It is with great sadness & heavy hearts that the Amies family formally announce the passing of Barry Eugene Amies of Vernon, BC on Tuesday, June 25th, 2019 in the Vernon Jubilee Hospital, at the age of 76. He will be forever missed by his wife Donna, his daughter Nicole (Ian Laidlaw) and his son Tyson (Lisa) as well as his grandchildren Jayden, Carson, Hunter, and Mikaela.
Barry was born in the town of Mossbank, Saskatchewan on May 18, 1943. He grew up in Spalding, Saskatchewan when at the age of 13 he moved to McBride, BC and met the love of his life Donna Clark. They were married in 1963 in the town of Kitimat. Barry and Donna lived throughout many communities in BC during his early years of working for the forestry and the Bank of Nova Scotia. When he was transferred to Vernon BC, Barry and Donna knew they found the place they wanted to live and raise a family. Soon after, Barry discovered what would become his lifelong passion when he was offered to purchase an insurance license from a local realtor who would teach him the ropes. With his new insurance career started, Barry and Donna had their first child Nicole followed a couple years later by his son Tyson. Barry was immediately an active citizen in Vernon and continued to be for his entire life. In these early days, he was involved with the construction of the local curling rink where he was a competitive curling skip himself. He helped create a local Curling Car Spiel Tournament that Vernon hosted for many years. During this time, his insurance brokerage, Baron Insurance, was growing and he became more involved in the insurance industry at a Provincial association level as well as the National association level where he helped establish the insurance licensing education requirements that are still in place across Canada.
If you have ever met Barry, you will know that he liked to have fun, laugh, play music & cards, golf, dance, fish and if there was a party going on he would always be one of the last people to leave while he poured everyone’s drinks only one way – strong. He had a caring nature about him that always made you feel like you were the only person in the room. He lived life in a manner that exemplified honesty and integrity to a degree that he was a role model to many that met him. Barry did not wait for people to ask for help, he just started helping them right away.
It is with a leader like this that Baron Insurance grew into a successful insurance brokerage in Vernon with loyal staff who all loved working for Barry just as much as he loved working with them. It was with his company running strong that Barry admits he made his one mistake, he sold Baron Insurance. Even though he regretted this decision, it did not stop him a couple years later from becoming involved in a new insurance brokerage called Landing Insurance. With great partners and through some luck, Barry was able to regain the name Baron Insurance and never looked back as the brokerage began to quickly grow again. During this time, Barry discovered the joys of being a grandparent with the birth of Jayden (Nicole) followed later by Carson, Hunter and Mikaela (Tyson & Lisa). Barry loved spending time with his grandchildren teaching them anything he could and he was very proud of the families and homes that both his children Nicole and Tyson had created.
Those who have met Barry will all agree that the best way to describe Barry Amies is that he was “The nicest person you could ever meet.”
Barry Amies is survived by his brothers Wayne (Donna) and Denny (Bonnie) along with his sister-in-laws Helena Chambers & Kathy Fraser (Keith) and his brother-in-law Alan Clark. His nieces and nephews; Cindy Rice & her family Nicole (Curtis), Lindsay (Matt), and Josh. Brian, Ralph, Rona (Peter), Mitchell (Shelly) & Tim, Lorne, Arlette Chambers, Jason (Gwen) Chambers & family, and Tanice (Bruce) Fadden & Gordon (Jen) Creasor & family.
The Amies family would like to invite all those who knew Barry to a Celebration of Life service on Thursday, July 25th at 2:00pm at the Vernon Curling Club. It will be a time to hear and share stories, laugh, cry, and to celebrate his life that was so beautifully lived.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the VJH Foundation Intensive Care / Cardiac Unit.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Barry Eugene Amies June 25th 2019..
Death notice for the town of: Vernon, Province: Colombie britanique