‘He was a real hero to this town’: legendary former Nanaimo city councillor passes away

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The City’s flag outside City Hall flaps at half-most out of respect for Loyd Sherry.

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Gary Korpan served as a council colleague of Sherry’s from 1984 to 1993, and during Korpan’s extended Nanaimo mayoral tenure between 1993 and 2008.

“He was a real hero to this town, I smile when I think of Loyd,” Korpan told NanaimoNewsNOW. “He could be frustrating in that his defence of the community and local taxpayers often put him in opposition to important projects that the rest of council wanted to proceed with.”

Council meetings often extended deep into the night in part due to to Sherry questioning at length the validity of proposed projects and services.

Korpan said fiscal prudence was at the core of who Loyd Sherry was as a governor.

“The more a proposal or budget item is debated to determine whether it’s worth doing or not the better. Loyd was dedicated to full scrutiny.”

Former Nanaimo city councillor Diane Brennan said Sherry didn’t hold back if he disagreed with a particular issue or with the direction the community was headed.

‘Doctor No’ became synonymous with Sherry, who wasn’t shy about having city staff and his council colleagues rationalize proposals spending decisions, Brennan reflected.

“Council had that nickname for him too, and he had it for himself. I don’t think he saw that as a negative comment about him, he believed that he had an obligation to say ‘no.'”

Describing Sherry as “a strong supporter of ordinary folks”, Brennan said Sherry paid close attention to all facets of how Nanaimo operated as a municipality.

“He was not willing to spend copious amounts of money unless he was certain that it was the right thing to do. He held the staff to make sure that they could convince him, and many, many times they couldn’t.”

In 2012, the sports fields at Harewood Centennial Park were renamed Sherry Fields in recognition of extensive, longstanding community contributions by the Sherry family.

The City of Nanaimo states Sherry and his wife volunteered for the Nanaimo Recreation Commission, Big Brothers Big Sisters, BC Summer Games, BC Seniors Games and the BC Disability Games.

His wife Beverley passed away in 2022.

Loyd Sherry was a longtime Harewood resident. A sign in recognition of his family is in place at Harewood Centennial Park off Howard Ave. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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