Garry Stewart STOCKFISH

STOCKFISH, Garry Stewart Garry Stockfish was born in Georgetown, ON, on September 1, 1962. He died in Brampton, ON, on March 9, 2019, at the age of 56, from complications of an infection.

His parents are Stewart (died 2005) and Barbara of Orangeville, ON. He was the youngest of five children: Bruce (Shana) of Ottawa, ON, Carol of Victoria, BC, Wendy (died 2014) and Glenn (Pauline) of Caledon, ON. Garry lived in Georgetown, Dorval, QC and Sault Ste. Marie, ON, before settling in the Greater Toronto Area in 1981.

He was only 18 in the Sault and preparing for a career as a pilot when he became a quadriplegic as a result of a diving accident. This tragedy dramatically altered Garry’s life, but did not define him. His effervescent approach to life, his sense of humour and his refusal to let his disability become an impediment to living his life to the fullest made him special to everyone. He was especially happy over the past year – Garry was devoted to Lisa, his live-in partner and love of his life – and he had also started a new career with Avex Flight Services. Aviation was in Garry’s blood and he loved to travel. He began working at Air Canada before his accident and continued for 36 years until he retired in 2017 as a manager. He generally kept in touch with, sat on boards of directors and worked to support doctors, nurses and others from Lyndhurst Hospital and the Canadian Paraplegic Association (now Spinal Cord Injury Ontario) for the rest of his life. He was married to Alexandra for ten years.

Garry was a wonderful son, brother, partner and friend. He received from us, yes, but he gave back much more. He never missed an opportunity to help a friend when he could. He was an inspiration and affirmed to us all that the human spirit can triumph over adversity. We are all better persons for having known him. What better legacy is there than that. Now we have memories.

Celebrating events was what mattered most to Garry, whether it was a family gathering, a BBQ with friends or a glass of scotch. So we will honour him with a celebration of his life – please come and share your memories with us on Saturday, May 4th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., at Carl’s Catering The Glen, 1857 Queen St. W., Brampton, ON.

If desired, condolences and memories can be shared online at basicfunerals.ca. If you wish to contribute to a cause that Garry would support, please make a donation “In Memory of Garry Stockfish” to either the Dr. Tator Spine Lab at Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation tgwhf.ca/tribute, or to Spinal Cord Injury Ontario sciontario.org/get-involved/make-a-donation/ways-to-give.