Peter John Gourley

It is with sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our dear friend and family member, Peter John Gourley age 76 years old. He succumbed to various health issues related to Alzheimer’s disease on the evening of February 20th in hospital. Some of the highlights of Peter’s life follow. Peter enjoyed some exciting times in 1960’s London during his formative years as the son of former RAF navigator Major Ronald Gourley who was stationed in England over several years. Peter often spoke about the excitement of coming of age in “Swinging London," a vibrant, youthful, and culturally revolutionary city at the forefront of fashion, music, and social change: a period where London was considered the global capital of cool. He parlayed this cool capital into his first “music” job in Ottawa. From there he moved from success to success through Treble Clef Ottawa until eventually becoming VP of marketing in Capitol Records Toronto. Alongside his very urban life in Toronto, Pete developed into a lover of nature and wildlife. He enjoyed the awesome beauty of places like Murphy Point and Killarney National Park. He enjoyed sharing these adventures with various longtime friends. He always packed his cameras and tripod and made many sensitive and evocative photographs. His favorite bird portraits featured Blue Herons. I think most of us who knew Pete well would characterize him as the most loyal and honest of friends with a strong code of honor. Alongside that, he possessed a wonderful, offbeat sense of humor. He was a true gentleman in the very best sense of that word: courteous, kind, forgiving and attentive.

 There will not be a formal service at this time but rather, a celebration of life is planned for some time in the upcoming spring.

He is pre-deceased by his beloved adoptive parents Ronald and Patricia Gourley and his biological parents Del and Patricia Anderson. He is survived by his siblings in the west, Pamela Paseska, Shelly Spokes, Russell Anderson and his “besties” of many decades, Paul Gratton and Dawn More.