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April 30, 1932 - October 1, 2020
Gerald Hugh Squires (Gerry, as he was known to everyone), passed peacefully of heart failure on October 1, 2020 at the age of 88 with his son Andrew and daughter-in-law Veronika by his side at the North Island Hospital in Courtenay, B.C. He grew up in Chingford, England and as a young man he studied at the Poplar Technical College for Marine Engineers in London.
In July 1953, he joined the China Navigation Company, Ltd. He worked on several vessels - the S.S. Shengking, S.S. Pakhoi, M.V. Changsha and the M.V. Yochow among others and ended his career at sea in September 1959.
On July 2, 1959 he married Iye (Eiko) Koshizuka in Yokohama, Japan. They resided in England until May 1965, when Gerald, his wife Eiko, and young daughter Jacqueline emigrated to Canada. His son Andrew was born in Oakville, Ontario.
Gerald worked at Ford Motor Works in Oakville, then at a Metal Prefabricating Plant (Head of Quality Control) before joining the Royal Insurance Company in 1967 as a Boiler & Machinery Inspector. In 1968 he was transferred to Calgary and then to Edmonton in 1971 where he resided with his family until retiring in 1992 after 25 years of service.
In October of that year, Gerald and Eiko moved to Courtenay,B.C. He always had a great love of the sea and wanted to be close to it.
Gerald enjoyed meeting and talking to people. He had a great sense of humour and was a man of many interests and talents, one of which was building model ships. He was once interviewed by the Comox Valley Record and a picture of his RC model ship, the Stella Solaris, a 10ft replica of a cruise ship that he and Eiko travelled on in the Mediterranean was featured in the newspaper.
Gerald had a keen interest in ancient Egypt and early explorations and read voluminously on these topics. He had memorable times coaching soccer, camping, sailing, flying RC airplanes with his son, fishing and gardening. His friends dubbed him with the title "The Tomato King" for his notable crop yield.
He and Eiko travelled the world. Their last trip together was a wonderful trip to Newfoundland to see their good friend Troy.
Gerald was predeceased by the love of his life, his wife Eiko. He is survived by his daughter Jacqueline, son Andrew, son-in law Leo, daughter-in-law Veronika, and grandchildren - Rory, Cassandra, Nicole and Jess.
He will be deeply missed by his family, many dear friends, and his two favourite pups - his sweetheart Rosie (pictured) and the fluffy Gerald Jr. Our family would like to extend our thanks to the hospital staff and to his very supportive friends & neighbours, esp. Dave and Kathy Ward.


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