NOS DISPARUS

By R.C. Tino Bella

Brian O’Reilly

When Brian O’Reilly passed on October 3, 2022, our world lost a crusader and passionate fighter for justice for Indigenous peoples and in particular for those who survived Indian Residential Schools. Brian was a passionate Irish American born in Mott Haven, the Bronx in New York City on August 17, 1946 and grew up in the Bronx. He had already had a full life before he decided at the age of 50 to go to law school at UBC.

Upon graduation and after a brief stint in family law, Brian joined Peter Grant & Associates, a boutique law firm that specialized in fighting for Indigenous rights and justice. This was in 1998, at a time when the firm was engaged in the first legal battles on behalf of survivors of Indian Residential Schools including Blackwater v. Plint and Aleck v. Clarke. Brian dove into the Aleck case with fervour and passion. He worked tirelessly for the plaintiffs. At one point, he organized a large aerial photograph showing the farm outside Lytton where one of our clients had enjoyed an amazing life with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents before being shipped off to St. George’s Indian Residential School at the age of six. Brian walked our client through the amazing life he had before the school. No judge could forget the plaintiff’s description of learning traditions and living off the land with his elders before the school when Brian was finished that part of the evidence. Then, Brian carefully walked the plaintiff through the horrors of their experience at the school. He concluded with the description of their life after the school from the original “self-medication” to the healing that they were going through.

Brian had a passion for residential school plaintiffs and battled in the negotiation room in many settlements. At one point, he looked at the lawyers from Canada and the mediating judge and said, “We have to remember, my client was a little child when this horror happened to him. We are getting so used to the horrors of the residential schools that we are talking like this is normal.”

When Canada, after several exploratory dialogues, entered into negotiations with the Assembly of First Nations and plaintiffs’ lawyers, including lawyers for individual plaintiffs such as our firm, Brian took the lead in the early discussions. There had been many attempts to come to an agreement on the residential schools as there were over 12,000 cases in the courts by 2005. Brian called and told me that this was different, and he believed a settlement could be reached. We worked together from March to the end of November 2005 and an agreement in principle was reached two days before the fall of the Paul Martin government. One of Brian’s proudest moments was when he could sign that agreement. He said that this would make it easier for all the residential school survivors to achieve some form of recognition for the enormous suffering that they had endured.

From the time of the final settlement in 2007 until his retirement, Brian continued with the same passion to get justice for residential school survivors at the Independent Assessment Process. He fought tenaciously for their rights and they could not have had a stronger advocate.

Brian also knew how to care for himself during these difficult times. When a case was resolved or there was space to take a break, Brian always had an idea. Once he said he wanted to go away for a week. When asked why, he decided he would go to see the inauguration of the first Black U.S. president, and he did. Another time, he said he wanted to see the last NASA launch from Cape Kennedy. On one Monday morning when asked about his weekend, he said he was having a great time learning to fly. The instructor carefully taught him how to land, but he liked to wave the wings from side to side and he scared the instructor a lot.

When he decided to retire, Brian bought a small Honda 250 and drove from Vancouver to New York to Carolina and then Newfoundland and Labrador and back again. He lived life to the fullest right up to the end.

Brian’s colleagues and clients knew what a powerful and honourable counsel Brian was throughout his brief career in the law. He retired to Victoria and lived there with his beloved wife and partner in adventure, Bonnie O’Reilly.

All of the lawyers who had the honour to work with Brian will never forget his commitment to fighting for his clients with passion and integrity.

Peter R. Grant

William (Bill) A. Ferguson

On December 13, 2022, a week shy of his 79th birthday, William (Bill) Alfred Ferguson passed away from complications arising from Parkinson’s disease. Over the 40 years that he was both a mentor and a friend, Bill often spoke of the wonderful life he had been fortunate to live and his love for his family, the outdoors and his close friendships both inside and outside the law.

Bill was born on December 20, 1943 in the village of Coal Creek, a few miles from Fernie, B.C. When he was two years old, the Fergusons, a mining family, moved to the coal mining town of Cumberland on Vancouver Island, where Bill lived until his graduation from high school. Bill appreciated his Scottish heritage and was very proud of where he was raised. He remained close to those in his family who stayed in Cumberland, long after he had departed for the lights and glamour of Vancouver in 1962 to attend the University of British Columbia. These roots shaped his values and philosophy of life, which endeared him to so many for so long. He was a “people person”, but not on a superficial scale. Relationships mattered to him.

In September 1967, Bill began his studies at the UBC Faculty of Law, which, while a good decision for professional reasons, turned out to be an even better choice for his personal life.

An event during his first year of law school provides a good example of how Bill never forgot anything, or anyone, that could turn out to be important to him. One afternoon during the fall of 1967, he was invited by a former roommate to meet up with him in front of Brock Hall. “Fred” owned a red convertible. As Bill approached the car, he saw one female passenger in the front seat and two others in the back. To any reasonable bystander (and particularly Fred), the expectation was that Bill would sit in the back. After briefly surveying the scene, however, Bill decided to slip into the front seat, which turned out to be occupied by Fred’s then girlfriend. This was his introduction to Jeanie. After a short visit, Jeanie had to leave for her parttime job at the Vancouver Police Department. Soon thereafter, Bill learned that Fred had left Vancouver. In keeping with one of his favourite sayings, “It’s nice to be nice,” and no doubt altruistically motivated by not wanting Jeanie to be alone, Bill called, and the rest, as they say, is history. On their first date, Bill and Jeanie attended the inaugural Shrum Bowl football game between UBC and Simon Fraser University. They married a year later, in the fall of 1968, and were together for the better part of 55 years.

