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AEHineroonienommnnmmentemmnecine > â€"â€" ___ Msm â€" Regi hal SU n( *CM insl us ul‘ After a courageous fiveâ€"year battle with cancer, Durham Region chairâ€" o M is id P TiSTEASTS.s man Gary Herrema died Monday at the age of 56. He is survived by his 'Q'V“{. &!., _ iA Bf wife Helen and three adult children, Ron, Howard and Elizabeth. | ~Ksg e tat PXHLHN a Mr. Herrema, a dairy farmer and former mayor of Uxbridge died * X‘she+} peacefully with his family at his side, one week after taking a leave of | absence from his regional post. In his long political career, which included serving as chairman of Durham Region for 14 years, he served and headed many committees such as viceâ€"chairman of GO Transit, a post he held for many years. His peers at the 34â€"member Durham council reâ€"elected Mr. Herrema over and over as chairman. I e oas He also carried the banner for the Liberals in a . o . cce c federal election in 1984, but was not elected. I F7" _ "OSNB | Although a strong Grit, he attracted the respect of Bl \.. zoc i8A | people of all political stripes. eC Born in Holland, his family immigrated to the Wo _7 Jy. | 52| area when Mr. Herrema was six years old. His death 1% j Wf j has saddened an entire community, g ‘"\the* / Walter Beath, a retired Ashburn farmer and the _ &7 only other regional chairman in the region‘s history, / o said, "Gary was an absolute people person. Gary Herâ€" § n ‘ele rema knew everyone, and it didn‘t matter where they #. came from." Reglonal chalrman GARY HERREMA â€" He said he "left us with a great many friends. He x will be sadly missed." Beath noted that Mr. Herrema was an ardent . Gary Herrema dles worker and did many great things for Durham Region. * p â€" Alex Shepherd, MP for Durham Region said Herrema was "always Gf‘fi % # dedicated to all of the people of Durham. Because he came from humble f” itb s farm beginnings, that part of his life taught him how to deal with peoâ€" P j â€" / *â€" Solk ) ple and with human problems." . ds §3 Regional councillor Susan Para said he "treated his fellow politicians . e _ s with professionalism and a great deal of caring." [Â¥ . ;« ,‘*!& y ; "He knew the region like nobody else," Para said. ht( es CC ‘, | Bev Northeast, Uxbridge councillor, said "as politicians, we didn‘t iik .2 " always agree with him, but we always respected him. He would never j o ulc back down and in the end you knew he was always right." «o /.k :f : York Region chairman Eldred King, who knew Mr. Herrema since the 4 3’% : , 1950s, marvelled at his commanding presence. He said, "it didn‘t matâ€" is * / ter whether he was speaking at a a tractor pull, a political forum or 1 P Cns â€" ‘someone‘s anniversary party, he always said the right thing." atra ths ,‘ King. said he was the only politician he knew who could enter a room s | Al h. and just by his "sheer presence" announce it was time to begin.Mr. Herâ€" rmeniete f rema is resting at the Low and Low Funeral Home in Port Perry. Visiâ€" Gary Herrema, Durham tation will be at the Port Perry Funeral Chapel from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesâ€" Region‘s chairman for the day (tonight) and 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The funeral will past 15 years, passed away be at the Trinity United Church in Uxbridge on Thursday at 2 p.m. quietly at his home Monday Interment is at the Foster Memorial grounds, north of Uxbridge, Donaâ€" afternoon following a lengthy tions to the Uxbridge Cottage Hospital are appreciated. battle with cancer. ~Joan Ransberry Mr. Herrema recently took e C o e P in o m eoetatengems an indefinite leave of absence from his duties at the region. No further information was available at press time. i \