Obituary of Terry Ryan Shewchuk

May 30, 1947 - June 16, 2017

Terry Ryan Shewchuk, age 70, passed away on Friday, June 16, 2017, a life of 25 584 days.  He counted because that’s the kind of thing he did.  Terry was born and raised in Willingdon, Alberta, the only child of Steve and Pauline Shewchuk.  He was inquisitive and curious about EVERYTHING from day one.  His love of learning and reading was instilled early on and continued to the very end.  Terry attended the University of Alberta, the University of Toronto, and the University of New Brunswick.  He treasured the many life-long friends he made throughout his academic career.  In 1973, Terry came to Grande Prairie as a temporary sessional instructor at the Grande Prairie Regional College.  The temporary quickly turned into permanent and he went on to have lengthy career as professor in the Science Department.  Terry loved his students.  He loved sharing his stories and going on his yearly Spring Course with a crew to the West Coast of Vancouver Island.  This was an annual trip that began in 1980 and continued until each member of his family was old enough to do the trip with him.  Terry was a devoted father and grandfather (Gido).  He was happiest when he was sharing some new piece of trivia, a book, or talking about times spent together.  He loved being able to putter around with granddaughter Zooey teaching her about the world, eating ice cream and feeding the birds.  He cherished his trips to New Zealand to visit with his son Evan and grandchildren Alek & Una.  Family was everything to him and he made sure that each and every member of the family knew that every day.  Terry is survived by his mother, Pauline Shewchuk (pre-deceased by his father Steve W. Shewchuk); Gail, the mother of his children and friend to the end; daughter, Terra, son-in-law Gavin, and granddaughter  Zooey (Meyers); son, Evan and grandchildren Aleksandr and Una.  Terry’s legacy lives on in his children, grandchildren and students.  A private graveside memorial will be held in early July in Edmonton.  Memorial donations may be made to:  The GPRC Shewchuk FamilyScholarship Fund (GPRC Development Office) Email:  foundation@gprc.ab.ca  Toll free 1.888.539.GPRC, ext 2905, Local 780-539-2905, Fax:  780-539-2888  or to the charity of your choice.

Care entrusted to Bear Creek Funeral Home (780) 830-7742 www.bearcreekfuneral.com