Following his graduation from UBC, Bill articled and then commenced his litigation career at Ladner Downs. In 1972, he joined Fraser, Hyndman, Defosses & Gifford, which became Ferguson Gifford (“FG”) in 1985. He continued to practise there until 1999, when he joined Shapiro Hankinson & Knutson, followed by McKenzie Fujisawa. He retired in 2015.

While Bill had many talents as a lawyer, one stood out to those of us who knew him well: his ability to distill complex arguments into concepts that could be understood by a broad range of people, regardless of whether they had a legal background. He quickly grasped the essential issues and how to address them. This led to positive relationships with his clients and success before judges and juries.

Perhaps one of Bill’s greatest attributes was his ability to connect with the many students and young lawyers with whom he worked and to instill in them values that were important to him. For many years, with his law partner Alan Hudson, he taught the Trial and Appellate Advocacy course at UBC. He was also a CLE lecturer. He would emphasize the importance of having confidence in yourself and being unintimidated by anyone, no matter how senior, difficult, or both. He believed that there were no stupid questions and that, if you did not understand what was being said, then the chances were that the person saying it did not understand it either. He was an organized and thoroughly prepared lawyer who was always ready to consider counterpoints. He would take on just about any case and was particularly happy if travel was involved.

One of the many communications that I received comes from Dennis Quinlan, K.C.:

Bill was my principal in 1979. He showed me the benefits of preparation, file organization and his own version of trial binders, well before they were the subject of CLE courses. Most of all he showed me what it meant to care for the client and the client’s issues, and why the outcome to the client was more important that any wins or losses I might personally have as a lawyer.

Gord Kehler practised with Bill from 2004 until his retirement. His observations included:

Bill would more than offer advice as a mentor—he offered his friendship. He was never too busy to take time to provide assistance and would regularly circle back to see how things had gone or offer up further thoughts and encouragement. His trademark encouragement, “Be Great!”, not only worked as a positive motivation, but also has for many become their own term of encouragement to someone facing a stressful or daunting task.

Others whose lives Bill touched over the years refer to his “enthusiastic fearlessness and passion in all things” and belief in being true to yourself. He was unpretentious and had a genuine interest in and fondness for others; he treated everyone the same way, no matter their intellect, financial circumstances or background.

Bill’s eagerness for life extended to a love for the outdoors. He was a hunter, a fisherman and an avid horseback rider. He was very fond of the photo that accompanies this piece, which was taken during one of his many horseback trips in the Chilcotin.

In 1972, he and Jeanie acquired a property on Valdes Island, which is located between Gabriola Island and Galiano Island. Valdes could be accessed only by seaplane or a flat-bottomed jet-drive riverboat. With the help of family and friends, including Bill Burris and his wife Lois, he would transport material and supplies to turn this “pile of timber”, as Jeanie described it, into a cabin. Notwithstanding his zeal, Bill had no difficulty compensating for his modest handyman skills by turning to his longtime friend Granville Airton, an engineer and carpenter, to mastermind the design and building of the original cabin. Bill delighted in hiking Valdes and introduced others to the island, including the family of one of his longtime friends from his Ladner Downs days, J.J. Camp, K.C., whose two children now have cabins on Valdes. Bill’s last big adventure was in the spring of 2022, when he went to Churchill, Manitoba with Jeanie and the Burrises to see the polar bears.

Bill also enjoyed participating in many sports and activities, though, to be accurate, his abilities and enthusiasm did not always match. Shortly after my arrival in Vancouver for articles in the summer of 1980, he asked me to join his “seniors” soccer team. I was 25. He hated not being on the field and would often complain both when he believed he should be playing (i.e., always) and equally forcefully when he was subbed off. Speaking as diplomatically as I can, he could at times be a bit of a “pest”, usually—but not always—toward the opposition.

He was not afraid to try new activities. In the late 1980s, he took up golf. He decided that some lessons were in order. Upon reviewing a videotape of his swing, Bill remarked, in his own self-deprecating way, “Who is that short fat man with some family resemblance?” The lessons and videos were of limited assistance, but no matter the results on the course, he never despaired; he had an unbridled belief and confidence in the next shot.

He was an eternal optimist. Bill passed away during the FIFA World Cup, which took place in late 2022. At one point during his final weeks, shortly before the competition commenced, he telephoned his friend Justice

Heather MacNaughton and asked her to place a $100 wager for him, which she did: Canada to win the World Cup and Alphonso Davies the golden boot. Just to be on the safe side, he asked Heather to place another bet: the Blue Jays to win the 2023 World Series. Enough said on this point.

In many ways, Bill and Jeanie were FG’s social epicentre: inclusive, extremely generous, adventurous at heart and willing to try anything. They rarely worried about protocol, custom or appearance. They made their beautiful home in West Vancouver available for firm functions and many other events. Jeanie’s cooking was first class, the wine flowed, good conversations about the issues of the day flourished, and the friendships of the lawyers and their significant others were nurtured. All of Bill and Jeanie’s efforts contributed to the positive culture and rapid growth of the firm through the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s.

