Barry Janyk, a former four-term mayor of Gibsons, lifelong environmentalist, small-town advocate and aficionado of Hawaiian shirts and British motorcycles, died at home on November 26 in the community he loved and helped to build.
Barry was outspoken, funny and fearless in advocating for causes he believed in. He brought a larger-than-life personality to preserving Gibsons’ small-town charm during his 12 years as mayor. He had a witty and irreverent sense of humour and believed politics should be fun. He was thrilled when the town won “best drinking water in the world” and “most liveable community in the world” in international competitions. Under Barry’s tenure, Gibsons was among the first communities to consider sea-level rise and see water as a crucial resource.
Provincially, Barry chaired the Island Coastal Economic Trust for two years. He was also president of the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities and a director of UBCM.
He could rock a Hawaiian shirt as well as a suit. A born extrovert, Barry filled up a room and loved to make people laugh. He believed in doing the right thing. He was among local activists who stopped logging in the Sunshine Coast watershed in the 1990s and succeeded in having the Tetrahedron preserved as a provincial park. He was an avid birder, who took part in annual Christmas bird counts and breeding bird surveys. In earlier years, he made many ascents into the mountains of BC and Yukon, as well as long-distance canoe trips in northern BC, Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
After politics, Barry was executive director of several non-profit groups, including the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC and the BC Rural Centre. In other roles, he had been a log scaler as well as a pilot who trained to fly bush planes and helicopters up North and developed Vancouver Harbour’s first heliport.
Barry was a devoted dad to his kids, Kohlby, Roën and Garnet. He was proud of them and happy when they found happiness.
Born in Duncan, B.C. and raised in Honeymoon Bay, Barry later attended Vancouver College, where he made lifelong friends. Gibsons compadres included his poker night guys, who put the world to rights between hands.
Barry faced his diagnosis of glioblastoma, a rare brain cancer, with positivity, optimism and hope. Barry is survived by his wife Jane, sons Kohlby (Marlee) and Garnet, daughter Roën (Alex), brothers William and Robert (Renay), five grandchildren, former wife Katie, nieces, nephews and many friends who loved him.
We will miss his laugh, his abundant energy and his joy in seeing others smile. In his honour, stop and watch the birds outside, laugh at a silly joke or toast him with a glass of merlot in the company of friends.
A celebration of Barry’s life will be held at High Beam Dreams in Gibsons on January 18 at 2 p.m.
Donations in Barry’s name can be made to Birds Canada, the Nature Trust of BC, BC Parks Foundation or the Musella Foundation.
