Christopher NEWTON

NEWTON, Christopher Hugo Barnwell
August 30, 1939 - March 9, 2016
The eventful life of an extraordinary man came to an end peacefully at home on March 9th, with his family by his side. Chris was the cherished husband of Linda for 37 years, and father to Fiona, Adrian (Diana), and Jason.
From an early age, Chris's life was destined to be anything but ordinary. Born the son of a Royal Navy Submariner in Valetta, Malta, Chris and his mother were quickly evacuated back to the UK due to the impending start of WWII. He attended Grenham House School and Pangbourne Nautical College in the UK before moving with his family to Moscow for a brief period. At the age of 19 he boarded the RMS Saxonia in Southampton and immigrated to Canada to explore other opportunities, starting his great Canadian adventure by working on the Prince of Wales E.P. Ranch in High River, Alberta. Six months later he moved west to Vancouver and enrolled at UBC graduating in Economics, and shortly thereafter started his career with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. He then decided to pursue a PhD in Marine Resource Economics at the University of Rhode Island. Returning to DFO, he was fortunate to work with a dynamic team of colleagues implementing, among other things, the Limited Entry Licensing Program for salmon, and later the Herring Roe licensing program; they were exciting times in the West Coast fishing industry. He left DFO in 1978 and began working on various international projects, which resulted in his ultimate relocation to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in Rome, Italy for the next 14 years. He found great satisfaction in assisting numerous countries in establishing their 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zones, and later by overseeing statistical publications, in particular, fish production statistics from 1950 onwards, as reported in The State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture (1995).
While Chris had the opportunity to work in 48 countries during the course of his international career, he was always happiest returning home to his soul place on Reid Island. He took great pleasure in introducing his children to island life; fishing, boating, exploring reefs, finding treasures on the beach, restoring old fruit orchards, planking logs, construction, and stone work. Due to the continuous 'arm's length' list of projects to complete at Reid, he was affectionately known as the 90% man, never quite finishing one project before being enticed by another. He was a proud father when the boys surpassed his own skills and finished the projects he had started many years earlier.
Chris was an inspiring conversationalist with quick wit and dry English humour, often misunderstood, but appreciated by many. There was always a story or anecdote to be told, and he did so in his inimitable style.
Although our 'fun director' has left us, the memories and lessons he taught us all shall remain forever. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts.
A celebration of life for Chris will be held on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at The Boathouse Restaurant in Horseshoe Bay between 2 and 5 pm.