One particular event led to what became for many years a bonding occasion that included the lawyers and their significant others: the Burns Supper. Bill and Jeanie decided that January, a time of post-holiday season doldrums, needed sprucing up. The firm had grown rapidly, eventually reaching more than 50 lawyers, and so, for the first time, the litigators and solicitors held separate events. What started off as an evening for the litigators chez Ferguson developed into a firm-wide event that was held for several years at the Petty Officers’ Mess at HMCS Discovery in Stanley Park. The evening included a piper and an ad hoc choir (directed by H.C. Ritchie Clark, K.C.) singing “Road to Loch Lomond” and “Scotland the Brave”. The evening activities, the address to the haggis and toasts to the Immortal Memory and to the lassies provided enough fuel for stories to last the rest of the year. Although formal dress was not required, something tartan was strongly encouraged. Some of us followed Bill’s lead and wore the full ensemble. As things turned out, Bill had to be gently admonished by a couple of his partners when, on the basis that he had come up with the Burns theme (it was probably Jeanie), he charged the expensive rental of his kilt and accoutrement to the firm as an administrative expense. Suitably chastised, but still believing he was right, he then invested several hundred dollars to purchase a kilt in the Ferguson tartan, along with a formal jacket, a sporran and a dirk, which he would proudly remove from his sock and show off at various times during the evening.

By the end of the 1990s, following the arrival of the national firms, FG, like many other mid-sized Vancouver firms, was no more. Although I had left the firm by then, the Burns Supper continued to varying degrees for many years thereafter, with Bill and Jeanie alternating with Janet and me as hosts. In later years, this involved just the four of us meeting in late Jan- uary at a good French restaurant, lamenting the paucity of Scottish cuisine in Vancouver (likely an oxymoron in any event). At our last such dinner in early 2022, as Bill’s health started to really fail, we were joined by Martin and Judy Gifford, as well as Martin Palleson and his wife Mari Worfolk. Thus ended a tradition that had existed in various forms for more than 30 years.

Bill had a love of writing, particularly short stories. He took this up with a characteristic passion that marvelled his many (sometimes involuntary) readers. As recently as the fall of 2022, he was still sending out stories to seek feedback and generate interest. One story published in the Advocate is a poignant example of Bill developing an improbable friendship with Pierre Trudeau, unhindered by the doubts that would make many others hesitate: “My Friendship with Pierre Trudeau” (2021) 79 Advocate 355.

Bill and Jeanie created a wonderful family. They were devoted to each other and very proud of their son Matthew and daughter Sarah, her husband Hayden, and their grandchildren Carter and Avery. The family also included a parade of various family dogs over the years. A relationship with Bill meant one with his family, because he would enthusiastically provide regular updates on all of their lives at every opportunity.

Bill loved Canada and would sing our national anthem loudly and proudly whenever it was played. He also dabbled in politics, seeking on one occasion the federal Liberal nomination in West Vancouver. But he was not inextricably linked to a particular party or individual, with one exception: he was Jeanie’s biggest supporter as she developed her presence in West Vancouver municipal politics, including her roles as chair of the school board, city counsellor and deputy mayor.

Bill’s ashes were scattered on his beloved Valdes Island. He did not want to be remembered at a celebration of life. Intensely private in some ways, he nonetheless expressed these thoughts in his story about Pierre Trudeau:

I did not attend Pierre’s funeral. It was complicated. On the one hand, I am not religious and do not want a funeral for myself. On the other hand, I didn’t know what to do. Of course, I do not begrudge other people for their funerals, and I could have gone, so why didn’t I? ... I considered the relationship special. Our friendship was outside his political and academic connections …

I honoured him, I respected him and I was sad at his passing. In the end, that was the extent of my mourning.

That is what Bill would hope we would do for him.

Devoted to his family and friends, enthusiastic, hardworking and with an infectious love of life, Bill was true to himself; he was his own man. In the words of Robert Burns:

Is there for honest Poverty

That hings his head, an’ a’ that; The coward-slave, we pass him by, We dare be poor for a’ that!

For a’ that, an’ a’ that. Our toils obscure an’ a’ that, The rank is but the guinea’s stamp, The Man’s the gowd for a’ that … Then let us pray that come it may, As come it will for a’ that, That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth Shall bear the gree an’ a’ that. For a’ that, an’ a’ that, It’s comin yet for a’ that, That Man to Man the warld o’er Shall brithers be for a’ that.

The Honourable Justice Patrice Abrioux (with thanks to Jeanie and many others)

James Thomas (Jim) Rust

Commercial lenders’ lawyer, gardener, golfer, skier, hockey player and a man of many other roles, not the least of which included beloved husband to Patty, father to Tim (Claudia) and Ben (Joaly), grandfather to Conrad and Louis, brother to Anne, and good friend to very many others, Jim Rust passed away on Friday, November 18, 2022, having fought as hard as possible against liver cancer.

Jim started life in 1947 in Kitchener, Ontario, son of Mary and Thomas Rust. Most of Jim’s younger years were spent in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, where Jim learned how to play golf, play hockey and ski, all of which would be passions for much of his life. His father ran the large paper mill in town. Those early years were filled with adventures stemming from Jim’s participation in Scouts, with many Jamborees and countless overnight camping trips. Jim’s hockey games took place on many homemade rinks in the deep cold of Quebec winters. Those youthful years produced an impressive

French lexicon, of both dinner table niceties and colourful expressions appropriate to the ice rink (not to mention other places as his legal practice heated up at times).

