George passed away on the morning of June 17, 2015 after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Predeceased by his parents Alfred and Isobel Prothero, George is survived by his wife of 44 years, Wendy Prothero; son, David; daughters, Adrienne (Gregg) Moore, Lisa (Bruce) Hoskins; grandchildren, Acacia & Elliot Moore, Freya & Josie Hoskins; brothers, Jack (Joyce) Prothero, Frank (Nancy) Prothero, sister-in-law Linda King, many, many wonderful nieces and nephews; and his family in the United States, England, Switzerland and Wales.
George was born in Toronto moving to Port Stanley, Ontario at the age of 5 where he spent his childhood and then on to St. Thomas, Ontario where he attended St. Thomas Collegiate Institute.
George was very active in Army Cadets throughout his schooling and received numerous awards for marksmanship. Upon graduation, George attended the University of Western Ontario with his two brothers where he received an Honours Degree in Geography. George then taught for two years in Ridgetown, Ontario before spending four years teaching with the Department of National Defence in Metz, France during which time he travelled extensively in Europe. In 1969, George came out west with his parents to teach at Howe Sound Senior Secondary in Squamish, British Columbia. He met and married Wendy in 1971 and two years later successfully convinced her to go farming in the Comox Valley. For 25 years George and Wendy lived at 2012 Anderton Road, raising three children and turning the vegetable farm into a successful business – Anderton Road Nursery.
Throughout his life George enjoyed a great love for the outdoors – skiing, hiking, fishing, canoeing camping, sailing, tennis, golf and cycling were among his favourite things to do. In 1996 George and Wendy retired and bought a sailboat with which they had many adventures. George had many wonderful friends in the Comox Valley who he met through farming, playing sports and volunteering with various organizations such as the Comox Valley Farmers Institute, Cape Lazo Power and Sail Squadron and the Brooklyn Creek Streamkeepers. He had a gentle personality, wonderful sense of humour, he was thoughtful of others, congenial and optimistic and will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
The family would like to thank all of the people who cared for George during this journey particularly Dr. David Musgrave, Dr. Peter Gee, Dr. Glen Kisman, UBC Movement and Disorder Clinic, Christine MacIntosh, The Medicine Shoppe, Comox Valley Parkinson’s Support Group, Island Health caregivers and Nurses and staff at the Comox Valley Seniors Village. A special thanks to all of our family and the many dear friends who have given us comfort and support now and over many years.
A Celebration for George will be held at D’Esterre House at 1801 Beaufort Avenue in Comox on Saturday, July 4th from 2:30-4:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in honour of George to the Parkinsons Society of Canada (www.parkinsons.ca) or a nature sustaining charity of your choice.
To send a condolence to the family please visit www.yatesfuneral.ca
YATES FUNERAL SERVICE & CREMATORIUM
(1.877.264.3848) in care of arrangements.