Alistair Hayne
May 11, 2001 – Sept. 24, 2017

It is with unimaginable sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of our cherished son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin, Alistair Hayne on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Alistair died in a tragic accident while out enjoying time with his friends on a Saturday night. He is deeply missed by his parents Barry and Emma Hayne; Sister Olivia Hayne, Grandparents Peter and Olivia Callegari (Sidney) and Delores Hayne (Edmonton); Aunties Janice Zechel (Bob), Anna Callegari (David Mohler), Rachel Warren (Robert); Uncle Roy Hayne (Debbie); cousins Kurtis and Cody Hayne, Robyn Noel (Scott), Kate (Greg) and Miranda Zechel, Sam, Grace and Mary Warren, Elsie Mohler, and baby Scarlett Noel; Godparents Bruce and Roxy Campbell; as well as his loving extended family in Scotland and across Canada. Predeceased by his Papa Fuzzy Hayne.

Alistair was born on Salt Spring Island on May 11, 2001, the second welcomed child to Barry and Emma and beloved little brother to Olivia. He came into the world with a big and boisterous cry and once he had learned to smile, never stopped. Baby Alistair radiated happiness. Smiling and laughing contentedly while being carted around like a big doll by his older sister Olivia. He mastered all feats physical at an early age, walking by 10 months. His persistence and fearlessness with things new was apparent even at this young age. Childhood was filled with endless adventures, among the most memorable being quad and ski-doo rides with cousins in Edmonton, sled- pulls in the snow behind the truck, kiss and release fishing excursions on the dock, cannon-ball jumps into the pond, trampoline flips in the backyard, run-ins with chickens, fabrications of swords and weapons out of all things natural, always leaving a trail of toy chaos wherever he went. Alistair had big emotions; large reactions to things and events. He felt deeply about people and things. He loved young children and animals and had a soft and tender heart. He never wanted to miss out on anything and he carried a restless energy to seek people and adventures, always. He thought outside the box, pushed boundaries to their limits and implored us to examine our own judgments and assumptions carefully. He truly was our rebel with a heart.

As Alistair grew into an adolescent, his focus shifted from family to friends, and he became cherished friend to many. His love for his friends seemed boundless. Intuitive and sensitive, he had great affinity for connecting people together and showing his love. His goofy, happy, authentic self seemed to endear him to many and he happily reciprocated that love. He loved fashion, expensive cars and music and had taught himself how to play the guitar beautifully. He loved rapping and composing music with friends. Our family is learning so much about his character from pictures and posts to his memory page and we are so appreciative to his friends for these messages.

Alistair’s giving and loving nature extended to the moments of his departure from this earthly realm, in that he was able to give the gift of life to 5 blessed recipients of 5 of his organs. Our family finds comfort in knowing that his big heart will continue to radiate love to others. As Alistair always did, please remember to tell your loved ones how much you love them and throw kindness like confetti.

We would like to thank the EMS crews and medical teams who took such skilled and loving care of Alistair on his journey. We are so grateful to our extended family, to this community and to Alistair’s friends for the tremendous outpouring of love, support and donations to help ease this time for us. It has been truly humbling and we feel blessed to be loved by our community and family in this way.

A Celebration of Life will be held for Alistair on Sunday Oct 15th, 2017 at 2pm at Gulf Islands Secondary School in the gymnasium.

In lieu of flowers, please take time to share your wishes with your loved ones about organ donation and consider filling out donor forms. Monetary donations can be made to the Transplant Research Foundation of BC at www.trfbc.org or to BC Children’s Hospital at www.bcchildrens.ca.

Gregory John Klassen
August 28 1958 – October 3, 2017

Greg was cut down suddenly in the prime of life by a heart attack linked to deep vein thrombosis.

Greg was born in Germany, and spent the next 18 years living in many countries with parents John (a Canadian diplomat) and Lilo, and brothers Doug and Bruce. He learned to ski in the Alps, where he eventually broke his tailbone. He learned to skateboard on the streets of Hong Kong. On the shores of France, he learned to love the ocean. Visiting Victoria, he grew to love the BC coast.

From a young age, Greg was a biologist, photographer and artist. As a child, he kept a colony of snails in the yard, observing and reporting on them with sketches and photographs. In his early teens, his brother Doug gave him his first good camera, a Nikon that he treasured always.

Greg attended the University of Guelph where he earned a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in marine biology. It was in Guelph that he met and married his life partner, Andrea Locke. He continued on to complete a Ph.D. in marine biogeography at the University of Toronto, and postdoctoral work at the Smithsonian Institution and St. Mary’s University, Halifax. Throughout much of this period, he supported himself as a scientific photographer and illustrator. Adventures included searching for new species in the fish market in Tokyo and three weeks of scuba diving with French naval commandos in New Caledonia.

After moving to New Brunswick, where he lived for two decades, Greg initially worked as a professor of marine biology. During these years, RhiAnnon and Morgan were born. For Greg, family always came first. In 2002, when the kids were 8 and 4 respectively, he left academia to become a stay-at-home parent and primary caregiver to RhiAnnon. He considered this the most important role of his life.

Greg credits photographer Freeman Patterson with helping him overcome his block to colour photography in 2006 – Greg was profoundly colour-blind. After being turned down from several graduate programs because his pictures were ‘too pretty’, he enrolled in the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design and received a Diploma in Advanced Studies (Visual Arts) in 2009. While at the College he started to ‘make pictures’ and not just ‘take pictures’. In 2012, the year the family moved to Salt Spring Island, Greg graduated with a Master of Applied Arts degree from Emily Carr University.

For a guy who claimed to have no innate social skills (as an adult, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD), he made a difference in a lot of lives and was generous with his time, mentoring many early-career scientists and artists.
You always knew exactly where you stood with Greg; there was no subterfuge in his soul. He expected high standards from himself and others.

It had always been Greg’s dream to live on the BC coast; on Salt Spring, he really hit his stride as an artist and as a human being. He was a strong advocate for persons of disability and established a visual arts program at GIFTS (the Gulf Islands Families Together Society). Greg was also the founder and driving force behind Dialogues with the Arts, a sort of intellectual salon. A good intellectual discussion was always one of Greg’s favourite things. He absolutely loved the ‘argument surrounded by water’ that is Salt Spring and expressed this with two major art projects in 2017: “Salt Spring Stories” held at ArtSpring in August and the public art piece “We are Salt Spring” banner that he installed only 4 days before his death.