One of the interesting asides of his time in Baie-Comeau was the person who used to babysit Jim and Anne during their younger years. It was Brian Mulroney, who would later become prime minister of Canada, but back then was a teenager going through school and helping out in the community. Jim was proud of his friendship with Brian, and they would see each other very occasionally over the next 60 years. Their last meeting was at a speech given by the former prime minister at the Terminal City Club to the Canadian Club of Vancouver in 2017.

In due course, the Rust family moved to Vancouver, and in 1968 Jim entered UBC law school, where he spent an exciting three years. Jim made many friends over his law school years and ensured that he saw them as much as possible over the years. During law school, Jim spent summers aboard ocean-going tug boats and became the chief cook. He got the job through his enthusiasm and stubbornness. He wanted a summer job on the water on the tugs that paid well. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people applying, and the jobs were to start right away. The person hiring asked who knew how to cook, and Jim’s hand went up right away. He got the job and ran home to get his mother’s cookbook, and off on the tugs he went. Fortunately, Jim was a quick study (it worked well for him for many years). Many of his cooking creations originated from those summer months, where he started with no knowledge of cooking and ended up as a soughtafter pastry chef by mariners in port looking for a good slice of baked Alaska.

After graduation, Jim articled at Bull Housser & Tupper. His ambition was to be a litigator. During his articling year, Jim contemplated joining the Canadian International Development Agency (“CIDA”) and being posted to a small country in their Department of Justice earning a Canadian wage. The living would be terrific! He also suggested that idea to Rod McCloy, who actually made the application. CIDA was very polite in suggesting that their applicants needed experience and perhaps Cuso (the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Peace Corps) would be better. Rod spent two years with Cuso after articles. Jim, however, decided to take an epic ski trip through Austria. Having previously been enamoured by the beauty of the Austrian Alps and in particular the region of St. Anton am Arlberg, Jim promised himself that he would return. He sold his worldly possessions to fund the trip that would take him through six countries and experience unique ski locations such as Andorra and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Sometime after his return to Vancouver, Jim decided that he would start his own firm with office space in the old Royal Bank Building at the corner of Granville and Hastings where his former firm had been prior to their move to Royal Centre. During this adventure, Jim became a good litigator specializing in family law. However, things did not go as well as Jim had hoped, and in 1979 he joined McCloy Mackay (as it was then in their small offices at the back of the fourth floor at 898 West Pender) to increase the size of that fledgling firm from two to three lawyers.

In 1979, Jim was known as a litigator whose practice was mostly in family law. However, the enticement of family law litigation started to wane. Somewhere in mid-1980, Jim met lenders from Household Finance, and decided that a real estate lending practice was much more appealing. He still continued with his litigation practice, but slowly and surely the real estate lending practice took over. As the years went by, Jim started to act for more and more lenders. The litigation practice stopped, and Jim became a commercial and real estate lending specialist for the latter three quarters of his career.

Jim’s business grew like his firm, which changed its name over the years to Jones McCloy Peterson. Jim had a wee bit of an ego, but it never extended to wanting his name in the name of the firm, except for a brief period of time in the early 1980s. His reputation spoke for itself.

Partners’ meetings in the early years seemed to last forever, followed by dinner. It wasn’t until the Scotch was banned from these meetings that the time spent shrunk to a reasonable level and business actually got accomplished. Jim’s time with Jones McCloy Peterson continued until that firm dissolved in 2004, whereupon Jim joined Lindsay Kenney as associate counsel where he continued until his retirement in 2017.

As a commercial lending specialist, Jim was very fortunate to have Vivian Booth by his side for 25 years. She was his paralegal, personal assistant and strong right arm for all of this time. Jim could be a bit cantankerous from time to time, and throughout it all, Vivian was there to ensure that everything was finally done.

At Lindsay Kenney, Jim acted for number of major commercial bank and credit union lenders as well as a couple of up-and-coming private, pre-construction lenders. Even when not involved in a specific loan, Jim was called upon by certain loan officers to pick his skilled brain regarding a particular document, and Jim was always there to assist. As a result, he received many files that would generally have gone to much larger firms.

In a short period of time, Jim became legal counsel to private lender firms for whom he acted, to the point of advising on and developing their lender loan agreements, commitment letters and security documents. Jim’s skill in drawing such security was quite proficient, and his clients rarely felt the need to back down on their security at the behest of a developer, regardless of the size and value of the project. He was regarded with great esteem as lender’s lawyer and few borrowers’ counsel could make any effective argument with Jim’s security documentation. In the last few years of his practice, Jim was in such demand that he had the luxury of working only with clients he enjoyed. Jim’s clients, many of whom became his very close friends, were sad upon his retirement and even more so upon his death.

Jim was highly regarded in the workplace as a warm and kind co-worker. He put on a tough, gruff demeanour, but it didn’t take anyone long to realize that if you did your job he was the coolest guy in the office.

Outside of practice, Jim was an avid gardener and golfer. His knees grew to give him a bad time, so skiing and hockey were left behind. Most Sundays until about five years ago would see Jim at Shaughnessy with a regular group. He started there when he was in his teens, newly arrived from Quebec, and only left Shaughnessy when he realized he was spending more time in Palm Springs golfing at his favourite courses, Gary Player and the Classic Club. But right up to the end Jim enjoyed his gardens from the choosing of the plants and their locations to tending to their welfare to the construction of walls and structures to enhance them. He and Patty built, bought and sold a number of homes over the years, and Jim designed or enhanced the gardens in all of them.

