Hal Humphries

With profound sadness we share with friends, former colleagues, and students the news that Hal James Humphries passed away on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie.

Hal was born December 6, 1950, and grew up in Etobicoke, Listowel and St. Marys. He played hockey in all three communities, including Junior B hockey with the St. Marys Lincolns. He also coached and played baseball.

After graduating from Western University with an Honours Degree in Geography, he began a 32-year career teaching at Gravenhurst High School, initially in the Geography department before beginning one of the first Cooperative Education programs in the province. He was proud of the young adults who found careers through this program and was very involved in developing innovative approaches to Co-op as head of the Ontario Co-Operative Education Association.

He coached high school badminton, basketball, and golf at GHS, as well as Gravenhurst Junior C hockey. He then turned to the support of his young son and daughter coaching Tyke Hockey and T-Ball, and later his daughter’s basketball teams. His 40+ year commitment to men’s recreational hockey in Gravenhurst through “after four” twice-weekly hockey sessions affectionately known as “Hal’s Pals” lives on. He valued the friendships that he made through his 49 years in Gravenhurst.

His passion was his family, his home, and our shared time at our cottage on Raven Lake. There he could fish, read, putter and manage the cottage association and just relax on a beautiful quiet lake.

Hal is survived by the love of his life, Judy; his son Mark, his wife Lianne and their very dear daughter Paige; his daughter Jill, her partner Matthew and their very dear son Benjamin; his mother, Daisy, and his sister, Catherine. He is predeceased by his father, James.

He leaves behind him a legacy of commitment to every cause he embraced, of love for and pride in his wife, his children and his grandchildren, and a void which will be filled with precious memories.

A funeral service will be held at St. James Anglican Church in Gravenhurst on Saturday, June 17, 2023, at 11:00 am. The family invites guests to share memories and refreshments after the service at the family home.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that you consider a donation to either the Bracebridge OSPCA or the Gravenhurst High School bursary fund.