Geoffrey Richard Smith

The friends, family, and grandchildren of Geoff Smith bid him a fond farewell, having passed to his battle with cancer this month. Geoff was born in England and immigrated to Toronto Canada in his 20’s with his dear friends, Maggie and David Drew. In Canada, he was a forward thinking Art Director who later ran a successful start-up advertising company that specialized in leading technology in the space (digital retouching long before Photoshop existed). He won the Palm D’or twice for his advertising campaigns.

Geoff was married to Judy for 35 five years, and their 2 sons, Joshua and Benjamin grew up in farm country outside of Toronto in a home Geoff built with his friends. Later migrating the family to Victoria, BC, Geoff remained a dedicated artist and explored photography and teaching creative design at local institutions.

Geoff’s friends and family know him for his avid hiking, being a search and rescue volunteer, having a dapper style, and his most excellent creative expression in the kitchen, where he delighted all palettes with his culinary skills. He literally made the best Brie cheese the family had even tasted from scratch and milked the cow himself.

Geoff’s second wife Sue and he lived in Cook Street village where they enjoyed the village life, taking lots of hikes, enjoying the famous Beagle Pub for calamari and a pint, and hosting fantastic dinner parties. Sue and Geoff were most magically paired in the kitchen. Geoff formed a strong bond with Sue’s daughter, Lauren, who spent many a time enjoying food and laughter with all involved.

Geoff was an art director until the very end, working right up to the summer of 2021 managing a client and deliverables. In his final months, he relished listening to his favorite Nick Cave + Beirut albums and the smell of good food being cooked and encouraging all his family to “always look on the bright side of life” during the hard months of his decline.

Geoff is survived by his wife Sue, his brother Martin, his two grown sons, and his 3 year old grand-daughter, Ellie-Rose... who referred to Geoff as “Soty Pops”.

We’ll miss you, Pops.

And remember you with every curry we make that’s just not quite as great as the way you made it.