assignments this spring has been the attendance at ‘retire- ment’ dinners for the peripatetic Ed Keate, whose profes- sional life has been a fascinating display of originality and creativity.” A little later in the article, we opined: ‘‘Ed Keate can never, will never and should never retire."” He has now retired for good. Keate died at Lions Gate Hos- pital on May 14, 1992. As I write this, a scene from an old movie has danced past me. Not a very good movie. Black and white. A just-retired husband is looking down at his suddenly deceased wife. They had made such wonderful plans for retire- ment. Tears in his eyes, the husband stared into the camera: “Damn, Damn, Damn!,”’ he said. The 1991 column was the trib- ute. We traced Keate’s successes as a journalist, log broker, businessman, the sparkplug to Gastown redevelopment and the builder of the now powerful Downtown Vancouver Associa- tion. There were many other credits, including his dedication to the North Shore through civic boards and agencies, newspaper columns and years of cable television pro- gramming. The passing of Ed Keate from the urban landscape is not a small loss. This opens a void as substantia! as those that followed the deaths of Jack Wasserman, Gordon Gibson Sr., Frank Baker, 3.V. Clyne, Louis Stervinou (The Dev, Ondines, Expo), Angelo Branca, Ken Stouffer (The Cave), Isy Walters and Hy Aisenstat, in no particular order. We have doubtlessly forgotten others, who, like Keate, have im- posed their personality on the city. They were not mere spectators. They were not just passengers. They became the parade. It was not a lengthy illness. Most of the decline was post- Christmas. Despite many medical visits, biopsies and radiology, the patient was in the final hours of _ his life before the condition was fully diagnosed. Characteristically, he kept the suffering to himself. For many of his friends, the obituary was the first news that Ed Keate was even ill, When | saw him in hospital, just days before his death, | remarked: ‘‘This is a new experi- ence for you, isn’t it?”’ he grunted his agreersent through a painful throat. In the hours following the news, reaction was the same everywhere. I spoke with Variety Club boss Art Jones, his cable TV partner; Gary pannerman OPEN LINES Jack Webster; Shirley Stocker and others at CKNW; former police * chief Bob Stewart; the group at the Downtown Vancouver Association and Downtown Park- ing Corp.; Taxman David Ingram, his Gastown compatriot Jim Pollock and his wife, retired CBC veteran Ann Pollock; and many other friends. it was the same. We were all filled with scores of warm memo- ries generatcJ by Ed Keate’s unique sense of humor and the willingness to get the child in everybody out on the surface every once in a while. His long-time friend Barbara Willett, who had worked on Keate’s newspaper many years ago in Gastown, and who shared many activities with him, had the saddest story of all. In her fast telephone conversa- tion with him before his death, Keate, despite the nearly extin- guished gruff voice, teased Bar- bara about her garden. She arrived at Lions Gate Hos- pital with a spectacular bouquet hand-picked that morning. On the door of his room, a sign in- structed visitors to check at the nursing station. Ed Keate had died just moments before her arrival. His walk through life was an awkward but successful attempt to keep one foot squarely in the camp of the business establishe- ment, but the other perfectly in step with the creative eccentrics of society. He was a log broker, in part- nerhip with his very serious brother Bill. Keate, to his ultimate embar- rassment, was principal promoter of Geordie Tocher, who claimed to be rowing his Haida war canoe all the way to Hawaii. BAHA'U’LLAH* Prophet-Founder of the Bahai Faith, the fastest growing independent world religion today ... se For a substantial period of his life, he hetd many top committec appointments with the Vancouver Board of Trade. Yet as a key mover of skid row redevelopment in 1971, he whim- sically billed himself Governor of Gastown, with the motto: ‘‘In GOG We Trust.” Keate once owned a Vancouver travel agency and reai estate in Whatcom County. This prompted a book titled Land, Land, Luverly Land. An cartier adventure in the Grand Cayman Islands was con- ducted under the auspices of a firm called The Tickety Boo Trading Company. When he became interested in the near-dead Downtown Businessman’s Association, he quickly metamorphosed this dor- mant agency into the powerful, active and aggressive Downtown Vancouver Association. But it was also Keate who in- geniously devised The Mythical Monster Hunt, in which he of- fered one million dollars to any- one who could actuafly catch the legendary Sasquatch or Ogopogo. The sure-fire promotion col- lapsed when he failed to obtain Voyd’s of London insurance for the prize money. Lloyd’s were willing. His prospective partners refused to pay the premium. Outgrowing the Downtown Parking Corp. which he managed, he used it as a base to address all civic issues, and from which to reshape the Canadian Parking Association. On the other hand, as the pro- prietor of an impressive Royal Doulton toby jug collection, he became dismayed by deteriorating quality. He went to England and com- missioned his own line of jugs: Louis Armstrong, Lester Pearson, John Diefenbaker, W.C. Ficids and John F. Kennedy. They were Sunday, May 24, 1992 - North Shore News - 9 Keate’s loss leaves large local void UNDER THE headline, The Amazing Mr. Keate, our June 9, 1991 column began: **Among our more fraudulent 46 They were not mere spectators. They were not just passengers. They became the parade. 99 @ creative triumph and a market- ing fizzle. He would never be seen in a downtown place of business without a suit and tie, usually three-picce. However, it would surprise ao one to see him walking to lunch with a group of wrestlers, fresh from the Agrodome. Ed Keate saw merit and humor in everyone. Only the self-impor- tant and self-righteous and the phonies were held in permanent contempt. My happiest memories were the weekends with his family at Sproat Lake. | can still visualize cne of his former toys: Ed motor- ing down the driveway in his Volkswagen Thing, looking like Rommel on a budget. His cherished mutt Nootch would run out to grect him. Patricia and I would settle in for a good evening with Ed, his wife Anne and their children Charles, Barbara and Andy. A Place To Go When _ You're Pregnant And Need Support: GIRTHRIGHT | Br cal 267-7513 « Free Pregnancy Test © 279 Lonsdaie in Vancouver Cal M] torth vancouver 687-7223 When I paid what would be my last visit with him, I left beside his hospital bed an overlarge golf bail, emblazoned with the crest of St. Andrews, Scotland. It con- tained two ounces of scotch whisky. I hope Ed drank it. Govern ment-Guaranteed Coupon Annuity Packages An Innovative, Government Guaranteed Investment offering the ultiniate flexibility in personalized retirement income planning For more information please call The North Shore’s only full Service investment firm. RBC DOMINION Saez SECURITIES Setar of the Raye Bers Gros 925-3131 201-250 15th Street, West Vancouver 40 M. 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