It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved friend and mentor, taken from us too soon by failing health and a heart attack. A man of many talents, with an extraordinary breadth and depth of interests, he was kind, gentle and curious about things most kids and many adults weren’t even aware of. This curiosity continued throughout his life, leading him to explore theatre, languages, cooking, genealogy, screenwriting, chess, history, poetry, music genres, playing classical Spanish guitar, and the banjo in the old timey music tradition, the law and politics. His career was as diverse as his personal life, having practised law, worked in politics for the BC Social Credit Party and the Federal Conservative Party, and conducted memorable Canadian Citizenship ceremonies as a Citizenship Court Judge – explaining so well the essence of what it was to be Canadian. George was a respected Public Member of the Board of the College of Licensed Practical Nurses, and most recently was a Member and the Vice-Chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He co-hosted “The Magic Carpet” with Howie Siegel, a radio show in Victoria. Aside from his accomplishments, George was unique in his kind heartedness. The saying, “he didn’t have a mean bone in his body” could have been written of him. Because of this, and because of his voluminous knowledge of many topics, George had a lot of friends from very different backgrounds. He was a true renaissance man, an eccentric character in the best of ways, and a loyal and true friend. He will be so very greatly missed by those of us who knew and loved him. “He was the microcosm of man, of a human being. He had everything.”
Predeceased by parents, Joseph Paul Alphonse Gibault and Muriel Thoms, and brother Joseph Gibault. He leaves behind niece, Nicole Lake, and all his beloved friends.
A Memorial Service and Celebration of Life for George with a reception to follow, will be held at 3:00 pm on Friday, August 26, 2016 at McCall’s new location, McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive in Victoria.
In lieu of flowers, donations in George’s memory would be appreciated to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C., #106 – 1001 Cloverdale Avenue, Victoria, BC, V8X 4C9.
Condolences may be offered to the friends and family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
29 Responses
A very special friend died yesterday.
It’s hard to think of what to write. He certainly wouldn’t be impressed with me calling him “very special”.
I guess now that he’s passed on, I will say it anyway.
We used to often go to dinner and a movie. He especially loved horror movies, but not if they were too dark (not the storyline, but the actual light level). He had a tendency to fall asleep if it wasn’t bright enough.
Dinner would usually come “after” the movie, and usually at Paul’s Motor Inn, and would often stretch for hours and hours and hours into the morning.
And you couldn’t sit with him for more than 5 minutes and not learn something, and you’d prod him for more.
Even the very last time we had lunch, I walked away a little smarter.
He was such a brilliant man. Genius wasn’t a strong enough word. And for one only 19 years my senior, he knew so much, had experienced so much. It’s funny to think I’m almost as old now as he was when we met.
He confided in me so much of his life, and even a few “secrets”, many of which may or may not have been embellished (or completely fabricated) – but they remain part of the intrigue nonetheless.
To say he was a mentor would also be too massive an understatement. He wouldn’t hesitate to call my bullshit for what it was, and challenge every preconceived notion I ever had, but not vindictively, just in his charming “matter of fact” way.
In the end, he was very sick. We knew it was only a matter of time, and he’d leave this world too soon.
I only wish I’d had more time with him, especially over the last few years where my life has been so tumultuous.
Thank you for your friendship George, and for the impact you’ve had on my life.
– Paul Holmes
My dear friend of twenty years, George Gibault, has passed away. I will write more tomorrow. Apologies in advance for anything I lose track of this week. Only moments before I got the news I was explaining George’s theory that Twin Peaks was actually Nelson, BC to some of my students. And only last week I was telling Jacob Baker about the theory George and I developed that Buffy’s Sunnyvale was I inspired by the Hanford Necklace. George Gibault: loving friend, mentor and cautionary tale all in one. I shall have a plate of potstickers in your honour tomorrow.
…
George Gibault used to host an open line radio show on Saturday nights in Victoria. He gave me my first gig as a Mormonism expert.
One night his in-studio guest failed to show up. So George announced to the listeners “This show has just become an experiment in ESP. I have a thought. Phone in and tell me what it is.”
I shall miss that enormous man.
– Stuart Parker
One thing I’ve learned in politics is that occasionally you find great people amongst the ranks of your political adversaries. George was one of those people. I got to know him when Sean would have the two of us on his show to do a point-counterpoint segment. After we finished arguing on the air, we would have wonderful conversations about people we both knew and events we both took part in. And we also talked about George’s interest in folk music. I last saw George a year ago and I’m genuinely saddened to hear that he is gone.
