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"Nous avons le
regret de vous annoncer le décès le 5 février
dernier de l'Adjum (Ret) G. Doyle MMM, CD à l'age de 68 ans,
ancien membre du 12e Régiment blindé du Canada qui a
servit au sein des FC pendant 35 ans. La cérémonie a
eu lieu à Hulse Payfair & McGarry sise au 315 rue McLeod
à Ottawa le 22 février dernier". Voici un hommage
en son honneur écrit par M. Chris Chance et lu lors de la cérémonie
à Ottawa. Ladies and Gentlemen, soldiers, serving and retired, my name is Chris Chance. It is my honour to have been asked by Gerrie`s family to `say a few words about Gerrie`, mon Oncle Gerrie, the Old GI. We are all gathered here today to render hommage to our very dear friend, Gerrie and to celebrate the life of a great soldier, a great Canadian, a truly unforgettable human being. As I mentioned, this is indeed an honour for me, but also a great challenge, the problem being how to capture in such a short time frame, all of his accomplishments, his knowledge, his energy, his joie de vivre, encapsulated in his wonderful sense of humour. Gerry made us all think, cry, but most of all laugh, especially when the chips were down. How would one describe Gerrie Soldier Leader Trainer Athlete Raconteur Professeur Berger Diplomat Father Confessor
First and foremost a soldier. Gerrie was most at home in the field, not in garrison, and it was these circumstances that truly demonstrated Gerrie`s professionalism. An outstanding example of this occurred in 1964, when as a young Corporal with the 8th Canadian Hussars in Egypt, a Cdn vehicle accidentally entered a minefield and three soldiers were killed. Gerrie immediately took control of the situation and saved further lives from being lost by forcibly stopping other vehicles from entering the minefield. As a soldier, Gerrie always demonstrated outstanding leadership, by ensuring that the welfare of those soldiers under his command always came first. Gerry was a trainer of both officers and men, and was never afraid to speak his mind when he felt that a bad decision was about to or could be made, sometimes tactfully, sometimes rather blunt and directly, but you always got the message, loud and clear. My own first experience of this occurred when Gerrie was my troop Warrant Officer during our preparation for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, I had come to him in a bit of a hurry, and must have appeared rather flustered, for he told me « Sir, take three deep breaths, tell the Old Warrant what the problem is, and your Uncle Gerrie gonna straight that out » We won three wars using the system, please don’t try to change t’ings overnight » From that moment on, I developed a lifelong respect for Gerrie (and hopefully he for me), that turned into a wonderful friendship. As an athlete and organizer, Gerrie was instrumental in the development of the marvellous ski hill at Base Valcartier, and organized all of the administration and ground and air support needed for the world record-breaking 232 parachute jumps in 24 hours set by his pal, Pedro Blanchet. Although Gerrie did not have a university education, he could have held forth with university professors on practically any subject, ranging from History, through Philosophy to Mathematics and Music. He was extremely well-read, his first-class library filled to support one of his great passions, reading. Gerrie’s interpretation of what the author’s original intent was didn’t always seem to match other people’s understanding of the same passage. For example, after Gerrie returned from Egypt in ’75, having been the contingent Welfare Officer, he informed me that one should not always believe what one read in the Bible, Upon studying the miracle where Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding, Gerrie said that « was no miracle, that was the first recorded case of a bootleeger in history », perhaps not quite the same. Everything Gerrie did, was done with a passion where Gerrie fully committed his considerable energy to the task. Gerrie was always pleased to describe his « noveau kick » be it sports cars, skiing, guitar, cooking, calligraphy, or body-building. It was as raconteur that Gerrie made us laugh, but Gerrie was also someone who took great interest in others, to determine what made them tick, what were their interests in life, and not only did he impart his own experiences, but also learned from others. Gerrie’s interpretation of the world’s religions for example were so unusual, that the Protestant Padre in Valcartier, Major George Davidson, asked is his deputy, Captain Frank Walker could also meet GI, and absorb some of Gerrie’s religious ideas, unique as they were. His teaching skills were marvellous, as one could never predict exactly how the lesson was going to unfold nor the anecdotes that Gerrie was going to include to drive home the lesson. As a result Gerrie would be called upon teaching and hosting duties, such as his role as the tent commander for a group of Chinese Generals on a winter warfare exercise, Exercise Nez Rouge where Gerrie showed them how to snowshoe, how to live in the winter, erect the tent, prepare the rations, sleep in the tent. The only thing Gerrie didn’t do was tuck them in and kiss them goodnight. Gerry Comme berger, Gerrie referred at times to his soldiers as « mes brebis » and shepherded both his officers and men through good times and bad. Behind that crusty exterior of a field soldier, there existed a man with a very big heart. Equally at home with his peers, his soldiers, Generals, politicians, businessmen, and his much-adored nieces and nephews, Gerrie earned our admiration and respect. Probably only one of a few people who became a legend in his own life-time, certainly in the Armoured Corps, Gerrie left an indelible stamp upon all of us, an individual who is truly unforgettable. Gerrie would not want us to feel sorry for him, and right now Gerrie is probably in Heaven having yet another coffee with Jesus, and talking about life in general probably saying something like this « Well you know, I might have used your name a few times back on earth, but I wanted to make sure everbody understood. You know what I mean. By the way, I been lookin’ around ‘ere a bit, and there’s a few Mickey Mouse tings going on ‘ere, but don’t worrry about dat, the Old GI is ‘ere, and I gonna straight dat out for you » Thank
Gerrie, and God Bless You for everything, most of all the wonderful
memories |