Jim and Patty bought a vacation home in Palm Springs a few years ago that they both loved. As Jim’s work allowed, he would spend more and more time there. He found it an interesting community as just down the street from their house lived Tommy Lasorda, the great Los Angeles Dodgers manager for many years. Another neighbour was Adam West (who played Batman), with whom Jim said he always enjoyed commiserating. It was only as Jim’s health deteriorated that the home was sold, and Jim did not visit Palm Springs again.

Jim’s memory will be cherished by all who knew him and enjoyed his generosity and practical wisdom and company.

Rod McCloy

(with lots of help from the Rust Family, Dennis Peterson, Vivian Booth and Ken Teskey)

John Brian MacFarlane

Everyone who knew Brian MacFarlane knew they were lucky. He was a wonderful person to be around. In writing this, I am not only mourning this immeasurable loss, but also celebrating Brian’s life and the impact he had on the people (and animals) around him.

When I joined the Crown, one of the first people I was keen to see was Brian. He was the older brother of one of my good friends, and I just knew that he would provide that “safe space” in the office for me. I was not wrong: I walked into his corner office at 222 Main Street, and I heard, “Hey buddy!” And there was Brian, leaning back in his chair with a smile on his face. His office was filled with family photos: colourful images filling the dreary interior, always providing a reminder of what was truly most important to Brian. For him, it was always about the people in his life, and amazingly he seemed to always find time and space for everyone.

When I learned that Brian died while bodysurfing at his favourite beach in North Carolina on July 6, 2022, I fell over in shock. He was a man who had more appetite for life in his little finger than most people have in their entirety, and he seemed physically invincible, with an inexhaustible store of energy. Only 57 years old at the time of his death, Brian was the heart and soul of his family. In death he left behind his beloved wife of 29 years (and partner for 35) Leah van der Voort, and his greatest treasure and joy, his three daughters: Kathryn, Carolyn and his “finally-got-a-redhead” Zoë.

When asked by a friend how he could deal with the stressful and sometimes gruesome cases he prosecuted, Brian said, “I come home every night to my beautiful family, my beautiful home, and my beautiful wife, and everything is OK.” He was the heart and soul of his extended family, seeing his parents John and Marian every week, talking to his brother Tom and sister Amy frequently, and spending vacations with their families, whom he adored. He conveniently got one of his closest friends at Princeton, Mike Cragg, to marry Leah’s sister Rachel, and spent many happy summers with them and their children, as well as Leah’s brother Tom. His nieces and nephews adored him … like Santa Claus (whom some may think Brian slightly resembled, at least in the face), he always had time for every child, and always was ready for the next game or adventure. He was the rock and anchor of his family, and this carried into every other part of his life. He made innumerable lifelong friends in every place he went.

Brian had very strong connections to both Vancouver and Montreal. He was born in Montreal and had many family members and friends living there. Brian made sure to routinely visit and, in fact, he spent every summer at the community of Metis Beach in Quebec. Everyone there knew him, and many had their own version of his particular tennis strokes learned over summers being taught by him. He was the last person at every cocktail party, and never missed a polar bear swim on Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. in the St. Lawrence River, followed by a generous tot of dark rum, milk and brown sugar. The most important part of those summers was the friendships he made.

Brian attended Selwyn House School in Montreal before his parents realized his enthusiastic nature needed the steadying hand of Bishop’s College School and the cadet training there. He was an extraordinarily gifted student and had a brilliant mind, with a particular knack for math and science. But then he was also a talented actor, often seen treading the boards, a skill that came to his aid in later years. He was a prefect and at the top of his class. He attended Princeton University planning to study engineering, which changed after he took a 400 level math class where the answer from the tutor seemed to always be the mystifying “Take the integral! Take the integral!” He turned his keen mind to history, and the law caught his attention in the legendary English constitutional law class taught by noted scholar Professor William Chester Jordan. Brian and Leah met at Princeton in 1984, and he formed deep and lasting friendships with so many during his time there, especially his eight roommates from the “Dude Ranch”. He continued to be closely connected with most of those friends until the day he died. He graduated with an A.B. in history in 1986.

Brian moved back to Montreal to attend the McGill University Faculty of Law. He spent weekends at the family country compound at Ivry-sur-le-Lac, and attended as many Habs games as he could manage. When Leah graduated from Princeton in 1988, she moved to Montreal to be with Brian. They were married on December 30, 1993. At McGill, Brian formed many profound and enduring friendships, which he shared with Leah. He received his LL.B. and B.C.L. in 1990, graduating with honours.

In 1990, Brian and Leah moved to Vancouver, where he began an illustrious 31-year legal career. He articled at Davis and Company and was called to the bar in 1991. After a few years practising civil litigation at Davis and Company, Brian joined the Crown Counsel office in Vancouver in 1994 as he “wished to be a more helpful member of society”. He remained a pillar of the Crown counsel family over the course of his 28-year Crown career, and was one of the most experienced major crime prosecutors in the Vancouver region.

Brian’s goal on joining the Crown office was to conduct as many trials as possible. He was of the strong belief, throughout his career, that there was no substitute for experience in the courtroom and that one could not achieve distinction as a litigator without spending hours in the courtroom, examining witnesses and making legal arguments. Brian was successful in his goal and, in his first year alone, conducted over 200 trials as Crown counsel.

Brian prosecuted many complex and serious cases, including cases involving dangerous offenders, homicides, robberies, kidnappings, home invasions, human trafficking, extortion, serious sexual offences, motor vehicle fatalities and serious assaults. He participated in many legal innovations, including conducting two of the earliest cases involving DNA technology.

