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GEORGE ALAN KETER Obituary pic GEORGE ALAN KETER Obituary pic

GEORGE ALAN KETER

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GEORGE ALAN KETER

February 24, 1951 - March 6, 2023

Born near Glasgow, Scotland, George emigrated to Canada in 1957 and grew up in Toronto. He played hockey and lacrosse and felt entirely Canadian very quickly. His parents' strong Scots identity also influenced George's sensibility during his lifetime.

Raised to seek excellence, George expressed that value throughout his education and career. At Bathurst Heights Secondary School, he served as school president from 1967 - 1968, his final year. At Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, George majored in Political Science and Sociology, graduating with honours in 1972. He also served a term as editor of the university newspaper, The Peak. While at SFU, George met me, Elinor Walsh, his future wife. We married in 1972, and were together for 52 ardent years, until his sudden death of a heart attack in 2023.

Ideals informed George's belief in the grass roots mission of credit unions and his subsequent entry into the field in 1978. Cooperative values, community-building, and citizen input at the board level appealed to George. He held increasingly senior roles, served as CEO of FirstSask Credit Union which he merged with several smaller credit unions. George added a branch at Cowessess First Nation, for which he devised a unique governance structure and he also led a 2008 merger with Affinity Credit Union that involved combining a union environment at FirstSask with a non-union organization. As CEO of the reinvented Affinity CU, George arranged for FirstSask to take on Affinity's name and completed the merger. George retired in 2012.

In retirement, George and I lived part of each year along St. Mary's Bay in southwest Nova Scotia, entering a new chapter of friendships and interests. We lived in a whimsical Victorian home and together explored Nova Scotia's coasts, forests, and villages in our red truck.

George possessed a keen intellect and read broadly. Remarkably literate, he often referenced offbeat concepts from arcane sources when discussing ideas. Articulate, graceful, and fluent in his speech, George communicated persuasively with friends and eloquently in public.

A gentle and sensitive man, George easily established rapport with others. His middle name was Alan, meaning bright, beautiful, glorious, handsome. He was that and more. To those lucky to be his friends, George was always modest and to me, quietly remarkable.

Sorrowed by the early deaths of our two children, Noah in 2003, and Alexis in 2021, George carried a private burden that is now laid down.



May he rest in peace.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 09, 2024, Mar 09, 2024

Condolences & Memories (1 entries)

  • I will never forget George. Working for him with the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation here in Winnipeg, I had the good fortune to spend many hours with him, sometimes on long trips in the car. He was kind and gentle, and a joy to work with. The wide-ranging conversations we shared covered a broad spectrum of topics, and especially things philosophical in nature. I grew to treasure his agile and curious mind, and his ability to articulate his thoughts with the greatest of ease and fluency. He was more than my boss - he was my friend and every once in a while, after he and Elinor left Winnipeg, we would talk by telephone. It always seemed that our conversation would just pick up again where we had left off. I respected and admired George greatly and am thankful that he and his family passed through our lives - even spending a Christmas with us when neither of us had other family close by. Rest in peace, George, and Elinor - may the good memories of the times you had together uplift and sustain you. - Posted by: Herman de Vries (Friend) on: Mar 09, 2024

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