I was privileged to know Gerry and her family my entire life. Her strong core values and dedication to family helped guide me through my early years. Her remarkable intelligence, curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit helped forge our friendship later in life. Gerry was a strong, energetic, and resilient woman.

So many memories, but the one I will share is watching Gerry barter with a merchant in Oman. Their voices got louder and their gestures became more dramatic as they negotiated fiercely. Charles stood close by, protective, in case things got out of hand. I was worried this would not end well. Then I noticed that Gerry and the merchant were both enjoying this process. I suspect the merchant did not get anywhere near as much money as he wanted Gerry got what she wanted and they both seemed happy in the end.

Gerry had a positive impact on so many people. She will be missed.

Gerry was a constant for my whole life. Growing up being close to her family, I was struck how she was one of those rare parents who truly engaged with others (kids in my case) intellectually rather than just going through the motions. She was acutely intelligent and if you said a platitude she would question your thoughts and effectively demand that you were intellectually honest. She was immensely social and always gave positive energy in conversation. She was special and she will be in my heart as a key part of my life and the world is a bit smaller without her. She will be missed deeply as will too many members of her family.

I only met Gerry a few times but the first of these sticks firmly in my mind and is a memory which I am very grateful to possess.

It was Christmastime 1990 and I had promised our two sons, ages 6 and 3, that I would walk them over after dinner to see Gerry's magnificently lit, enormous outdoor fir tree.

There was a lot of excitement surrounding the opportunity to see this amazing Christmas light display. Very few huge trees were lit like that in those days and I'd been building it up for the kids during the course of the day.

The three of us arrived just as Gerry was walking to her car and the tree was not lit. Clearly she had somewhere to go.

We had never met, yet Gerry went back into the house and turned on the Christmas tree lights for my children.

That gesture of enormous generosity and empathy speaks volumes about the type of person Gerry was and remains a good reminder to me about how our positive actions can influence others in ways we cannot fathom.

I was finally officially introduced to Gerry over two decades later, while I volunteered at her nearby seniors' residence. She seemed pleased to have me tell the story and express my thanks, accepting the accolade in that low key way and with her gentle smile.

Gerry was what I refer to as "good value". No wonder Chuck and David turned out so well. She will be remembered.

In sympathy,

Claire Clark