HEMINGSON Errol C., born February 23, 1938,
passed away in his sleep in the early hours
of Saturday, February 16, 2008 in the
Palliative Care Ward at St. Paul's Hospital
just a few days short of his 70th birthday.
The second son of Norman and Ivy (nee Morrow)
Hemingson, Errol was born in Portage La Prairie,
Manitoba and is survived by his brother
Vincent Hemingson and sister, Delores Hill.
Errol is also survived by his sons Vince, Brad
and Kent and his daughter Charlene Bienvenu,
whom he had with his first wife, Sally Hemingson.
Brad and Margaret Hemingson gifted Errol with
three beautiful grandchildren, Stewart, Alastair
and Mhairi.
Errol served in the Royal Canadian Navy from
1958-1959 where he was stationed at HMCS
Naden in Esquimalt, where like many young
men from the prairies, he developed a
profound love of the sea. After leaving the
Navy and returning to Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Errol was an accomplished salesman with
Allis-Chalmers Rumley Ltd., traveling all
across Western Canada. After deciding to
spend more time at home with his family,
Errol moved to Vancouver Island, where
he owned several successful small businesses
in the Parksville and Nanaimo areas.
During this time Errol was an avid horseman
and hobby farmer. Shortly after moving to
the West Coast, Errol purchased the first of
what were to be many sea-going vessels,
from fishing boats and sail boats to pleasure
cruisers. Errol was also an avid car and
motorcycle enthusiast, a pilot and for a
time had a Cessna 172 which he loved to fly.
After moving to Vancouver in the early '80's,
Errol was a well-known and affectionately
controversial Howe Street stock promoter
in the junior mining sector of the
Vancouver Stock Exchange. A number of his
public companies received a tremendous
amount of publicity and it was a life-long
dream of Errol's to find and put into
production a working mine. Few things
in life made him happier than the
excitement of prospecting, staking claims
and running a drilling program. He was a
Vancouver stock promoter in the grand
old tradition. There was no part of the
mining business for which he was not
fiercely passionate. He is perhaps best
remembered for his company, Butler
Mountain Minerals Corporation.
After his first marriage ended in 1980,
Errol remarried again in 1987 to Alexa
Mieklejohn. Sadly, that marriage ended
in divorce as well. In Errol's own
words, "I had two wonderful wives, three
beautiful sons and a daughter who
was a miracle. That's not a bad life".
Due to increasing problems with his health
and a desire to spend more time in
warmer climates, Errol sailed to Mexico
in 1987 aboard his beloved ketch, the
Stone Raven. It was the first of many
trips to Mexico, the southern United
States and the Caribbean. In his later
years, Errol divided his time between
Canada and the United States, and
with his spirit of adventure still intact,
traveled all over the world.
Errol Hemingson was a cowboy, miner,
sailor, bon vivant, and raconteur with
a reputation for being able to talk the
birds out of the trees. He was a larger
than life figure who left an indelible
impression, and a character in the
grandest of traditions.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held
to remember Errol at the False Creek
Yacht Club, 1661 Granville Street, on
Sunday, March 9 starting at 3:00 PM.
www.fcyc.com Any who knew Errol,
family and friends, are welcome to
attend.
In lieu of flowers, Errol
requested that donations be made to
St. Paul's Hospital
- www.providencehealthcare.ca
For more information contact
Vince Hemingson (604) 331-0333
Published in the Vancouver Sun and/or The Province on 2/22/2008. |
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