Vernon Folke Pearson

Vernon Folke Pearson, 83, of Victoria, British Columbia, passed away at home on November 6, 2015, with family and friends close by.
Vernon, also known as "Van", was born February 15, 1932 in Fort Frances Ontario to Marta (Sundin) Pearson and Victor Pearson, who immigrated to Minnesota from Jamptland, Sweden.
He married Lillian Grygorcewicz in Fort Frances in 1954. They raised three children; Tina, Victor and Ruthann.
Vernon worked nine years at the Boise Cascade Pulp and Paper mill in Fort Frances before striking out on his own in 1959 with timber limits for the then-remote areas around Rainy Lake's Red Gut Bay and the Turtle River near Mine Centre, in the territories of the Nigigoonsiminikaaning and Seine River First Nations. With his family, he built logging, tourist and sawmill operations that became Pearson's Red Pine Resort, Vic Pearson and Sons, and Pearson's Red Gut Bay Landing. In 1967, he built Pearson's Road to connect Red Gut Bay to the newly extended Highway 11. He provided logs to Boise Cascade and to mills in Northwest Ontario and Minnesota, and railway ties to the CN Railroad from his sawmills at Red Gut Bay.
Vernon retired to Victoria, BC, where he enjoyed hiking the Pacific Ocean shoreline and carving in cedar. After a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, his final years were spent in the company of many dear friends at the Cridge Village Seniors Centre, where he lived until his death.
Vernon was predeceased by his parents; his siblings Mildred (Pearson) Kelly, William Pearson, Signor Pearson and Stanley Pearson; his brother-in-law Thomas Kelly and former sister-in-law Nina Tichoniuk; and his niece Deborah (Pearson) Carlson. He is survived by his former wife, Lillian Pearson (Fort Frances); his children Tina Pearson (Victoria, BC), Victor Pearson (Bear Pass, Ontario) and Ruthann Pearson (Kingston, Ontario); his grandchildren Jessica and Samantha Pearson (Fort Frances), Lyssa Pearson (Victoria, BC) and Julieanne Pearson-debruyn (Toronto, Ontario); and his great grandchildren Nicholas and Dylan Pearson, sons of Jessica. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. A memorial gathering will be held at the Cridge Village Centre for Seniors, 1307 Hillside Avenue in Victoria, BC on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 2:30 pm. A celebration of life gathering for family and friends in Fort Frances will be held in the New Year.

Celebration of Life