Gareth C. Morgan

August 29, 1973 - December 31, 2017

Gareth Morgan, 44, died in a seaplane crash in Jerusalem Bay in the Hawkesbury Inlet near Sydney, Australia on Sunday, December 31, 2017. He was born on August 29, 1973 in Sydney, Australia, and grew up in North Vancouver, Canada. Gareth graduated from Argyle Secondary School and studied at Capilano College. He earned his Aviation diploma from the University of the Fraser Valley. His first flying job was with Tweedsmuir Air, flying out of Nimpo Lake in Northern BC. This was followed by flying into remote First Nations communities out of Norman Wells in the NWT on wheeled planes in the summer and skis in the winter. He joined Kenn Borek Air and flew seaplanes in the high arctic, flying to places such as Herschel Island in the Beaufort Sea off the Yukon coast, Inuvik in the NWT and Pond Inlet in Baffin Island in Nunavut as well as Myanmar in the tropics. Gareth flew for Harbour Air out of Vancouver for a number of years before returning to the place of his birth, flying for Sydney Seaplanes. He spent several years flying seaplanes in the Maldives, becoming a Twin Otter Captain. At the time of his death he had accumulated over 10,000 hours of flying, with over 9000 of these being in seaplanes. Gareth was a gifted athlete. As a youth he was BC Pentathlon champion and also held BC 80m hurdles records. His Argyle School soccer team won the BC High School championships. His North Vancouver team won the Canadian Club championship. He played for the British Columbia U18 team which won the Canadian Provincial Championship and for Capilano College which won the Canadian Collegiate Championship. He was selected to the Canadian U19 team and played against teams such as Brazil and Mexico in the Pan-Am Games in Cuba in 1991. He was drafted by the Vancouver 86ers and played for their reserve squad before having trials with a professional soccer team in Liverpool, England. He then made a decision to pursue a career as a pilot. He loved skiing, mountain climbing, and wind and board surfing. In spite of all his accomplishments Gareth was a modest and gentle soul. He was a devout Christian and cared deeply for his fellow human beings. He was a Big Brother and sponsored a child in India through the Dalit Freedom Network. He took time during his leave from flying to participate in mission trips with the North Shore Alliance Church in North Vancouver to build homes for destitute people in Ensenada, Mexico. He participated in mission work in an orphanage in Pemba in Mozambique with the Iris Global ministries. Gareth touched people all over the world with his humanity and compassion and deep spiritual beliefs. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his parents Orlis and Dudley (Rusty) Morgan, brother Dallas, sister Cydane (Jason) and nephew Kyle. Memorial services will be held at the Cordova Bay United Church in Victoria at 11:00am on Saturday 3 February and at the North Shore Alliance Church in North Vancouver at 11:00am on Saturday, 24 February. Memorial donations may be made in Gareth's name to the Morogoro Women's Training Centre in Tanzania c/o the Cordova Bay United Church Mission Fund,(www.cbunited.ca) or the Iris Global Pemba Mission (www.irisglobal.com) ,or to the North Shore Alliance Church missions fund (www.nsac.bc.ca).