Gerald “Gerry” Noel Stewart passed away peacefully in Kelowna, British Columbia, on August 28, 2026, surrounded by family. He was nearly 96.
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, on December 25, 1930, Gerry was the eldest of four children and the only son of John and Ann Stewart. He attended Campion College before moving west to study pre-medicine and play quarterback for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. After graduating from UBC Medical School, he completed his residency in Calgary, where he met Ellen Sweeney. They married on June 21, 1958, and soon settled in Kelowna.
Gerry became an early member of the Knox Clinic and Glenmore Medical Group and one of Kelowna’s first anesthesiologists. In 1969, he was among the first six physicians in Canada certified by the College of Family Medicine. He served as president of BC Medical in 1984–85 and devoted more than 60 years to his community. His work also took him to St. Jude’s Hospital in St. Lucia in 1973–74 and to New Zealand for a year of family-practice coverage. Although he retired from his practice in 1997, he continued assisting colleagues and in surgeries into his eighties.
Beyond medicine, Gerry enjoyed golf, sports, travel, family gatherings, storytelling and maple walnut ice cream. He coached hockey, served on the school board, organized an annual golf tournament for BC physicians and recorded many family milestones with his video camera. He was known for generosity, humour, humility, good sportsmanship and steadfast ethics.
Gerry was predeceased by his wife, Ellen; son, Mike; parents, John and Ann; sisters, Kathleen and Sheila; and cousin, Lawrence.
He is lovingly remembered by his children Tami, Pat, Brenda (Mark), Sandra (Phil), Todd and Pam (Patrick); grandchildren Brett, Ami (Graham), Kevin (Madeline), Matthew, Sarah, Liam, Willick, Shyanne, Sam, Graden and Taylor; great-granddaughters Georgia and Emilia; sister Maureen; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family offers special thanks to Jo Brown of Blenheim, New Zealand, for her devoted friendship, and to care aide and friend Elaine Kennedy for treating Gerry with dignity, kindness and humour.
A Funeral Mass, presided over by Father Pat and Father Gerald, will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at St. Charles Garnier Catholic Church, 3645 Benvoulin Road, Kelowna, BC. A reception will follow.
Source: Springfield Funeral Home
