We regret to advise of the death of Lieutenant Gerald Robert "Jerry" Heffernan on 28 July 2023 at age 104 in Toronto. Jerry was a Royal Canadian Engineer veteran of the Second World War.
Jerry was born in Edmonton AB and moved with his family as a child to the wilds of British Columbia's Kootenay mountains in 1923. As a youth, he helped keep his family afloat by packing supplies into mines, guiding hikers, fishing, cutting cordwood and tending a large market garden. After his father's death, the family moved to Vancouver, where Jerry finished high school.
Jerry was accepted into the University of Toronto during the Second World WarI. He served in the Canadian Officer Training Corps (COTC) and was granted a BASc [Metallurgical] degree in 1943 before he could write his final exams, Immediately after graduation, he was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Engineers where he trained new sappers for the war in Europe. Like many others of his age who joined the service, he missed his convocation, an occasion that was finally held in a special ceremony in April 2007, over 60 years later, when he was 87, by which time he had received several honorary degrees..
When the war ended, Jerry foresaw many of his soldiers going back to university. He got leave to visit the engineering department at the University of British Columbia. With so many men serving overseas, the university was understaffed and was desperately trying to prepare for the inevitable influx of ex-servicemen. The university hired Jerry and arranged for him to get an immediate discharge from the Army. He worked at the university as as a teacher and doctoral candidate, while also auditing business classes.
Eventually, Jerry decided to leave the university for private industry. He took a job as a metallurgist at the Western Iron & Steel Foundry in Vancouver. One early assignment was to 'soup up' the electric arc furnaces in the plant. This type of furnace is far better than blast furnaces for melting scrap steel. His new knowledge of them put him in in good stead to start his first company and build his first steel mill. This new process mini-mill steel manufacturing process not only allowed smaller regional mills to become cost effective,by replacing the dirty coke ovens and blast furnaces, his manufacturing process had clear environmental benefits as well as as well as recycling scrap steel.
Jerry built a career in the steel industry. He co-founded Co-Steel International in 1970, a pioneer in developing mini-mills in Canada, the US and the UK. In 1985, he joined the board of The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). This Canadian-based global research organization brings together teams of top researchers worldwide to address important and complex questions. In 1987, he became one of the founding board members of the private equity firm Clairvest. In the early 2000s, Jerry channeled his passion for music into fundraising efforts for the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto's first opera house. Always interested in new ideas, Jerry participated in funding several Canadian startup companies. In his nineties, he launched a post-graduate fellowship program at U of T to help bring engineering student inventions to market.
Throughout his life, Jerry was a passionate advocate for science and a champion of philanthropy's power to create transformative change*. He generously supported CIFAR and countless other causes. Jerry was renowned worldwide as a founder and developer of major steelmaking organizations and as a highly skilled engineer and scientist. In recognition of his achievements, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1987 and was inducted into both the Canadian Business and the Canadian Science and Engineering Halls of Fame, among other honours that included honorary degrees from Queen's and Toronto. .
There will be a family burial followed by a wake at a later date. Donations to the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care in Jerry's name would be appreciated. Condolences may be sent to the funeral home.
*Note: See also: https://cifar.ca/cifarnews/2017/01/01/cifar-donor-gerald-r-heffernan-continues-his-pursuit-of-innovation/