Throughout his career, Brian prioritized mentoring junior counsel. His calm and supportive approach, combined with his extensive trial experience, made him a popular and sought-after mentor. He was known to guide new prosecutors with the soothing words, “Don’t worry about it. If it was really important, would they have given it to you? Just do your best!”

Brian also took on leadership roles outside of the courtroom. He worked as Administrative Crown Counsel in Vancouver and in North Vancouver from 2013 to 2017. The North Vancouver First Nations Sentencing Court expanded during his tenure, and he was part of the committee that oversaw its expansion to engage more fully with community leaders and resources.

He was also active throughout the course of his career in sharing information about the justice system and the role of Crown counsel in numerous forums. He served as an instructor/supervising lawyer for the UBC Criminal Clinic course for a number of years, supervising numerous temporary articling students. He was a resource and lectured on criminal law for the Crown, the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, Canadian Bar Association subsections and the Professional Legal Training Program.

In all, Brian was committed to public service, and his open, accessible, fair and respectful approach permeated his dealings with justice system participants and the public. He had the respect of those with whom he worked across the justice sector for his collegiality and enthusiasm for the work. At the same time, he was very hardworking and unassuming, always without complaint. He exemplified the finest qualities of a prosecutor and advocate: superior intellect, strong advocacy skills and sound professional judgment, assisted by a willingness to make difficult decisions, a good work ethic and an impressive ability to be a meaningful mentor to junior lawyers. In all these respects, he demonstrated the selfless dedication to public service to which all Crown counsel should aspire. A scholarship in his honour has been created at his alma mater, McGill University, the John Brian Mac-

Farlane Memorial Entrance Scholarship. This scholarship emphasizes Brian’s commitment to public service and his dedication to improving the justice system, which is so important to a well-functioning society. It will be awarded on the basis of academic and extracurricular merit to a student entering the B.C.L./J.D. program who has a demonstrated interest in public or community service or criminal law advocacy (see <www.mcgill.ca/law/ alumni/support-brian-macfarlane-memorial-fund>).

In addition to all of Brian’s substantial professional accomplishments, he was a wonderful and supportive colleague and friend. He was the person everyone wanted in the office. He always had time for his colleagues, no matter what he had on his plate, to talk about what was going on in their lives, or about a case, or to just talk about the Habs. He was a very treasured colleague. The Crown has been bereft over the past year, and Brian is still very much part of the conversations we have in the office. I often hear “What would Brian do in this situation?”

Outside of work, Brian was a talented multi-sport athlete, and loved playing or watching all sports: hockey, football, soccer, baseball, downhill and cross-country skiing, golf, tennis and squash. He taught a generation of youngsters as the summer pro at the Cascade Golf and Tennis Club in Metis Beach. At Princeton, he played junior varsity Hockey (nickname: “Zamboni”) and was on the ski team. While there, he discovered the game of squash and joined the junior varsity team. He was an integral member of the Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club squash and tennis communities, organizing regular weekly squash doubles games, captaining both singles and doubles squash city league teams, and becoming a Jester and co-chairing the Jester’s doubles tournament. Brian competed in numerous national and provincial championships, with medals in both, and was known throughout the community for his extraordinary sportsmanship and collegiality. An annual award to acknowledge his contribution has been created by the Vancouver Squash Doubles League.

Brian was a dedicated volunteer, giving many hours to community service, and had been a Guide Dog Puppy Trainer for BC Guide Dogs since 2015, raising four dogs to maturity for their program. He and his wife Leah were to begin training another pup, Tiger, when they returned from vacation. His family has continued this work in his memory. A memorial fund honouring Brian’s dedication has been created at BC Guide Dogs.

But in the end, Brian’s greatest accomplishment was in his role as an unparalleled father. His three daughters were the joy of his life, and there was nothing he loved more than being with any of them. When they asked him “Which of us is your favourite?”, he would always name whichever child was closest in proximity. He never missed or took for granted a single precious moment. He was the dad at every soccer game, every tennis match, driving the kids anywhere and picking them up at all hours no matter where they were. He watched every dive at every meet, every second of every ballet performance, every minute of open mic. Nothing made him happier than being a father. In the month before he died, he continually begged the driving carpool to let him drive the kids, and he treasured every minute. When one of his children broke her arm badly at school, he told his wife as they waited in the emergency room, “I’m just so happy, so grateful to know she is here and safe, and with something that can be fixed.”

Brian has left a giant hole in the lives of all who knew him. We mourn his loss but also recognize and celebrate an extraordinary life and one well lived. He would be happy knowing that we will never forget him.

Leah MacFarlane and Tara Laker

John Martin Tennant

John Martin Tennant lived a long life. He was born in 1928 and died in October 2022, at age 94. He spent his entire career at the Vancouver law firm of Lawson Lundell following the usual ascension from articling student to associate and then to partner. John also had a full and important life outside the law. A short memoir like this is impressionistic, of course, but I hope that there will be enough colour and detail in what follows to give you an idea of how successful he was in all parts of his life.

John was the youngest of five children and grew up during the Great Depression. Perhaps because of this, he learned the virtues of perseverance and developed a will to succeed at an early age. Whether on the rugby pitch, on the tennis court or with clients and colleagues, John always gave one hundred per cent. A cherished friend and trusted advisor, he was an inspiration and mentor to many.

