Yukoners grieve the loss of Gerry Thick

Key takeaways: 

• ‘He was a multifaceted, fascinating person,’ expressed long-time friend George Arcand.
• Gerry Thick was placed into the Yukon Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 as a builder. 
• He performed 29 years on the international committee of the Arctic Winter Games.

A man heavily concerned in Yukon amateur sports for nearly 30 years is remembered as a successive shooter who worked incredibly hard and cared passionately for his community.

Gerry Thick passed away the previous week at the age of 77.

Thick was the boss of Northland Beverages for 46 years and served two terms as a Whitehorse city councilor. Still, he’s best understood for his involvement in Yukon sports, particularly softball, and his long relationship with the Arctic Winter Games (AWG).

Thick performed on the AWG’s international committee for 29 years, including 19 as its president, from 1995 to 2014.

“He was a multifaceted, fascinating person,” stated George Arcand, mates with Thick for almost 50 years.

“I hope [everybody] could understand the deepness of the man,” he said.

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“When he was on council, you saw one man; you saw another fellow when he was on the ball field. And when we were sitting there BS’ing each other, I saw another man.”

‘He did it for the right motives’

Moira Lassen, the operations coordinator with the Arctic Winter Games, stated she first met Thick in 1995 when he purchased five boxes of chocolate almonds from her daughter. The latter was fundraising for her weightlifting club.

She expressed Thick was always ready to help youth.

“He always did it for the right causes, for the children to participate, inclusivity, and volunteering,” she said. “He liked people to be interested.”

Arcand said Thick always thought sports could benefit children in life.

Source – cbc.ca