THE ADVOCATE 105
VOL. 80 PART 1 JANUARY 2022
NOS DISPARUS
By R.C. Tino Bella
The Honourable Peder David Gulbransen
Bear with me; my heart is in the coffin,
there with Caesar and I must pause till it
comes back to me
—Julius Caesar, III, ii.
Not every child is lucky enough to say that their
father was the greatest man they will ever know. I
can say that confidently.
Peder Gulbransen passed away suddenly on June 16, 2021. He was surrounded
by friends, about to have lunch. Peder was born on June 18, 1948,
to humble beginnings. He grew up in government-subsidized housing in
East Vancouver for families of World War II veterans. Peder was the eldest
of six children. His father, Maurice, fought in the Seaforth Highlanders regiment
during the war. Maurice passed away in 1974 when Peder was 26, the
same year he started law school.
With a family still looking to her for support and guidance, Peder’s
mother, Marie, immediately became a matriarch in the truest sense of the
word—a role she still fulfills to this day at 96 years old.
Peder attended Windermere Secondary School in Vancouver and graduated
in 1966. Anyone who attended Windermere at the same time has no
trouble remembering Peder. He was a track star, student body president, top
student academically and for good measure the star running back of the football
team. He even tried out for the BC Lions. On the first day of tryouts, however,
he saw a lineman give another player a forearm shiver, breaking the
other player’s nose. He decided not to go back for the second day. This was
much to Marie’s relief. He decided to cheer on the BC Lions from the stands
instead. His love of football continued for the rest of his life. He spent most