After getting his B.A. degree (in 1949) and LL.B. degree (in 1953) from UBC, John articled at Lawson Lundell and was called to the B.C. bar in 1954. He retired in 1997.

John had a wide-ranging business law practice and had expertise in many of the disciplines covered by that broad descriptor, including corporate and commercial law, securities and corporate finance, real estate and forestry. He acted for many well-known commercial clients, including some of the leading forest companies of the day such as Canadian Pacific Forest Products and Evans Forest Products. Perhaps his most significant client was British Columbia Forest Products (“BCFP”). John acted for the company from its earliest days and was particularly close to Ken Benson, the CEO. His non-forestry clients included Woodward’s and the Woodward family. He also spent many years on the boards of Nike Canada, Munich Reinsurance Canada and Asamera.

John was gregarious, feisty and tenacious. He had a friendly and open personality. He was also warm and generous. This combination of character traits appealed greatly to clients, as well as to colleagues and friends. John and his partner and friend Bob Mair served on the three-person executive committee of Lawson Lundell for many years (the third member was the firm’s managing partner from time to time). Together they effectively managed the firm and shaped its culture.

John’s daughter, Susan, tells me that he was deeply loyal to Lawson Lundell—he could not understand why anyone would ever want to work for another firm. He used to say that the firm should only hire people who had held interesting summer jobs that had nothing to do with law. He valued the life experiences of those around him. And there was much more to John than life at Lawson Lundell.

John was predeceased on July 10, 2019 by Joan, his wife of seven decades. He loved and cherished her as his partner and best friend, and a part of him was lost forever when she passed away. John and Joan loved to entertain and share meals with their friends. Wherever they travelled, home for John and Joan was always Bowen Island. They had an endless list of projects, and were always landscaping and improving their gardens. Susan tells me that the beauty of their garden was something they both loved, and that her dad was always “cosmeticizing” it.

John and Joan enjoyed fishing and many other outdoor activities, travelling, music, playing bridge with friends, and much more. They shared their home with many Golden Retrievers over the years, and were delighted when one of their dogs, Yonner, gave birth to ten puppies! Their latest dog, Sage, sadly passed away soon after John.

John gave back to the community in many ways. He taught forestry law at UBC for several years. John also devoted a lot of his time to the BC Sports Hall of Fame, where he was a trustee for many years. He and Joan were longtime and close supporters of the Rick Hansen Foundation and its outstanding efforts.

John was quite an athlete. Susan tells me that he was offered a rugby scholarship by a California university but chose to attend UBC instead. There he was honoured by Big Block awards in both football and rugby. As noted above, he and Joan loved to play tennis and, at least once, as you will read, he played an enthusiastic game of soccer. But his main love was rugby. Someone who articled at Lawson Lundell over 50 years ago, shared this story: “I recall more than one Monday morning when John limped into the office with another rugby injury. I was impressed. He would have been in his mid-forties at the time. It was not exactly the image I expected of a senior solicitor at a big firm. But it was one example of the many facets of a life well lived and lived full-on.”

One of John’s former colleagues remembers John as “a solicitor of outstanding ability and reputation. [He] treated everyone at the firm—even deer-in-the-headlights articled students—with great respect and kindness.” And another: “In about 1990, I thought that I may have committed a serious career limiting move. Lawson Lundell had a firm retreat at Yellowpoint Lodge (south of Nanaimo). Saturday afternoon was set aside for recreation, and many of us took part in a pick-up soccer game. I knew that John had always been a competitive athlete, particularly in rugby. He brought that competitive zeal to our ‘recreational’ soccer game. I was playing goal, and John ended up with the ball, bearing down on me quite aggressively and ‘hell bent for leather’ (did he play sports any other way?). So I, likewise aggressively, came charging out, and knocked him down (and made the save). Then I realized that I had just taken out a 62-year-old man and senior partner (I was then a two-year associate and age 41)! Holy cow, was my career over? But no one was injured and no harm done. Just part of ‘boys will be boys’ and no ill will.”

And finally a personal reminiscence: I joined Lawson Lundell in 1976 after being a lawyer in Ireland for a number of years. On the day I started, Charles McKee took me round the office to meet some of the lawyers then working at the firm (I think they then numbered 27 or 28). Among them was John Tennant. We had an instant rapport based on two things: It turned out our first two names were the same, and I, like he, was, or rather had been, a rugby player (I retired from rugby in my early thirties but he, being made of much sterner stuff, played into his sixties).

A now-retired lawyer who spent the early years of his career at Lawson Lundell wrote: “I left the West Coast [in the 1970s] after three years and did not see or hear from John for decades. Then he called me in Calgary, told me he had heard I was interested in property on the West Coast and shared his plan to subdivide his property on Bowen. The subdivision was delayed, but his invitation to visit an island my wife and I had not visited before resulted in the purchase of our home on Bowen. We have him to thank for our many happy years here, five minutes from his house, by boat at least. John and I often journeyed together from Bowen to [Vancouver] for the LLL&M alumni lunches, by land and by sea, and he was a delightful travelling companion, with wonderful accounts of adventures from his life and career.”

Craig Tennant also shared with me some memories of one of his parents’ particular friends: “Chunky Woodward was one of my parents’ closest friends. In 1959, Chunky came into Lawsons to meet with the family lawyer to talk about buying the Douglas Lake Ranch. I am not sure who that lawyer was, but something had come up and he was going to be late. Chunky did not want to wait so they had him meet with one of the young lawyers, my father, who handled the purchase. That started an outstanding friendship which lasted until Chunky’s death in 1990. Chunky liked to hunt, fish and travel as did my parents, so they spent much time together following these pursuits. Dad was on the board of Woodward’s for decades and only stepped down along with several other board members when Chunky handed the running of the store to the next generation.”

