Husband to wife Jorunn as well as Father, Grandfather(Papa) and "Skipper" of our family left us on Wednesday September 30th. He breathed his last with the comfort of his family by his side. We are sad to see him go from this earth but grateful he is with our God and Father free from the frailties & limitations of his earthly body.
Gary was born to Anne & Harold Hampton on October 7th, 1945 in Prince Rupert BC. Gary was the middle child with an older sister Leslie and younger sister Maureen. Gary worked in Prince Rupert for various enterprises during his younger years including the BC packers Ice Plant and Malkins.
Gary married the love of his life Jorunn on September 9th 1966 and proceeded to move his young family from Prince Rupert to Usk BC, where they had made a cabin in the woods complete with its own powerhouse and small dam for water supply.
During this time Gary worked for the CNR out of the Usk station and also worked on his Heavy Duty mechanics Pre-Apprenticeship training at NWCC resulting in being recruited by Finning Tractor(now Finning International).
Gary completed his apprenticeship training with Finning and went on to a very eventful and successful career as a field service mechanic working at many remote areas of the Northwest including Cassiar, Stewart and as well as many coastal areas including the Queen Charlotte islands(Haida Gwaii now) and even as far away as Whitehorse in the Yukon.
Gary often spoke of the spectacular scenery of this rugged part of the world as well as the many "close calls" accessing these remote areas by truck, boat, helicopter and float plane. Gary was known to his customers as a "go to guy" who cared about getting a machine up and running as quickly as possible so the equipment "downtime" was kept to a minimum.
The work pace of a field mechanic and a serious work injury resulted in Gary having to go into early retirement from the job and people he loved in 2001, however even in this phase of life he barely slowed down.
One of the reasons for not slowing down was Gary's passion for his boat the M.V. Joyful a 37 foot, Bill Garden design trawler configuration. Gary loved cruising the waters of the North Coast fishing and sightseeing to many historical points up and down the BC coast with friends and family.
Gary also liked returning to port at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club and spinning yarns about the big one that got away over "tea". We are truly grateful for the countless wonderful memories of "Skipper" and our many seaborn adventures, thanks Skipper it was beyond extraordinary.....many a story has been, and will be shared of the adventures on the Joyful for years to come by many of your "crews" and for that we are again so very grateful that you shared your passion with all of us.
Gary leaves behind his wife of 54 years Jorunn, his three son's Allen, Troy and Nathan(Theena), sister's Leslie(Peter) and Maureen, grandchildren Stefany, Alyssa, Ethen and Kaitlyn, mother in law Randi, sister in law's Rannveig(Don) and Gunvor(Gary), as well as numerous aunts/uncles nieces and nephews.
Gary was pre deceased by his father Harold(1983) and mother Anne(2001), father in Law Bjarne (2004) as well as his brother in law Murray(1982).
Gary lived the last three years of his life at Terrace View Lodge and we as a family are eternally grateful to all the staff who helped care for Gary when he needed it most, often times going the extra mile to a demanding "Skipper" with midnight hotdogs and so much more.
To the staff at Terrace View and Dr. Dhillan we thank you for your kindness & compassion in caring for Gary, you are amazing & we cannot truly thank you enough.
Additionally, we would like to thank Dr. Geoff Appleton for his many years of care for Gary as his family doctor, navigating Gary thru increased health and disability issues as they came up in the "golden years" of life and as well for being a friend to Skipper on the dock in Rupert sharing a love of boating and the sea.......thank you so much for everything over the years, it was and is truly appreciated.
Skipper, we will all miss you so very very much but we have so many stories to carry us thru....yes the stories.....oh the ocean of stories......the Man... the Myth... the Legend .....that will always be with us.....thank you for being you, imperfect like us all but amazing just the same......love all of us.
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