734 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 5 SEPTEMBER 2022
research, as well as planning a cross-examination in a way that would not
leave any avenues for escape. Keith simply did what had to be done to
obtain justice. In recognition of his professionalism, Keith was awarded the
Criminal Justice Branch’s Recognition Award at the annual meeting of all
B.C. Crown counsel in the year preceding his retirement.
In addition to having a very busy family life, to which he gave priority,
Keith was also very good at keeping in touch with his friends and colleagues.
Even during his long illness, Keith was a welcoming host for visits
from friends, workmates and colleagues (mainly by telephone during the
COVID-19 pandemic) and never allowed his health difficulties to overwhelm
the interest he continued to have in his wide array of very good
friends. He passed away on August 28, 2021.
Keith was a credit to his profession and a very good human being.
Murray Clemens, Q.C., and Robert Bonner, Q.C.
Stan Lanyon, Q.C.
Stan Lanyon, Q.C., died on May 2, 2022 at age 73.
Stan was born in East Vancouver and raised in
New Westminster, including through high school. It
would be an exaggeration to say he wore his New
Westminster roots on his sleeve, but there is no denying
that he lived there for most of his life and did not
miss an opportunity to extoll its virtues. He and his
wife, Susan Irwin, raised their two children there.
In light of his later accomplishments, it is perhaps a bit surprising that
Stan barely passed high school. However, while many successful lawyers
can claim only modest academic achievements, Stan’s situation was
unique: he had been misdiagnosed with a medical condition and put on
medication that impaired his learning and things like his speech. Very fortunately,
a teacher identified the problem, the medication was stopped and
Stan’s intellectual and social life became transformed into something
approaching the usual teenage experiences in New Westminster. Characteristically,
Stan was never bitter about this experience. Instead, he took it as