The same Lawson Lundell alumnus mentioned above, who became a neighbour on Bowen Island, recalled: “John’s house has a magnificent view over Howe Sound and he had prawn traps in his front yard. He had had some problems with scoundrels who would steal his prawns. So, one day when he spotted a strange vessel approaching the float on his prawn trap, he loaded his rifle with the intention of firing a warning shot. Joan grabbed the binoculars to search for a name on the boat. Lucky thing too. Joan determined that the boat was a DFO vessel on patrol and advised John to down arms. He was blessed in his choice of partner in so many ways.”

And as the following story illustrates, being a skilled lawyer doesn’t necessarily make you a skilled operator of a ride-on lawnmower. One of John’s former partners, another of his Bowen neighbours, recalls that John was on his mower “cutting the long grass on the ocean side of their driveway when he misjudged and went over the edge down to the beach (quite a distance, I’m guessing at least 30 feet)”. John’s longtime personal assistant recalls: “He was very lucky that a neighbour heard him shouting and in due course he was taken to hospital by air-ambulance.”

John was a great lawyer, a great firm leader, a great partner, a great competitor and athlete, and, to those of us who were his colleagues, a great source of work, support, experience and guidance. He was also a “great boss” as his longtime assistant told me: “He was friendly and considerate, and his door was always open to any colleagues who needed help or to talk.”

He was a man loved and admired by many. He will be greatly missed.

Martin Kyle (with thanks to Susan Climie, Craig Tennant, Bob Tennant, Bob McCaskill, Cliff Proudfoot, Lillian Wong, Chris Baldwin, Ian MacLeod, Tom Woods, Stephen McCullough, John Trueman, Bill Dickson, Brenda McArthur, Alastair Miller and Gordon Craig)

James Munsie, known as Jay, was born in Vancouver in 1951. Jay attended Quilchena Elementary School, and graduated from Point Grey High School. He attended the University of British Columbia and obtained a bachelor of arts degree, and then completed his law degree at Queen’s University.

Jay articled at the firm of Sutton Braidwood and after being called to the bar began developing his solicitor’s practice. He left Sutton Braidwood and joined the firm of Cumming Richards Underhill Fraser and Skillings to continue his thriving solicitor’s practice. Interestingly, Sutton Braidwood later merged with Cumming Richards Underhill Fraser and Skillings and Buell Ellis in 1985 to form Richards Buell Sutton, so Jay rejoined many of his old colleagues at Sutton Braidwood through this merger. Jay practised for the balance of his career at Richards Buell Sutton.

Jay was a lawyer’s lawyer. He was clever and practical, and became the lawyer that we all relied on to untangle the most difficult legal issues. Although he was clearly an intellect, he was also inclined to suggest practical solutions that cut to the core of a problem.

Jay’s broad and loyal clients included multinational companies based in Europe, as well as businesses throughout British Columbia. He seemed to attract those clients who were involved in resource- and construction-based businesses, often located on the coast. They were all looking for solutions and not a lecture on the law. Jay handled these diverse clients with grace and a deftness that few solicitors could match.

Jay was also our firm’s delegate for a number of years to the Pacific Rim Advisory Council, an organization of firms from 32 countries. He was well liked and fondly remembered years after attending his last conference.

For many years, Jay could be seen commuting to work in his vintage Mustang convertible. That car really epitomized Jay, as it was a little out of the ordinary, yet it was pretty special if you looked closely.

Jay practised law for more than 40 years and during that time mentored countless young associates, many of whom credit Jay for their development and success as lawyers. When Jay decided it was time to retire, we asked him if he would take on a role as a practice advisor to our young solicitors. We did not want to lose all that Jay had to offer. Jay graciously agreed to take on this role, and continued to provide guidance and support to the next generation of lawyers. He took this role seriously, investing his time and sharing his knowledge and wisdom with our firm’s lawyers.

In the summer, Jay would take time away from his busy practice to spend time with his family at their vacation home on Thormanby Island. In his retirement years, he expanded his hobbies and joined his wife, Nancy, golfing at Shaughnessy Golf Club. Jay was an avid sun-seeker, and following the example set by his late parents, he and Nancy would often spend time in Palm Springs during the winter months.

While many of us knew Jay as a lawyer, he saw himself as a family man first. Jay was immensely proud of his three children, Shannon, Stephanie and Campbell. Nancy was at his side throughout his career, and they formed an amazing team.

It is fitting to finish this short summary of Jay’s life with the most important fact, on which we have not yet touched. Despite his enormous professional accomplishments, and his blazing intellect, these things are not what we all remember most about Jay. Jay was one of the kindest people one could ever meet. This was not a quality that was observed only from time to time. Jay was uniformly kind, warm, welcoming and generous to everyone around him every day.

Jay passed away on October 12, 2022 after suffering a heart attack. When we received the news of Jay’s death, there were many tears shed in our office. After his passing, a staff member approached me to tell me the story of Jay offering them a ride home one winter evening, as it was so cold. The staff member pointed out that they lived in the opposite direction of Jay’s home. Apparently, that was not a relevant consideration for Jay.

Jay was an exceptional lawyer, a loyal partner and a good friend. We miss Jay terribly.