Terry and his family arrived in Yukon, in December of 1958. He fell in love with the land, the people and the life style.
Life was not always easy for Terry but he was strong in spirit and the bumps in the road only served as a challenge to be met head on. Terry was born with a disability that was a challenge to live with but it never stopped him from accomplishing what he wanted to accomplish or finding an adventure to pursue.
Terry’s life was wide and varied. He drove heavy equipment, gold mined, designed and manufactured gold and silver jewelry, worked for Forestry as a tower man, worked a trap line, built a sailboat out of a canoe, worked with leather, wood and pewter, sailed around the world on a freighter, he did odd jobs while in Japan and New Zealand so he could stay there too learn more about the culture and lifestyle. Most recently Terry was known as the “shoe repair guy”.
Terry loved the First Nations lifestyle and spent as much time as he could learning from them and studying their ways and traditions. He valued the elders and admired their ways and the lessons they taught him. Terry could always find peace in himself while he was in the bush and life was simply.
Terry loved life in general but there were two things in particular that meant the most to him, the first was drinking coffee and talking with anyone and everyone who wanted to take the time to talk with him. Terry could be found at Trail’s North for breakfast, Tim Horton’s, A&W, the Java Connection and several other coffee shops sitting with friends and telling stories for a good portion of the day.
His second love was cats. He taught his cats to ride on the skidoo so that they could join him on his trap line and learn the bush life. Happiness was watching TV with a cat cuddled up on his chest, purring and giving head bumps. A morning was just worth getting up for if you didn’t have a cat tell you it was meal time or a time for a cuddle. Millie will continue to miss him and he has missed her since his hospitalisation in July.
Terry and Kelly were so grateful for all the folks who took time from their days to stop in and say hello while Terry was in the hospital in Whitehorse. It meant the world to him to have you there and talk about old times and share some memories. It was a joy to see him laugh and enjoy life again after being in St. Paul’s for so long without contact from friends and family.
Terry asked that there be no service after his passing but I don’t think he would mind a bit if you took the time to have a coffee, share a drink of Capitan Morgan’s spice rum and coke, smoke a joint or play a round of golf. If a smile comes to your face, Terry is there with you no doubt.
Terry wishes you all well but he is off to his next great adventure……….
Terry will always to be loved and missed by his brother Dan and his little sister Kelly.
Special thanks to Tony, Larry, Kate, the Elder Active folks and the residents of 1190 Front Street and the incredible nursing staff at Whitehorse General Hospital, your kindness and support will not be forgotten
A very special thank you to the Company of the White Wolf (Ian and Jeremy) for taking the time to visit Terry in the hospital and providing him with a true warrior’s send off.
Kelly will continue to work towards fulfilling Terry’s request to get hemodialysis in Whitehorse.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Robert Terry Coventry July 25 1946 January 3 2020..
Death notice for the town of: Whitehorse, Province: Colombie britanique