Hugh MORRISON

February 07, 1946 - October 22, 2024

Hugh Morrison, a longtime resident of Port Alberni from the 1970s to the 1990s and of Chemainus from 2009 to the present, passed away peacefully at home on October 22, 2024.

Hugh was born in New Zealand. The middle child of three, he spent his early years in Seatoun, a suburb of Wellington. His father worked in South Korea for several years when Hugh was a teenager, and so Hugh completed high school at an American-run school in Seoul. That led him to attend university in the United States, first at the University of Washington in Seattle and later at Western Washington University in Bellingham, from which he graduated with a BA and a BEd.

It was in Seattle that Hugh met the love of his life and wife of 56 years, Anne. They married in 1968 and moved to Port Alberni in 1970, where he began a career as a teacher. He taught in Port Alberni for over 20 years, at Gill and Faber Elementary Schools and A.W. Neill Junior Secondary School. He eventually took on the role of teacher-librarian, an area he continued to work in for the rest of his career. He later went back to school to complete an MEd at the University of Portland and a Masters of Library and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia.

Hugh and Anne raised their two sons, Trevor and Andrew, in Port Alberni. They were very active in the community during their time there. Hugh and Anne both sang for many years in the adult choir Timbre! Hugh also pursued a range of other interests, including playing rugby, refereeing youth soccer, officiating at track and field meets, operating his ham radio (which kept him in contact with family in New Zealand), performing in plays and musical theatre productions, singing in a long-running barbershop quartet, playing the piano, doing exhaustive family genealogical research, and tending his vegetable gardens at their home in Beaver Creek.

Hugh and Anne moved to the Lower Mainland in the early 1990s, living in Langley and then Abbotsford before retiring and returning to the Island in 2009. In his later years, Hugh continued his love of choral singing (as well as conducting), gardening, genealogy, and watching as much televised rugby and cricket as he could find. He served as treasurer of the Chemainus seniors' centre and the Nanaimo Unitarian church, and he held similar volunteer positions with other organizations.

Hugh was a valued member of every community where he lived, and he cherished the numerous dear friends he and Anne made over the years.

Hugh and Anne were devoted to each other throughout their lives together. He passed with her by his side. He was also much loved and will be greatly missed by sons Trevor and Andrew, daughters-in-law Beth and Cara, grandchildren Clio, Sophia, Connor, and Emmett, sister Karen, nieces Fiona and Heather, brother-in-law Lee, and many other friends and relatives in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. He was predeceased by his parents Colin and Connie, and by his brother Derek.

A celebration of Hugh's life is planned for Friday, November 29, at 1pm, at Knox United Church in Parksville.