We regret to advise of the death of Captain Harry Fredrick Weiler (Ret’d) on 24 July 2020 at home in Victoria BC at age 61 after a lengthy period of treatment for leukaemia.
Harry was born in Toronto ON and grew up on military bases across Canada and in Europe. He joined the Canadian Forces in Goose Bay NL with the Regular Officer Training Plan and entered Royal Roads Military College in 1978. Harry graduated for the Royal Military College in Kingston in 1982 with a degree in Engineering Management. His athletic abilities at RMC and later were renowned and he exemplified high performance in athletics including gymnastics, running, tennis, squash, rugby, unicycling, skiing, snowboarding, windsurfing, and kiteboarding.
Harry was commissioned as a Royal Canadian Engineer officer and was initially posted to the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering in Chilliwack BC. He then joined 1 Combat Engineer Regiment where he served in many positions including Diving Officer. During this tour, Harry trained and led the 1 CER Combat Divers to win the prestigious 1st Canadian Division March and Shoot Competition in Exercise RV 83 against all other Army units. Harry attended the Army Survey Course in the UK in 1986-87 and was subsequently posted to the Mapping and Charting Establishment in Ottawa. During this tour he participated in the survey in the high northern Arctic on Ellesmere Island where he spent the summers of 1987 and 1988 that completed the final piece of the mapping of Canada’s North. He was the editor of the “Military Mapper” for a short period and held the post of Special Projects Officer in the Directorate of Geomatic Operations before he retired from the Canadian Forces in 1989.
Harry then took a position with SPAR Aerospace in Ottawa. He built up the satellite sales division and envisioned, created and championed a contract sales division. He left SPAR after five years and moved to Victoria where he consulted for Carmanah Technologies and helped create their business plan. In Victoria his serious hobbies included his pursuit of athletic sports as well as his sailboat and cruising boat where he was a master of open ocean fishing for salmon, prawns, halibut and crab.
In 2001 Harry became CEO of AXYS Technologies and took that operation for maritime sonar buoy and devices from a small shop to a highly recognized global force before he retired in 2015. Harry then moved into kiteboarding where, with a friend, he helped form and direct one of the world's premier manufacturers of sports gear. Shortly before the day Harry died, his many friends in the kiteboarding world performed a sail-past in front of his oceanfront Victoria home in a farewell act of tribute.
Funeral arrangements will be private. If you feel inclined to make a donation on Harry’s behalf, please consider supporting the following groups: Canadian Blood Services , Stem Cell Registration , BMT , KATS [Kids at Tennis] and BC Marine Parks Forever . {dcJul20kh}
