On a shimmering, sunny west coast evening in early May, our beloved and adventurous Tony peacefully departed for his crossing over the waters, to rejoin his one true-love for life, Nora. Tony is survived by his three children Patrick (wife Marilyn, grandchildren Gregory and Erica), Pamela (former husband Jeff, grandchildren Trisha, Robin and Jackie), and Geoffrey (wife Beth, grandchildren Sydney and Benjamin), as well as his four great grandchildren, Raegan, CJ, Brooks and Dominic, and will be missed by so many more who crossed paths with him. Tony’s dear sisters Peggy and Rosalie will be waiting for him on the other side, and his younger brother Stanley Triggs will surely be keeping his generation’s flame alive for a few years longer.
Tony came from humble but strong English immigrant stock growing up near the pioneering lakeside town of Nelson, B.C., and although they went through some tough times, Tony and the family revelled in the bounties and joys of nature all around them, with frequent outings onto or into the lake, hiking the trails to forage for food or fun, and learning to ski on the mountains the “hard-way”. But the day that he met his teenage sweetheart Nora Gormley when swimming at Lakeside Park, changed everything for him as he set out to find his path in life as a man and a miner. After a brief stint in the Canadian Armed Forces prior to the end of WW II (fortunately no active duty), Tony safely returned to his home in the Kootenays before he set out again on the uncertain roads leading west.
Tony’s first stop was at the Mascot underground mine in Hedley, B.C. where he relished the hard but satisfying life of a hard-rock miner, and after completing the UBC Mining Engineering programme in the early 1950s, he continued on a career trajectory that no one could have predicted, including working on several mines in British Columbia, along with exploring and developing international mine projects around the world including the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Australia while working with Placer Development Ltd. as a 35-year employee. Later in life in his free-time, he enjoyed travelling the rest of the world with Nora so that they could see places other than mine sites. In the late 1960s when it became apparent that Dad was away from his family maybe a little too much while following his mining career, Nora, Pat, Pam and Geoff joined him in Makati, Manila for a period of time and all had some amazing experiences in south-east Asia as a result, with the “travel bug” being passed on to more than a few family members down the line (his grandchildren being the greatest travelers of us all).
Being avid boaters, Tony and Nora spent some of their retirement years enjoying cruise ship life around Europe and the south Pacific, however Tony was most happy when he was the skipper of his own ship, and he spent countless hours either puttering on his own sailboat “Mabuhay” and then powerboat “Nora T”, or dedicating volunteer time to his long-standing yacht club, the West Vancouver Yacht Club (past Commodore in 1998). But the fondest memories of Dad that we all have is when he was off-duty and relaxed spending quality time with his family, grandchildren and great grandchildren, while out hiking on the trails (with a grandkid in his backpack), in the water swimming and on the water boating (a family favorite thanks to him), or skiing in the mountains (the not so hard-way).
Tony ended up as a man-of-the-world that came from a small, isolated town in a hidden valley deep in the Selkirk mountains, and this is a testament to his adventurous spirit, courage, determination, ingenuity, love of life and partnership that he carried with him always, as well as the endless hard work that he put into everything he did on behalf of his family, friends and colleagues over the years. On our road-trips back to the Kootenays each summer, Dad would sing a song about “round the corner, and over the hill”, and now that you are gone Tony, we wish you farewell on your last journey as your spirit travels round the corner and over the hill, into the wilderness of the great beyond where you will rest in peace with your beloved Nora.
The family would like to graciously commend and thank the dedicated care-givers from Royalty Home Healthcare Service, especially Cora, Gloria and Joanie for offering their care, love, support and friendship during Tony’s final years at Amica Seniors Residence, West Vancouver (we will miss all the wonderful staff there), as well as the assistance of Hollyburn Funeral Home in making the end of life arrangements for Tony. Many thanks to Dr. Tesiorowski, Tony’s personal physician during his last phase of life, and all of the other wonderful health care providers that not only took care of Dad, but treated him with such respect as an elder over the years.
A Celebration of Life Ceremony for Tony will be held for family and friends, and will also be simulcast via weblink from the grounds of St. Catherine’s Anglican Church on the morning of Saturday, August 21, 2021 – 10:00 am. For those family and friends who would like to join us remotely, we will provide further details on the web link, etc. closer to the date. In lieu of sending flowers, please consider donating to Covenant House or another favorite charity of your choice on behalf of Tony, towards the aspects of his life that he cherished the most; the mountains, the ocean, his church and families/children.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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