Shayne Earl Courtright

Shayne was many things to many people; a son, a brother, an uncle, a nephew, a cousin, a lover and a friend. He was also a fierce competitor, a performer, an adventurer and a thrill seeker. He was a par-glider pilot; he did 96 sky dives, 3 hours in a Wind Tunnel and had 19 student hours as a Helicopter Pilot in Australia.

Shayne grew up in Abbotsford, BC and fell passionately in love with gymnastics at the age of 10. Over the next nine years, he trained and competed in Japan, Germany, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand and many states in the US and all over Canada. He met with great success and represented Team BC at both the Western and Canadian Gymnastics Championships. He stayed on the National Team for five years, training under the Olympic Coach, Mitsugu Ikeda while maintaining an Honours Standing in High School at Yale Secondary. As an Olympic Hopeful, he received the Petro Can Olympic Torch Scholarship. He broke his hand just before World's, which was the qualifying event and was unable to go the Olympics, which broke his heart as he had worked so hard. Shayne remembers this time at Twisters as one of the happiest times of his life.

In 1996, Shayne helped create and performed acrobatics in 'Zero Gravity Circus', production: "Ignite", a 45 minute acrobatic Circus Show at a Vancouver nightclub. In 1996 performed basic acrobatics for a Citroen Automobile Commercial

In 1998, Shayne began a remarkable journey with the Cirque du Soleil, in a touring production called "Quidam", where he spent eight amazing years. He started by playing a principal character, 'Boom Boom La Mort' and performing in two house-troupe acts, a group climbing rope act and a group choreographed skipping rope act, and he also played a few other characters along the way. Uncomfortable with the disparity in pay and workload amongst the performers, Shayne set out to find a niche. He found the German Wheel. He trained after shows and on dark days for two years without a coach and eventually, in three years time he was the opening solo act of Quidam with The German Wheel. He helped promote the show by doing his act for special events (Queen's Birthday), live TV and various local public performances. He played to 34 major cities and did over 3000 live shows. In 1999, he performed during the filming of Cirque du Soleil's production of Quidam. In 2003, he received a prestigious recognition award for 5 years of continuous service, which was highly recognized in a touring show.

With an uncompromising smile and a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Shayne could light up a room. His quiet sense of humour and his timely delivery were a source of entertainment for many over the years. A big, grand and amazing life is what Shayne wanted and that is exactly what he lived – a larger than life adventure of epic proportions. He hit the ground running from a young age and made sure that he filled his life full of love, family, friendship and experiences of which many only dream. Shayne lived his life to the fullest at every opportunity and although he met with challenges along the way, he soaked up everything his life had to offer him. He was ready, eager and willing to begin a new journey, a fresh start.

Recently he became very interested in Sacred Geometry and Integral Life. Written on his wall the they following quotation: "God has created the universe after geometric and harmonic principles; to seek these principles was therefore to seek and worship God."

Shayne will be sadly missed by his parents: Polly Di Clemente/Luigi, Barry Courtright/Carolyn, his sister Tanya Reitz/Chris, his nieces and nephews; Phoebe, Leah, Jared, Magdalene, Claire, Markus, Joel, Stephen, Ethan. He will also be missed by his cousins Holly & David Courtright, his cousins Nadya and Jim Sofonoff, his Aunt Lorna Sofonoff, his Uncle Jim (Helene) Courtright, his Aunt Lois Courtright as well as his entire extended family and friends.

Viewing will be at Henderson Funeral home, Marshall Road, Abbotsford, BC on Saturday, October 17, 2015 from 6 pm to 8 pm. The Service will be at 2 pm on Sunday, October 18, 2015 with a viewing prior. Refreshments will be served.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Salvation Army in Abbotsford, BC, Sacred Geometry, Integral Life or the Abbotsford Food Bank.

Arrangements under the direction of Henderson's Fraser Valley Funeral Home, Abbotsford, BC.