Geoffrey

Ball, Geoffrey John – born in England on June 24, 1931, Geoffrey passed away peacefully at home from cancer at the age of 72 on November 10, 2003. He is survived by his partner of 30 years, Janet Komars; his sister, Daphne Bennett and his brother, Denis Ball. Geoffrey will also be sadly missed by his son, Alex; daughter-in-law Angela and granddaughter, Kaitlin.

His brother, Denis Ball, M.B.E., formerly Headmaster and now a Governor of Kelly College, England, writes as follows: It is very sad to lose my younger brother Geoffrey, well before his time, especially when he continued to play tennis and golf so actively, and seemed to be so alive. He loved his adopted country, which he emigrated to in 1957, working as Securities Officer and Registrar for the Ministry of Finance for the Province of Ontario for 30 years and retiring in 1989, before eventually moving to Victoria, BC. He learned his financial skills in England, where as a young man he worked for the Industrial and General Trust, but greater opportunities awaited him in Canada. In England, he came from a sound Christian family (his mother and father were married for 63 years), and he was educated at Brunswick (where Winston Churchill had been a pupil many years earlier) and at Tonbridge School, where he shared a study with and became a lifelong friend of Colin Cowdrey (later Lord Cowdrey), the celebrated England cricket captain. Although Geoffrey left England for Canada while still in his twenties, he remained closely in touch with all the members of his family and we exchanged visits many times. We all remember him as a warm and kind person of absolute integrity and we will miss him greatly.

His son Alex writes: even at the age of 72, my father was still able to thrash me at tennis. Dad, I’m looking forward to another set when we meet again. Love you always.

A private cremation was entrusted to Royal Oak Burial Park. The family wish to express sincere appreciation for the care he received from the dedicated teams of Victoria Hospice Palliative Care.