– Chris Gainor
I’m very sad today to hear the news that my friend George Gibault has passed away. George, who served as director of caucus research under Premier Bill Vander Zalm’s Socred government, was one of my first political mentors. He took the time to help a very green, 27-year old independent political reporter understand the ins and outs of provincial politics in British Columbia. To my regret, we lost contact over the years. The fault was mine. But I never forgot his brilliance, his generosity of spirit and his willingness to be there for me when it mattered the most.
– Sean Holman
I am very sad to advise that George Gibault passed away this afternoon. George was a beloved friend to many people who worked in politics in and around Victoria for many years. I know many NDPers, Greens, and even Liberals who had a fond affection for George’s profound insights into human behaviour, cultural history, and campaign strategies. George was a lifelong Conservative who achieved some notoriety as a Social Credit researcher, speechwriter, and administrator. In his later years, he served with distinction on a number of boards and commissions, including a stint as a Citizenship Judge. As a young lawyer, before he entered a lifetime in politics, he worked for Fulton and Company on the Kamloops v Nielsen case, which came to be one of the most importaint cases in BC law. George will be missed by many. I count myself fortunate to have known him and been his friend.
– Bruce Hallsor
I think that George for all the various activities and work he was involved with over the years was most proud of the time he served as a Citizenship Court Judge. I attended his swearing-in here in Ottawa at the time. Part of the ceremony involved the swearing in of a large group of Canadians as citizens. George was called upon to address them. His address to them was both profound and most impressive. He explained so well the essence of what it was to be Canadian- a truly splendid performance. Despite our mutual interest in things political, in all of our conversations over the years, I never saw him get so animated and focused as when we would discuss his interest in folk music. Related to that, he loved playing his banjo. George was a rare, sometimes strange, but always precious. We may not see his like again.
– Mike Donison
GEORGE GIBAULT by his Childhood friend of over 60 years:
As a child, George was kind, gentle and curious about things most kids weren’t even aware of. George spent his elementary school years in Williams Lake, where he took a great interest in space and built rockets which he launched from his back yard. His mission was to reach the moon so he could prove it was made of green cheese. Anyone who knew George was aware of his brilliant intellect and knowledge of very diverse topics.
This curiosity continued throughout his life, leading him to explore theatre, languages, cooking, various, genealogy, chess, history, poetry, music genres, playing classical Spanish guitar, and the banjo in the old timey music tradition, the law and politics.
In 1966 George won an award for directing theatre at his high school in Nelson. He continued acting while at UBC, and was in some films later in Victoria. He was the co-host of The Magic Carpet with Howie Siegel, a radio show in Victoria, in which guests in the many topics that interested them, from witches to music to the occult to cooking. He studied screenwriting, had written several scripts and despite ill health in the past several years, was writing a play for his friends, Bill Miller and Eric Holmgren.
His career was as diverse as his personal life, having practised law, worked in politics for the BC Social Credit Party and the Federal Conservative Party, and conducted memorable Canadian Citizenship ceremonies as a Citizenship Court Judge. George was a respected Public Member of the Board of the College of Licensed Practical Nurses, and most recently was a Member and the Vice-Chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Aside from his accomplishments, George was unique in his kind heartedness. The saying, “he didn’t have a mean bone in his body” could have been written of him. Because of this, and because of his voluminous knowledge of many topics, George had a lot of friends from very different backgrounds. He was a true renaissance man, an eccentric character in the best of ways, and a loyal and true friend. He will be so very greatly missed by those of us who knew and loved him.
– Charlene Simon
“I loved George and I deeply miss him. He was into everything! Poetry, music, genealogy, politics, religions, languages, obscure B-horror films! :p, Cthulhu you name it! George was curious about it. He had a dark sad side and a light very funny side..he was the microcosm of man, of a human being. He had everything! He was the greatest of ALL of them. ONE OF A KIND!! ”
– Eric Holmgren
There’s is no possible way to summarize George’s life in a few short lines. His mind, his personality – all of it was bigger than life. He made his way through the world, meeting many people and affecting all of them. His presence and his mind touched many and varied fields – politics, law, radio, music, screenwriting, languages. One can only summarize what his mind touched, he encompassed multitudes. In talking to him, the conversation could dance from interest to interest, from subject to subject. History, philosophy, film, current events, poetry, science, radio, chess, cosmology, books – the conversation would follow a coherent thread, soaring and twisting through a forest of interests. Never losing the essential truths that tied them all together. In a world where people spent their entire lives specializing in one thing, George stood out. His specialty was everything.
I was glad to call him my friend. I’m devastated that we can never again meet as friends.
– Robert Blazek
Rather than attempting and failing to summarize how people knew George I’ve taken the liberty of taking their thoughts verbatim and placing them here. I don’t know of any other way to show best who he was and how many people he had an influence on. Anyone and everyone is welcome to add their own recollections and reminisces about the life of this extraordinary man. Or they can add more to what they’ve already have written about him.
– Robert Blazek