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It is with great sadness that we announce that Garth, our loving husband and father passed away quietly on April 9, 2012 in Nelson, B.C.after a long struggle with front temporal lobe degeneration.


Born in Trail, B.C. on January 4, 1942 to Amy and Harry Collins, Garth was the eldest of 8 children.

He attended elementary school in Fruitvale and J.L. Crowe High School in Trail. Garth graduated with a B.Sc. in Forestry at the University of British Columbia. After working in Victoria and Duncan BC as a forestry consultant, Garth returned to the Kootenays and taught forestry at Selkirk College in Castlegar for over 25 years.


He was a quiet, patient man who was always generous and thoughtful. Garth loved music. He played the guitar and the fiddle with the Old Time Fiddlers and The Quarter Notes, and founded the Kootenay #9 Workshop for the BC Old Time Fiddlers. It’s been ten years now and this workshop continues to flourish attracting more students every year. When we moved to Nelson in 2003, he became involved with the local Blue Grass group.


His passion for the outdoors is reflected in his love of fishing, hiking, skiing, golfing and sailing. While living on an acreage in Passmore we raised sheep, chickens, pigs, grew a large garden and enjoyed maintaining the property. During summers we travelled across Canada, Europe, and down the Oregon coast. After retirement we spent a year in Japan and later took a number of cruises.


Garth is survived by his wife Grace Devaux, and children Quentin, Melanie, and Keiko.  He is also survived by his mother Amy Collins, and his siblings Shirley (Don)Taylor, Alayne (Leo)Matzner, Karen (Bill) Duncan, Howard (Shauna) Collins, Chris (Brenda) Collins.  He will also be dearly missed by his large extended family. The family would like to thank Mountain Lakes, Broader Horizons, and all his care-workers who cared for Garth with so much compassion during his last few years. I would also like to thank Dr. Trevor Janz and Cristina Lidstone for their special efforts.


In honour of Garth, a short service and celebration of life followed by a potluck will be held at the Passmore Hall, 3656 Passmore Old Road at 10:30 am on Saturday April 14th.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration at www.theaftd.org or sent to:


AFTD

Radnor Station Bld 2, Suite 320

290 King of Prussia Rd.

Radnor, PA 19087


Online condolences may be expressed at www.thompsonfs.ca

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Thompson Funeral Service Ltd..



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