On a sunny west coast evening in early May, our adventurous Tony peacefully departed for his last crossing over the waters, to rejoin his one true-love for life, Nora. Tony is survived by his three children Patrick (Marilyn, Gregory and Erica), Pamela (Jeff, Trisha, Robin and Jackie), and Geoffrey (Beth, Sydney and Benjamin), as well as his four great grandchildren, Raegan, CJ, Brooks and Dominic, and will be missed by so many more who crossed paths with him.
Tony's dear sisters Peggy and Rosalie will be waiting for him on the other side, and his younger brother Stanley Triggs will surely be alive for several more years.
Tony came from humble, strong English immigrant stock growing up on Willow Street in Nelson, B.C., and Tony and the family revelled in the joys of nature all around them, with outings onto or into the lake, hiking the trails to forage for food or fun, and learning to ski on the mountains the "hard-way".
But the day that he met his teenage sweetheart Nora Gormley when swimming at Lakeside Park, changed everything for him as he set out to find his path in life as a man and a miner.
After a brief stint in the Canadian Armed Forces prior to the end of WW II (fortunately no active duty), Tony's first stop was at the Mascot mine in Hedley, B.C. where he enjoyed the life of a hard-rock miner, and upon completing the UBC Mining Engineering programme in the early 1950s, he continued his career working on several mines in British Columbia, along with developing international mine projects in such places as the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Australia while working with Placer Development Ltd. as a 35-year employee.
In the late 1960s, Nora, Pat, Pam and Geoff joined him in Makati, Manila for a period of time and all had some amazing experiences in south-east Asia, with the "travel bug" being passed on to more than a few family members down the line.
Tony and Nora spent some of their retirement years enjoying cruise ship life around Europe and the south Pacific, however Tony was most happy when he was the skipper of his own ship, and he spent countless hours puttering on his own sailboat "Mabuhay" and then powerboat "Nora T", or dedicating volunteer time to the West Vancouver Yacht Club (past Commodore in 1998).
Tony ended up as a man-of-the-world that came from a small, isolated town deep in the Selkirk mountains, and this is a testament to his adventurous spirit, courage, determination, ingenuity and love of life that he carried with him always, as well as the hard work that he put into everything he did on behalf of his family, friends and colleagues.
On our road-trips back to the Kootenays each summer, Dad would sing a song about "round the corner, and over the hill", and now that you are gone Tony, we wish you farewell on your last journey as your spirit travels round the corner and over the hill, into the wilderness of the great beyond where you will rest in peace with your beloved Nora.
The family would like to thank the dedicated care-givers from Royalty Home Healthcare Service, especially Cora, Gloria and Joanie for offering their care, love and friendship during Tony's final years at Amica Seniors Residence, West Vancouver (thanks to the wonderful staff there). Many thanks to Dr. Tesiorowski and staff, Tony's personal physician during his last phase of life.
A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held for family members, and will also be simulcast via weblink from St. Catherine's Anglican Church on June 12, 2021 - 10:00 am. For those family and friends who would like to join us remotely, we will provide further details on the weblink, etc. closer to the date. In lieu of sending flowers, please consider donating to Covenant House or another favorite charity of your choice on behalf of Tony.