Obituary for Gerrick Dwayne Winston
Gerrick Winston
January 27th, 1970 - Monday, December 10th, 2018
With deepest sadness we share the sudden passing of Gerrick Dwayne Winston on December 10, 2018, at the age of 48. He is survived by his loving wife of 22 years, Karin, and their children, Katherine and Timothy. He will be sorely missed by his family in the United States: mother Gloria Fester (James); father George Elrod (Vanessa); brothers Maurice Hall (Judy), Marqus Hall, Darius Hall; sisters Zinnita Hall, Maurissa Fisher (Mack), Natalie Hall, Ashley Elrod, and many extended family members. He was also very close to many members of Karin’s family and will be sorely missed by them as well.
He was born in Chicago, IL and lived there until joining the Air Force. He was stationed in Michigan and served in the Persian Gulf as a crew chief. He moved to Orlando, FL to pursue diving and there he met the love of his life and his best friend. They later moved to Nashville, where he established his own diving club, then was “dragged to Canada” so that she could pursue her own education. There they built a beautiful life together with their children in whatever city they found themselves. They lived in Edmonton, Calgary, and London and Gerrick never failed to make friends everywhere they went. He was so proud to become a Canadian citizen on Canada Day, 2017.
He developed a passion for acting and film-making, which grew over time and became his life’s work. He was dedicated to increasing opportunities for minorities and bringing hope and light to a dark world. He was well loved by his colleagues for his hard work, sense of humour, and genuine love of people. He loved to tinker and build new gear for film-making. He took a million pictures of sunsets and sunrises (and selfies) and taught us all the wonder of magic hour.
He was active in his church as a quirky, outside-the-box teacher for the grade school kids and as the universally accepted baby whisperer. He met routinely with small groups of men, youth, leadership, and really anyone who would talk to him. He loved going for coffee and for breakfast even though he was not an early bird. He was musical with a great voice, strong rhythm, and an aptitude for the djembe.
He was also an avid weekend warrior, loving hikes and bike riding, tennis games and basketball, although his photos of dodgeball live eternally and he would never have passed up an opportunity to play football. He loved “da Bears”. His competitive nature extended to board games and card games, especially Dutch Blitz (even though he rarely won at that last one!). He was always a kid at heart and every piece of gear that he had either had to be “Gerrick-proofed” or replaced.
His faith was really about loving people to Jesus. He never hesitated to feed the hungry, befriend the lonely, or share the good news. The last thing in his calendar was family devotions. We know that today he is with Jesus in paradise.
A Celebration of Gerrick's Life will be held at Centre Street Church (3900-2nd Street NE - main sanctuary lower level) on Monday, December 17, 2018 at 1:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, please take someone out for coffee or lunch, enjoy the sunset, seek the truth, and hug your loved ones. He would have wanted you to live life to the fullest every day.
To view and share photos, condolences and stories of Gerrick please visit www.choicememorial.com. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Choice Memorial Cremation & Funeral Services (403) 277-7343.
January 27th, 1970 - Monday, December 10th, 2018
With deepest sadness we share the sudden passing of Gerrick Dwayne Winston on December 10, 2018, at the age of 48. He is survived by his loving wife of 22 years, Karin, and their children, Katherine and Timothy. He will be sorely missed by his family in the United States: mother Gloria Fester (James); father George Elrod (Vanessa); brothers Maurice Hall (Judy), Marqus Hall, Darius Hall; sisters Zinnita Hall, Maurissa Fisher (Mack), Natalie Hall, Ashley Elrod, and many extended family members. He was also very close to many members of Karin’s family and will be sorely missed by them as well.
He was born in Chicago, IL and lived there until joining the Air Force. He was stationed in Michigan and served in the Persian Gulf as a crew chief. He moved to Orlando, FL to pursue diving and there he met the love of his life and his best friend. They later moved to Nashville, where he established his own diving club, then was “dragged to Canada” so that she could pursue her own education. There they built a beautiful life together with their children in whatever city they found themselves. They lived in Edmonton, Calgary, and London and Gerrick never failed to make friends everywhere they went. He was so proud to become a Canadian citizen on Canada Day, 2017.
He developed a passion for acting and film-making, which grew over time and became his life’s work. He was dedicated to increasing opportunities for minorities and bringing hope and light to a dark world. He was well loved by his colleagues for his hard work, sense of humour, and genuine love of people. He loved to tinker and build new gear for film-making. He took a million pictures of sunsets and sunrises (and selfies) and taught us all the wonder of magic hour.
He was active in his church as a quirky, outside-the-box teacher for the grade school kids and as the universally accepted baby whisperer. He met routinely with small groups of men, youth, leadership, and really anyone who would talk to him. He loved going for coffee and for breakfast even though he was not an early bird. He was musical with a great voice, strong rhythm, and an aptitude for the djembe.
He was also an avid weekend warrior, loving hikes and bike riding, tennis games and basketball, although his photos of dodgeball live eternally and he would never have passed up an opportunity to play football. He loved “da Bears”. His competitive nature extended to board games and card games, especially Dutch Blitz (even though he rarely won at that last one!). He was always a kid at heart and every piece of gear that he had either had to be “Gerrick-proofed” or replaced.
His faith was really about loving people to Jesus. He never hesitated to feed the hungry, befriend the lonely, or share the good news. The last thing in his calendar was family devotions. We know that today he is with Jesus in paradise.
A Celebration of Gerrick's Life will be held at Centre Street Church (3900-2nd Street NE - main sanctuary lower level) on Monday, December 17, 2018 at 1:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, please take someone out for coffee or lunch, enjoy the sunset, seek the truth, and hug your loved ones. He would have wanted you to live life to the fullest every day.
To view and share photos, condolences and stories of Gerrick please visit www.choicememorial.com. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Choice Memorial Cremation & Funeral Services (403) 277-7343.