Mario THERRIEN

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THERRIEN: Dr. Mario Charles Joseph Therrien died suddenly on Tuesday, September 20, 2011. Mario was born in Quebec City but spent his early years on a dairy farm in Armagh, Quebec. At age 12, he moved with his family to Springfield, Massachusetts. After high school and a year of med school, Mario tried about 23 brief jobs before attending Springfield Technical College and U. Mass., where he graduated with co-degrees in science and education. He worked at such things as a veterinary assistant, science museum guide and even a deckhand on a yacht. He was fascinated by genetics and chose to return to Canada for graduate school in this field. His study of Birdsfoot Trefoil was in depth enough for him to skip a master's degree and proceed directly to a PhD from McGill (1981) in plant genetics. After starting a post doc in oat research in Winnipeg, Dr. Therrien came to the Brandon Research Centre in 1982 to develop new barley varieties for Western Canada and parkland regions of the world. In his 29 year career, his varieties have been grown as far away as the Ukraine, China, and New Zealand as well as in the U. S. and Canada, and are currently the dominant varieties in Alberta. He has registered over a dozen six and two row feed, beer, and food barley varieties. Mario enjoyed working with colleagues around the world but preferred a quiet life of fieldwork and meeting farmers' needs. In his personal life, Mario married Heather Davidson in Montreal in 1980 and together they fell in love with the Prairies. Once in Brandon, they were blessed with a son Marc in 1985, daughter Rachel in 1989 and daughter Sarah in 1993. Mario was a Renaissance man with many interests. He was a goalie in university hockey, a reporter for the school paper and had his own show onU. Mass. radio. He loved fishing. In New England he camped and mountain climbed with friends Bob, Steve, and Rich. He played drums in a rock bandwith Bill. He had researched his family tree back to Acadia and the Huguenot arrivals in Quebec. For years he had a passion for Astronomy, building his own telescopes and attending events such as Stellafane in New Hampshire. He took some award winning photographs. When he first arrived in Brandon he was a member of the Brandon Camera Club. If one ever wanted any weather news from around the world Mario knew the details, checking several weather computer networks daily. Once the children arrived, his interests were theirs. He was a Cub Leader at 23rd Riverheights for several years having been an Eagle Scout in the U.S. He coached soccer for both boys and girls from about 1992 to 2003. Mario was never happier than attending events involving his children. He was thrilled last year by Marc's marriage to Kylie Stasila of Brandon. In June, he was a happy witness at Rachel's Brandon University Graduation. He was so pleased that Sarah shared his love of cats and rock music. Mario is survived by his loving wife and children; mother Jeanne Therrien; brother Richard, wife Colleen and their four children of Springfield, Mass.; mother-in-law Myrtle Davidson of Brandon; brothers- in-law Bruce Davidson of Cambridge, Ontario and Gordon Davidson of Lachine, Quebec and families. He was predeceased by his father Joseph Therrien in 1990. A celebration of his life will be held on Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at Memories Chapel, 330 - 18th Street North with a reception to follow at Memories Chapel. A private family interment will take place before the service. Memorial donations to the Brandon Humane Society, 2200 17th Street East, Brandon, Manitoba, R7A 7M6, Mennonite Disaster Service, 6A 1325 Markham Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 4J6 or any disaster relief charity would be appreciated.He is missed.Expressions of sympathy may be made at www.memorieschapel.com. Arrangements are with Memories Chapel & Pre-Planning Centre, 727-0330.

As published in Brandon Sun on Oct 01, 2011