Ronald Edward Gaines

Ronald Edward Gaines was born on June 20, 1929 at Grace Hospital in Vancouver, BC to Edward Gaines (1898 - 1978) and Winifred Gaines (née Black) (1906 - 1992). Ron was also pre-deceased by his younger brother, Kenny.

Ron attended school in East Vancouver - MacDonald Elementary, then Templeton Junior High School, and finally the Grandview High School of Commerce in East Vancouver, which trained students in office skills. Upon graduation he began working at MSA (one of the two predecessor organizations to Pacific Blue Cross). For the next 45 years Ron worked his way around the company, starting as a clerk and later finding his niche in sales and marketing, often traveling the province pursuing new business groups for the company. Ron’s dedication and passion for his work was evident to his last days, as he often proudly shared stories of the company, and particularly its people, that comprised such an important part of his life.

At Templeton Junior High, Ron met his future wife, Janina (Jenny) Fedorowski. They were married in 1950. As a young married couple, Ron and Jenny first lived in Vancouver, but soon moved to North Vancouver, first on Mahon and then in the mid-60’s building their own house on Cloverley. While Ron was a businessman, he was also talented with the tools and enjoyed building. They lived at their house on Cloverley until 2005 when they purchased a condo in Deep Cove, which is where Ron resided until his passing.

In 1951 Ron and Jenny - both avid skiers - started building a cabin on Mt. Seymour. The first supporting log was placed into the ground on their first wedding anniversary. All of the material and tools for the cabin had to be hauled up on foot and it was hard work. Trees for lumber were felled where they stood, and watching Jenny work as hard as any man there, Ron proudly thought to himself “She’s a keeper.”

Their first child, Lynda, was born in 1952 and Terry followed soon after in 1954. The children were frequent visitors to the cabin as well, learning to ski at an early age. As the children grew up and developed other interests, the cabin fell into disuse by the mid 60’s. However, the memories of building it and spending time there over the years with his friends and family were with Ron to his last days and he loved to recount them to his granddaughters and great-grandsons.

Ron and Jenny enjoyed many years of skiing, particularly at Hemlock where in the 1970’s and 1980’s they owned a condo overlooking the mountain. They also loved to travel to hot destinations, particularly Mexico and Hawaii.

After Ron retired in 1995 he and Jenny purchased a trailer which they kept at a trailer park in Winfield. For the following ten years they spent every summer there, zipping around the park in their golf cart, fixing up and personalizing their own lot, and of course lots of socializing with the friends they had made.

He was called Ron by many, Mr. Gaines by some; he was called Dad, Grandpa, Papa, and even The Great One, a familial term of endearment. He lived independently with his wife until November 22, 2020 when he had a bad fall and had to go to the hospital.

His family remembers him as a man of pride, of dignity; his family’s rock, it’s cornerstone. Every Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving was made more special with him at the centre, as he marveled aloud at the family he and Jenny had created. He never forgot a birthday, and was known for his love of puns, of plays on words. It is very possible he was the originator of the “dad joke,” that’s how groaningly unfunny some of them were, yet still never failing to make you laugh. He loved the birds that graced their patio garden, he loved his beer, he loved his cookies. How he loved to change around their indoor and outdoor knick-knacks and decor, creating stories out of the new scene, and delighting in bringing it to your attention when you visited. He had a fantastic smile to go with his warm and generous spirit, and took care each day to dress and look his best regardless of whether he expected a visitor or not.

Rest In Peace, you will not be forgotten.

Ron is survived by his wife, Janina (Jenny), and by his daughter Lynda, son Terry, son-in-law Randel, granddaughters Amanda, Lora, Nicole, and Natalie, and by his grandsons Derek and Samuel.