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Dr. Wayne Douglas Jeffrey

November 13, 2024

Dr. Wayne Jeffrey

Wayne Jeffrey, father, educator, conductor, horn player, lover of music, passed away on November 13, 2024, in White Rock, BC.

Treasured and loving father of Paul (Rodica), Sarah (Gabriel), and Mark (Ellen);

Cherished Papa of Grace and Thomas, Evelyn and Aidan, and Amelia.

Dear brother of Lynne Jeffrey Anderson.

Loving uncle of James (Ashley) Anderson and Melissa (Alex) Anderson Hazlett and Great-Uncle to Callum, and Thomas and Ellie; Son of the late Walter Roy Jeffrey and Gladys (née Purchase) Jeffrey.

He will be missed by family, friends, and former students too numerous to count.

Wayne will forever be remembered for his sense of humour, his kind soul, his brilliant career as a leading teacher in the field of Horn and Wind Ensemble conducting, his loyalty to his loved ones, and his incredible passion for living life. He loved the arts and music; he loved his friends and students; most of all he loved his family.

Raised in the musical tradition of the Salvation Army in the North Toronto Corps brass band, Wayne was a child prodigy, featured on piano at 7 years old on the popular television show Tiny Talent Time. Deciding to pursue music as a career, his studies took him to Germany to study horn with Ifor James in Freiburg, Germany, and later to earn a DMA in Wind Ensemble conducting with Donald Hunsberger at the Eastman School of Music.

Over the course of his career he was band director at Oakwood Collegiate Institute in Toronto, and Professor of Horn and Wind Ensemble at the Universities of Windsor, Queens, Toronto, Western, and Kwantlen University College. He was Artistic Director of the Courtenay Youth Music Centre, a longtime faculty member at the National Music Camp of Canada, and popular clinician and adjudicator at music festivals across Canada. He loved to travel, and he loved people. Wayne’s life was marked by a passion for music, a commitment to education, and a profound impact on the communities he served. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the National Youth Orchestra of Canada or the White Rock/South Surrey Stroke Recovery Association.

 

https://nyoc.org/support/donate-now/

 

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/white-rock-south-surrey-stroke-recovery-club/

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Messages of Condolence

I express my deepest sympathy in this time of great sorrow. The Bible gives the comforting hope that your loved one will come to life again on a peaceful paradise earth when death will be no more in John 5:28, 29 and Acts 24:15. ~ Gael Ellis

Wayne was a fine gentleman and an inspiring friend to all of at After Stoke ~ our weekly meeting and walked with us around the track on Mondays. He is loved ~ Lori Cody

I’m thinking of you Paul, Sarah and Mark. Sending my love your way. His legacy of love lives on through you all. ~ Erin Brophey

Dr. J had a way of making you feel like you were the only person in the world. He loved his students so much, I just hope he knew how much he was loved back. Flights of angels, do your thing. ~ Carolyn Hofbauer

Wayne was one of the best professors I ever had when I was at KPU; he always had an energy and passion for his classes that you couldn’t help but be swept up in. He encouraged me to pursue things I never would have considered for myself, and I was so glad I got the chance to know him better during the years afterwards when I was no longer his student. He was always pleasant company, and he’ll definitely be missed. ~ Josée Smith

Dr. J was one of a kind, and undoubtedly the best professor I had the pleasure of studying with during my undergrad. His passion for music and for his students was unmatched and I look back on my time playing under him as some of the best years of my life. He will be missed. ~ Elisa Hunter

Even though I only started horn lessons with Dr. J two years ago, he was truly one of the best music teachers I've ever had. He pushed me to keep playing in youth orchestra, and inspired me to get younger kids interested in playing the French horn. Dr. J is the reason I continued playing French horn, and want to keep playing after graduating high school. I'm grateful for everything he taught me, and his encouragement throughout these past two years. ~ Joyce Abraham