‘He was a good man:’ Nanaimo sports community mourns loss of legendary, ‘grumpy’ volunteer

Dorland was a mainstay at Clipper games during the winter months, often seen on the ice or on the bench taking photos.

During intermissions he would sharpen skates and ensure players had the right equipment, while he’d often be one of the last people to leave after games.

In dozens and dozens of conversations Birkas has had with past and present players in the last couple of days, it was obvious Dorland’s impact on those who have played in Nanaimo was profound.

“It was mixed emotion, you deliver some sad news, and to a man the kids were shook up and heartbroken, but quickly turned to fond stories and memories and just experiences that we had with Gary.”

Birkas said they “will talk about Gary at the Frank every day for the rest of my time here” and dedicate their coming season to his memory.

A known prankster, Birkas recalled when Dorland was the butt of a joke played on him by Clipper staff and players in a season past, who all dressed up and acted like him for Halloween.

“The reaction was grumpy, as most of his reactions were,” Birkas said. “But in the following days, he pulled me aside and told us how funny that was, how much that meant to him. I hope to share some of those pictures and videos with his family, because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and that was the best way we could do that for him.”

Nanaimo Clipper players have begun sharing tributes on their social media feeds, celebrating Gary Dorland. (submitted photo)

Support for sport beyond hockey
Nanaimo Senior A Timbermen president Chris Bowman called Dorland’s passing a significant loss.

Bowman had a text exchange with Dorland late last week, who stated he was dealing with health issues and couldn’t personally install the ‘Timbermen’ placard on the Frank Crane Arena scoreboard on the eve of box lacrosse season.

“I was shocked to say the least,” Bowman said upon hearing of Dorland’s passing Tuesday morning. “The health issues were obviously a lot more severe than he was letting on.”

Putting others first was commonplace for Dorland.

Known as ‘Mr. 50/50’, Dorland was perhaps most widely known for selling tickets to support a variety of local sports organizations.

“The big white-flowing beard you could see him a mile away,” Bowman recounted. “He had his own 50/50 harness out of some seatbelts and stuff that he made to whip around the rink. He was always making laps up and down those stairs every senior A game for many, many years.”

Dorland did everything he was asked to do and more for the T-Men organization, Bowman said, from fixing gear, doing laundry and cleaning up, to greeting fans at the front door.

Deeply committed helping in any way possible is a quality Bowman will always remember about Dorland.

“In the world we live in today people are caught up in their own stuff and life’s drama, where he can put everything aside and was more than willing to help and give back…I think without people like him in this community, our city is in a way worse place,” Bowman said.

Dorland was a man of many hats with the Nanaimo Clippers, doing everything from equipment orders to photography and managing the team’s website. (submitted photo)

A Career in the Fire Service
Dorland was a firefighter with the Nanoose Volunteer Fire Department until 2005, including serving as fire chief in 1984 and 1985.

Denis Holme, deputy fire chief, said he’s known Dorland since he was a child, witnessing Dorland help build the department’s first fire hall.

“I joined the fire department, and Gary was still in the department. He was on his way out, it was his last year, and it was great working with him. One of my fondest memories of him was his work with the SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus) was second to none. He knew the packs in and out, he could take them apart, rebuild them, and that was definitely his passion.”

Dorland made an appearance at the department’s 50th anniversary in 2024.

“Everything about him, he was just a kind soul and we’ll never forget him for sure.”

A Beloved Friend
Terri Cook knew Dorland for over 25 years, meeting through the Clipper organization and working together for over 20 years.

Cook said she’ll remember Dorland as a caring, funny, loved friend.

“He always had some wise crack to say and but at the same time, we had a friendship outside of hockey as well. He was actually one of the only men that my parrot ever liked, Guido just loved him and we couldn’t figure it out for the life of us. A big guy with a big beard and the bird just loved him.”

She nicknamed Dorland “G-G”, or “Grumpy Gary” for his general demeanour at times, but also said the generous-by-nature Dorland would “give you the shirt off his back if he thought it would help you.”

“He was always just a great guy and willing to help anybody, but he loved to be grumpy, and we teased him on it, and he teased us back. I’m going to remember him that way, just fondly. He’s going to be really missed.”

Cook said one of her favourite things to do with Gary was tease him about his beard, in particular times when he would braid it.

“I told him ‘that’s just way too biker-ish,’ and he didn’t have the big, bad biker kind of attitude for that. He was a good man.”

– with files from Ian Holmes

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by Alex Rawnsley

‘He was a good man:’ Nanaimo sports community mourns loss of legendary, ‘grumpy’ volunteer

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