and Sunshine Coast Regional Hospital District Board.

“I am committed to serving the community and to helping shape it into what I know it can become,” he said in 2013 when he was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for distinguished community service (SCRD News Release, March 4, 2013).

Alongside his working life, Garry was a dedicated Rotarian, high school basketball coach, and enthusiastic golfer who served on three golf course executive boards. At the time of his death, he was a long-standing member of the Sechelt Library Board. As a number of friends and colleagues have observed, he left everywhere he went a better place. In his roles of educator, elected official, and community-minded individual, Garry’s motto was “I will listen.” It was a promise he kept to any and all who needed his help and insight.

Garry is survived by his wife, Patricia; his sons, Larry (Lisa) and Rick (Dolores), and their mother, Helena; his son, Mike (Kerrie), his daughter, Kim (Michael), and their mother, Dianne; as well as three grandchildren, Georgiana, Aiden, and Ava.

A celebration of Garry’s life, with fond memories shared, was held September 20, 2025, at the Blue Ocean Golf Club, Sechelt, BC. Those who wish to record further memories are encouraged to do so in the comments section provided.

— Written and submitted by Patricia Anderson (spouse)

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