252 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 2 MARCH 2022
In the end, Brandon lost the battle to cancer. He fought for his right to
exist from the very beginning. As Brandon’s mother Carol puts it, no one
has a right to subjectively put a value on someone’s life or shorten it for
expediency’s sake. The inherent and incredible value of Brandon’s life is
recognized and appreciated by his family, friends, colleagues and clients,
and by the many other people whose lives he impacted in tangible and
immeasurable ways.
Brandon faced life’s greatest challenge—just like he had faced and overcome
other lesser challenges in his life—with courage, conviction and trust
in God. In his final days, Brandon spoke frequently of his desire to get out
of the hospital and back to his desk to continue in the fight to defend Canadians’
fundamental freedoms. Brandon’s memory inspires those who knew
him to value the life and liberty of each Canadian.
Brandon’s colleagues and clients celebrate his life and mourn his loss.
Marty Moore, with extensive contributions from Carol Langhjelm
Arthur L. Close, Q.C.
For almost half a century, Arthur L. Close, Q.C.,
devoted his tremendous talents and abilities to the
goal of law reform, influencing not only the law of
British Columbia, but also the laws of Canada and the
Commonwealth. Sadly, he passed away in June 2021,
at the peak of the heat dome. His wife of 54 years,
Lynn, had been having health issues, and it reached
the point where she required emergency medical attention. Arthur managed
to get Lynn to the hospital, then passed away the next day. Lynn followed
some five weeks later.
Arthur was born March 1, 1941 in Edmonton. His father ran a radio and
TV repair business, where Arthur helped out, possibly generating his lifelong
interest in science. Before studying law, he enrolled in the Faculty of
Engineering at the University of Alberta (1959), then switched to the Faculty
of Science (1964), receiving a B.Sc. in Mathematics (1965).
But even before science and law, Arthur’s first love was theatre, which he
explored on Edmonton stages and then as a member of a repertory theatre