CPC mourns loss of Paralympic champion Gary Cormack

Gary Cormack, a member of the Canadian team that played in the first Paralympic Games wheelchair curling competition at Torino 2006, passed away November 4 at Memorial Hospital in Surrey, B.C. He was 74.

With teammates skip Chris Daw, vice-skip Gerry Austgarden, lead Sonja Gaudet, alternate Karen Blachford and coach Joe Rea, Cormack claimed gold after Canada defeated Great Britain in the final.

Cormack also won a pair of Canadian wheelchair curling championships representing British Columbia, in 2006 with the same lineup that won Paralympic gold and in 2010, skipping a team that included Rich Green, Vince Miele, Corinne Jensen and alternate Samantha Siu.

“He was a humble man, always a calming influence when times were stressful on the ice,” said Daw. “And when the pressure was at its highest, you could always count on Gary to either make the shot when we needed it most, or say the words that helped us settle down and focus on the task at hand. Gary was the backbone of the success of that lineup. If he wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have had the success we did.”

Born in Kenora, Ont., Cormack is survived by his wife of 50 years Susan, sisters-in-law Judy and Kathryn, brother-in-law Tim, niece Candice, and great nephews Swayze and Apollo.

“Gary was a valued member of Team Canada and was such a capable performer when it mattered the most,” added longtime Curling Canada High Performance Director Gerry Peckham. “He was a quiet, competent shot maker and a great teammate.”

Cormack retired from the Attorney General’s Ministry of BC as a Justice of the Peace and Court Administrator. Donations in his name may be made to the MS Society of BC or to the Diabetes Foundation of BC.

He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1984 at age 34. A curler since high school to that point he got involved in wheelchair curling in 1999.

A Celebration of Life is to be held at a later date.

With files from Curling Canada