Henry, Leighton, Andrew Blake

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Leighton “Andrew” Blake Henry in Surrey BC. Andrew passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones, on Friday January 26, 2018, at the age of 54. Andrew is survived by his wife Denise and sons Mason and Nicholas; his mother Ena; siblings John, Judith, Byron, and Mary; in-laws Yvette, Ivan, Blair, Lise, Goldwin, and Amy; nieces Alexandra, Kiah, and Norah; and nephew Sean. He is predeceased by his father, Enoch; grandparents; Aunt Iona; Uncle David; and Uncle Ken.

Andrew was born in Jamaica to Ena (nee Blake) and Enoch Henry where he lived until the age of 5. In 1968 he immigrated to Canada with his parents, both teachers. Andrew eventually followed their lead. In early 1970, the family moved to St. Paul, Alberta, where he completed elementary, junior and senior high school. In 1980 he moved to Edmonton to attend NAIT and received a diploma in business. Edmonton is where he met his future wife Denise McFarlane. Eventually moving to Vancouver, Andrew obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a Masters in Curriculum Design and Education. Andrew loved sharing knowledge and encouraging independent thought. He taught for the Surrey School District (1995 – 2017) both in the classroom and online. Andrew truly enjoyed his work as a “student centered educator with a keen interest in creating personalized and engaging content”.

As an entrepreneur he owned a business in curriculum design and successfully and repeatedly completed work for organizations such as:
4th Foundation Vancouver
McGraw Hill Education Canada in Vancouver
WWF (World Wildlife Federation) in Austria (remote)

Andrew’s noted passions were firstly his family and secondly his work. He was a private individual, loving husband, and father who wanted his boys to become well-meaning and caring contributors to society. He will be greatly missed. A celebration of Andrew’s life will be officiated by Wendy Yacboski at Burquitlam Funeral Home, 625 North Road, Coquitlam, BC on Friday February 9, 2018 at 2:00pm.

In lieu of flowers or other tributes, please make donations to the Canadian Cancer Society www.cancer.ca/donate