Gerald Terence Squire

Terry was born in the London Borough of Islington, UK. He was a war time baby moving from Islington to the countryside to avoid the WW2 London bombings. He moved to Canada in 1959 and after trying out Toronto and Winnipeg, ended up in Vancouver in 1960.

He was predeceased by Brigitte his wife of 43 years. Brigitte was the love of his life. They met in 1961 and when asked what it was about Brigette, Terry said it was that she picked him of all the eligible bachelors and that she was just so beautiful. He was a very lucky man. Terry proposed to Brigitte two weeks later. Through their lives together they lived in several Canadian cities including Edmonton, North Vancouver, Calgary, Guelph and West Vancouver. After the passing of Brigitte, Terry became friends and partnered with Antje Roomp.

Terry is survived by his Children Christopher (Sandra), Gordon and Karen and his Grandchildren Helene, Nathan and Andrew.

Terry had a successful 47-year career in the insurance sector retiring in 2002. He started with Royal Insurance in England and transferred to Canada. He served in many positions including underwriter and marketing manager. In 1979 he took a risk with investors to establish a new insurance company by re-founding the British Columbia Insurance Company. From this success, in 1984 he became Executive Vice President and COO of Sovereign General Insurance, then from 1993 to 2002 he was the President and CEO of Guelph based The Co-Operators Group. At retirement he became a member of several boards including the Cooperators group, CGI of Montreal and ICBC.

Terry was an avid supporter of the Arts, supporting the Vancouver Symphony with the Cooperators Group, and once he retired, he had a term as Board member of the Vancouver Bach Choir.

Terry will be greatly missed and was generous and kind to his Children and Grandchildren. He lived life to its fullest and loved travel. His last grand adventure was cruising to Hawaii doing what he dreamed and loved – to be on the ocean.

A funeral is planned at Capilano View Cemetery on Nov 10 at 1pm and Family and Friends look forward to a celebration of his life later in the afternoon.