With heavy hearts we announce the passing of our beloved partner, father and grandfather Timothy Leonard Sadlier-Brown. Tim passed away peacefully and surrounded by loved ones on July 24, 2023 from melanoma at the Melville Hospice Home in Surrey, BC. He is survived by his partner Eileen Leathem, children Emily (Matthew), Nowell and Gillian, grandchildren Oliver and August and siblings Diane Miles and Mark Sadlier-Brown (Bev). Also remembering are Amy Leathem, Renie Sadlier-Brown, Karen Sadlier-Brown and Tim’s many nieces, nephews and extended family. Tim was predeceased by parents Nowell and Margery Sadlier-Brown and brother Peter Sadlier-Brown.
Tim was born on August 1, 1937 in Linden, Guyana and moved to Canada with his parents the following year. The war saw the family move several times, from Kamloops, to Vancouver, Cultus Lake, Victoria, and the Canadian Forces base in Chilliwack. After the war, the family relocated to Ottawa where Tim spent his junior high, high school and university years, receiving his B.Sc. Qualification in Geological Sciences from Carleton University in Ottawa in 1964.
Tim’s career as a professional geologist began with seasonal work in Ontario, Quebec, the NWT and BC. He soon moved his home base to Whitehorse, YT where he worked for several mining companies, spending much quality time in the bush and small towns of Northern BC and the Yukon. This area, and the friendships he made there, always remained dear to him. In the early 70s, he relocated to Vancouver and became a founding partner of the geological consulting firm Nevin Sadlier-Brown Goodbrand, an early innovator in geothermal energy exploration in BC. Tim’s expertise in this field is renowned– among his significant contributions are the discovery of the Meager Creek geothermal resource, pioneering the search for geothermal potential throughout Western North America, and the co-founding of the Canadian Geothermal Association.
While geoscience and natural resources remained his passion, Tim broadened his focus in the renewable energy field, and in the late 1980’s, he and his partners launched Summit Power Corp., one of the first “modern era” small hydroelectric developers in BC. Tim’s calm demeanor and guidance were pivotal in the company’s evolution, which included the development of three small hydro plants. These facilities continue to supply clean, renewable energy to the B.C. electrical grid.
In 1978, Tim, with wife Renie, settled in North Vancouver, where his three children were born. A devoted father, he was a regular at weekend soccer and hockey games, concerts and piano recitals. The family enjoyed travels to Palm Springs and many road trips to visit family in the Shuswap and Okanagan. Tim continued to reside in North Vancouver until his retirement from full time work in the late 2010s. With his partner Eileen he moved to White Rock in 2019 where he continued to enjoy the things he loved– exploring (“bumbering”), keeping astride world events, visiting family and close friends in North Van and Victoria, as well as quieter pleasures– a good cup of coffee and a crossword.
Tim pursued his varied interests with the same curiosity and innovativeness that defined his work. He was a pilot, learning to fly on Cessna 150s in his Yukon days. He was a photographer who, as a university student, turned his bathroom into a darkroom. He was an artist with a passion for painting his photographs of landscapes and the people he loved. He spent many an evening on his deck, looking through a telescope and teaching his children the constellations. He had a seemingly photographic memory for places and directions. He was an avid gardener who always tended a plot and saved seeds from year to year. A gifted story-teller, he could hold a room, or dinner table, rapt with tales of his adventures in Northern BC, the Yukon, Nevada, California and Mexico. We will miss his stories, his sense of humour (which was intact till the end), his ability to debate politics without (we think) causing offence, his infinite curiosity about the way things work, his endless knowledge of the natural world and his equally easy ability to pass it on, and above all his kindness and ability to charm anyone he met– without even trying.
Tim’s family thanks the nurses, doctors and staff at Peace Arch Hospital and Melville Hospice for the high level of compassionate care he received and for the time they made for ensuring his family’s questions were answered. Tim was an avid supporter of charities; his family suggests donations to the BC Cancer Foundation (https://bccancerfoundation.com), the Peace Arch Hospice Society (https://www.peacearchhospice.org) or a charity of your choice.
A celebration of Tim’s life will be held September 23 in North Vancouver. Please contact Emily for details: [email protected].
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