THE ADVOCATE 269
VOL. 80 PART 2 MARCH 2022
UBC. They complemented each other and united in bringing up wonderful
children, socializing and travelling. They loved to entertain at their home
and their Point Roberts cottage, with celebrations ranging from family gatherings
to election parties with as many Liberals as could fit on the premises.
Keith and Mary Jane had three children: Malia, Alexander (Alex) and
Elisa. Amidst his professional life and diverse interests, Keith devoted himself
to his family and their well-being. Keith even volunteered to coach soccer
to overcome young Alex’s reluctance to join a soccer team. This was
brave because, although during one teenage summer Keith had sold sporting
goods at Woodward’s, he regarded some walking trips in Europe in the
2000s as his greatest athletic achievement and was not well acquainted with
the rules of soccer. His coaching strategy was to constantly yell “challenge
him!” during play, like Braveheart. Because some of the players, perhaps
inspired by older siblings, played well, the team did not do badly. While
Keith came to regard his coaching talents quite favourably in light of this
track record, he retired from coaching around the time Alex turned eight,
given the complexities of the offside rule that would begin to apply.
Keith continued to be very involved in his children’s lives. He regularly
visited Malia at her successive homes in Halifax, London and Toronto, sending
her a Vancouver calendar every year in the hope that photos of snowcapped
peaks would entice her back. Keith worked alongside Alex, who is
now also a partner at Farris practising labour and employment law. And he
relished debate with Elisa, a teacher, on the education system. Wherever his
children were at the time, Keith was always there to support them, regularly
“hunting and pecking” them notes on his Blackberry. Alex’s wife Suzanne
and Elisa’s husband James were embraced. Keith was “Bubba” to his grandchildren
Dylan, Jake, Myles and Violet. Keith was also very engaged with
his nieces, nephews, other family and friends. The children’s nanny, Lolet,
never left and nursed Keith in his illness; she considered him a brother.
Keith was a voracious reader, sometimes tackling five newspapers at
breakfast and usually having three books on the go. He loved good food and
wine. He enjoyed preparing a big, rich meal and, while eating it, discussing
the next menu. Napping before and after meals was a treasured pastime. He
enjoyed lunches at the old Chartwell restaurant. He prepared weekend
breakfasts using every imaginable pot and pan, to the sound of roaring show
tunes. He enjoyed music more generally. Given the athletic limitations
noted above, he displayed surprising agility when seeking (for himself, Farris’s
Betty Harrison and her husband Doug) tickets being handed out to a
José Carreras concert, the highlight of the legal convention the trio were
attending in Barcelona. He tackled his way through the black-tied throng