Christopher Doucette

September 4, 2024

With deep sorrow, the family of the late Christopher Ryan Doucette announces his passing on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at the Palliative Care Unit at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, B.C., at the age of 64. He is survived by his loving wife, Maria Valenzuela, his brothers, Stephen Doucette and Raymond Doucette, and a wide circle of close friends, cousins, relatives. He was preceded in his death by his mother, Marie Denise Doucette, and his father, Eugene Alan Doucette. The family extends gratitude to the staff of the Palliative Care Unit for their support and compassionate care during this difficult time. Heartfelt appreciation is also extended to those who touched his life.

Born on October 13, 1960, Chris was a loving husband, a steadfast friend, and the world’s best brother. Born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Chris wasted no time in setting himself apart as a curious and independent child. While the incident where he and his brother Steve kidnapped their infant brother, Raymond, put him in his baby carriage and ran madly down the bumpy back alleys pushing the carriage in front of them has not been forgotten, he was in fact a loving and protective brother.

He was gifted musically, much like his father, playing flute in the Regina High School band and in years beyond. During this time, he taught himself to play the guitar and write music. Something he repeated in later years when he taught himself to play piano.  He was very active with the Academy of Music and frequently could be found jamming in their studios on evenings and weekends. In the 1970’s he developed a passion for freestyle skiing and played a pivotal role in the grass roots movement of the sport at Marble Mountain in Corner Brook where he competed, often taking gold medals, and assisted in acquiring club membership with the Canadian Freestyle Association for sanctioned competitions.

It surprised no one when, years later, he turned out to be gifted mathematically and discovered Computer Science at Memorial University. He was a brilliant programmer and incredibly talented in a wide range of mathematical fields such as: calculus, topology, combinatorics, graph theory, logic, and optimization. All of which fueled his ability to program a graphics VLSI chip editor, image processing APIs, facial recognition systems (decades before the technology we have today), and an algorithm that improved the method for comparing evolutionary trees (critical to our understanding of relationships between species) by an order of magnitude – a result that stood for 20 years.

He moved on to McMaster University after that and graduated with an MBA in Finance, returning to Memorial to manage the Faculty of Business Administration and teach for a few years. Like many Newfoundlanders, he caught the move away bug and ended up in Vancouver working for Digital Equipment; designing networks for MCI, Air Traffic Control systems for the FAA, and internet security for the Privy Council and Museum of Civilization.

He eventually went out on his own and served as an independent consultant for the rest of his career; designing systems for internet and ATM banking, cheque settlement, wire transfer, and treasury deposit and capital management. Billions of transactions have been processed through systems he created. 

All of the above is not intended as a resume, but rather to show how Chris, and many like him, are the quiet heroes that underpin the world as we know it. Although absent of flashy book tours and speaking engagements, Chris was one of those unsung heroes that built the society and systems we take for granted.  This is also apparent in later work he did as a trainer. Chris created and delivered a wide range of technical classes to thousands of corporate clients. His courses and the way he taught them were renowned for their mixture of sophistication and completeness while also being accessible and easy to grasp for those less experienced than him. This combination is incredibly rare and the students who took these courses have in turn done their part in keeping the wheels of our modern world turning.

Despite the business of his professional world, most of us will remember him for his fun and adventurous approach to life. If at some point you didn’t find yourself bent over laughing at something Chris had said, done, or just his infectious laugh, you have unfortunately missed one of the joys of knowing him. Never one to hold back on his thoughts, he exposed the world as he saw it and it was difficult to disagree with him; you were more likely to leave with deeper insights after spending time with him than any memories of having been on the other side of a discussion.

In 1996 he met Maria Valenzuela and she quickly became the love of his life and constant companion. They built a cozy life in North Vancouver, enjoying a wide circle of friends and could often be found on the slopes of various local and other ski resorts with their close ski buddies.  Chris’s early love of water sports (windsurfing, sailing, water skiing) resurfaced in his new province and he bought a sailboat.  Of course, he had to (almost) completely redo the rigging, interior, engine and many other things as boats always enchant one to do.  The boatyard where he kept the boat was so impressed with his work that they offered him to take over their business as the owner was looking to retire.  Chris taught Maria how to sail which included too many adventures to recount here, but memories of which will be treasured by all who sailed with him. 

He kept up his love of music and over the years amassed a large collection of guitars, each with their own unique sound, various amps, keyboards and recording gear.  He would compose pieces and play in the den with Maria keeping him company while she cooked in the kitchen; he rarely played for anyone else.

He was keen on various sports – golf, rollerblading, swimming, biking, boxing, weight training – some new and some previous activities that he’d returned to.  With the new ones, he tackled them like he did anything new he undertook, he researched everything he could about them, painstakingly selected and setup the appropriate gear and then started, constantly tweaking his technique and gear as needed to meet his goals.

There would be many wine tastings, dinners, clubs and other outings with friends but most importantly enjoying as much time as they could for just the two of them. This desire to be with Maria guided Chris in his last years and months as he fought his cancer and did everything he could to extend his time with her.

Although Chris has passed on, he will remain with all of us in our memories and ways we have been changed by his unforgettable personality.

For anyone interested in donating to the Palliative Care Unit at Lions Gate Hospital (which is called "North Shore Hospice and Palliative Care Project"), donors can click on the following link https://lghfoundation.com/tribute-donation/, selecting “Tribute Donations”, click on "In Memory of" and entering Christopher Doucette, then select "Hospice and Palliative Care" as the designation for the donation.  Tax receipts will be issued by the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation.

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