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Gary Sawyer passed away peacefully on December 30th, 2015 in Vancouver after a brief illness with his family by his side. Gary is survived by his loving and devoted wife Kathy, his 3 sons Jeff, Brian (Colleen) and Danny (Shawna), and 3 grandsons Kobe, Ryland and Kelan. Also survived and never forgotten by his brother Steve (Claudette) Sawyer and his sister Wendy (Lou) Lopez, including many nieces, nephews and cousins. Pre deceased and reunited with his parents Ron and Helen Sawyer.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, December 1950, he moved to Nelson BC with his family in 1962 where his father opened an architectural firm. Gary and Kathy met and fell in love in high school and were married in 1972. Shortly after, they moved to Kamloops for 5 years, where Gary camped and fished every lake imaginable, before moving back to Nelson where he owned and operated a courier company.

Gary loved and was blessed to live in the Kootenays. His favourite past times were hiking in the Valhalla Mountains & Kokanee Glacier Park with his brother Steve and best friends Bob and John, mountain biking with good friends, huckleberry picking, gardening and beach combing for arrowheads and other native artifacts along the scenic shorelines. Summer’s were spent at the family cabin in Queen’s Bay, north of Nelson on Kootenay Lake, where he loved to design and build rock works, collect drift wood art, and frequent the hotsprings at Ainsworth. Winters were spent at Whitewater Ski hill with the kids, cross country skiing the old rail lines with his dog Lobo, whilst spring kept the family busy at numerous soccer tournaments.

Gary and Kathy moved to Sidney in 2003 where Gary worked at the 3rd St. Cafe until his passing. He was a devoted husband, father, and had many friends, and will be sadly missed. He was a great man on many levels, inspirational in many ways, and open minded beyond measure… His wisdom, compassion, and sense of humour to name a few, will never be forgotten. Where there is light there is life. A celebration of Gary's life will be held in the summer at the lake for family and friends.

Donations may be made in his memory to the Leukemia Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Vancouver General Hospital.