Gerald Moss
October 7, 2020
October 7, 2020
October 7, 2020
On Wednesday October 7, 2020, Gerald Allen Moss, loving father to five children and grandfather to six grandchildren, passed away at the age of 80 after beating cancer for over 16 years.
Gerald was born on January 24, 1940 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He had one brother Sam Moss and two sisters Nancy Denz (Jerry) and Betsy Slutsky.
A consummate academic, Gerry received both his Bachelor and Master degree in Physics from the University of Wisconsin. He went on to earn his Doctorate in Eugene at the University of Oregon. The University of Manitoba in Winnipeg is where he got his first teaching appointment.
In the late 1960’s, Gerry joined the University of Alberta where he was a tenured research professor of Physics for almost 20 years. 1987 brought a move to British Columbia to become the Director of Science and Education at Science World; he was responsible for creating the first educational programs and exhibit concepts for the facility’s grand opening. Then, in 1990, Gerry became a Vice President at BCIT managing all of student support and services for the institution.
Gerry had two cherished children; sadly and recently predeceased by his daughter Eileen Boros (Keith) and survived by Edward Moss (Carolyn). In 1976 while on sabbatical in Paris, three children were happily blended-in to create their bigger family; Mark Pallister (Beverly), Paul Pallister (Laura) and Lana Pallister. He was a very proud and loving grandfather to his six grandchildren Kaitlyn, Melanie, Samantha, Taylor, Rebecca and Lucas.
In addition to being an intellect in the sciences, Gerry was very talented and passionate about the Arts. He loved photography, painting, music and nature and dabbled in all of them. We have his paintings and framed photographs in our homes. We all have special memories of his art shows and the many instruments he played including the piano, trombone, harmonica, banjo and more. He even produced three piano CD’s which are treasured. He liked a variety of music from jazz to rock and roll and loved going to see musicals at the theatre. Reading from every genre was a habit as well as fodder for countless conversations and discussions. He was passionate about the outdoors, camping and hiking often in his younger years. Gerry Moss was a true Renaissance man.
Not just using local experiences to round out his life, Gerry travelled all over the world and enjoyed experiencing other cultures, food, and history whether in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Canada or the US. Returning to Paris a few years ago was very valued as were his very special annual trips to visit his sister Nancy and brother-in-law Jerry in Hawaii.
We now send Gerry to join his lovely daughter Eileen in peace and harmony.
Rest in Peace Gerry, we love you.
You are invited to leave a personal message for the family.
Gerry was my friend and colleague for 50 years. He was larger than life and I will miss his friendship, his wit and his intellect.
I offer my condolences to friends and family.
RIP my friend.
John Watson
~ John Watson
Dear ones,
This is a lovely heartfelt tribute to Gerry. We love and miss you and hope we can all be together soon.
With love and Aloha,
Nancy and Jerry
~ Nancy and Jerry Denz
It is a such privilege to have known Gerry. He truly
was a force of intellectual curiosity, myriad interests and talents, admirable
accomplishments, with a sharp wit and infectious joie de vie. Extending
deepest sympathy to Nancy and Betsy upon the loss of their dear brother, along
with sincere condolences to the Moss and Pallister families.
Will miss our Thanksgivings with the whole family. The laughs, the new job talks and most of all sharing what we were thankful for.
I am thankful for having had the opportunity to know you.
Always in our hearts ♥️.
Trish
When I was a boy growing up, Gerry and family were our neighbours down the street in Edmonton. He was a mentor, and he supported my interests in science, technology, art and photography. I always admired his range, and his willingness to teach me something.
I too have a Gerry Moss painting--a custom watercolour for my birthday one year.
My thoughts go out to the family, along with my sincere condolences.
My friend Mark lived 2 doors down. Gerry referred to me as one of the "hoodlums". During one visit Gerry logged into the MTS (Michigan Terminal Systems) mainframe at the university with a TI thermal paper terminal at 110 baud with an acoustic coupler. Mark and I played games on MTS. There was an old style pay phone in the basement for the kids, that required money to work. If Lana got out of line I remember Gerry saying "young lady!". They had an Apple II running Castle Wolfenstein, many german phrases were learnt... "achtung!".
Later, Gerry took me and Mark on a private tour with Dale Bent, Director of Computing Services at the U of A. We were introduced to the PLATO computer system (Programmed Learning and Automated Teaching Operations) on a unique plasma touch display terminal, way ahead of it's time. I went on to work part time on PLATO, and worked full time on PLATO for a number of years. I met one of my best friends working there.
I occasionally sat on the bus with Gerry, I tried to sound intelligent talking about electron spin, the research he was doing.
When I graduated from the U of A, I appeared on stage with no expectations, and to my surprise, Gerry was there to hand me my diploma. A true honour. So influential in my life, I'll miss you Gerry.
We were saddened to hear of Gerry's passing. We appreciated the hospitality at his home, and especially his knowledge and interesting conversation. We send our best wishes to Gerry's family and many friends. I even managed to learn a little Physics from Gerry, and appreciated his advice at the University of Alberta when I was was there as Director of Computing Services. It was a pleasure to know this multi-talented man. Sincerely, Dale and Penny.
~ Dale and Penny Bent