Mr. Hausknecht.

If there was ever a teacher who represented the best of their profession, it was Gordon Hausknecht. Not just because he was smart and capable, but because he was well-liked. By everybody. Students, parents, teachers, support staff; it didn't matter. He had an enormous presence and when he talked, people listened. I think the thing I liked most about him was his genuine concern for people. He put on no airs, had nothing to prove, and loved teaching. I think he was looked up to, not just physically, but with great respect and esteem. You couldn't help but to love him.

His passion was people; everyone was important. His devotion to them was evident and showed most poignantly through his work with dry grad. It was an important event and his tireless efforts ensured that the graduates of that year would be safe and have fond memories that would last forever. He inspired the leaders of tomorrow in his work with student government.

My favourite story about him involves a Science/Geography field trip to BC's interior. They had booked rooms at a motel where the students, teachers, and accompanying parents would reside overnight during the expedition. Bringing along a bundle of sticks, he showed the students how to check for baby rattlers by banging a pair together. His tale spoke of newly hatched snakes finding warmth inside the rooms; the students' only recourse was to bend low, tap the sticks together, and search their temporary accommodations for any would-be reptiles. It was hilarious to see the students, fully engrossed in the activity, banging the sticks together while checking under every conceivable hiding place. It is especially funny when you consider that snakes are deaf and the activity would yield no results other than the behaviour of the stick-wielding students.

He passed away in 2012. It was an especially difficult year with the loss of two other students from separate accidents. The entire staff and student body, school district, and community grieved the loss. There is an article that was written in the Maple Ridge -Pitt Meadows News that you can see here. Although Gordon was an expert at caring for others, he did not look after himself. He suspected that he had diabetes but preferred not knowing it. I remember seeing him walking to his classroom days before he was hospitalized. He could only make it partway there; he had to stop at the office and rest in order to complete the journey. The doctors diagnosed him with congestive heart failure; although he didn't know it he only had days to live. I visited him in the hospital. "I'm scared," he told me.

He went home to convalesce and never left. His passing left an enormous void in the school and district that is felt to this day. There is a $500 bursary set up in his name that is given every year to a student that is involved in the student government and shows leadership and post-secondary aspirations. There is an article written in The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News about his passing; you can read it here.

The world was a better place for having him in, and much poorer with his passing. I am thankful for having known him; he made me a better person. I think he did that for everyone.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen

Comment from a fellow teacher.

Great article about Gordon, Eric. A couple of my thoughts about him: Gordon was a mentor to me and other teachers. He was a "force" at Garibaldi a in a very positive way. Many students that had him as a teacher became friends with him that lasted long after they had graduated. He was part of our "Honours" program and organized a number of field trips. The one you mentioned was one of those. Remember that those students were supposed to be among our "brightest" in the school. We also went to Tofino to take those same students on forestry, beach, and tidal pool studies. The highlight of the trip was the whale watching were we saw Killer whales and Grey whales. One of my memories of him was being on the same boat as Gordon and about 10 students, engine shut down near the Broken Islands while we watched the Grey whales feed all around us. Gordon was taking pictures as he always did. Some students were very seasick but he encouraged them to get up out of the cabin and come and see a once in a lifetime experience. Gordon was part of the "Koala" program at GSS when I first worked there. He, along with Jerry Boscario, worked with at risk students. Gordon career was very diversified as he worked with all high school age groups and abilities. He was missed by a number of teachers when he passed away, I among them. he was truly a master teacher, friend too many, loved by all. His memorial service, that was held in the GSS gym, completely filled that space as former co-workers, students, and current staff members came to pay their respects. I thought of him often as I walked down the halls of GSS in my working days. For many years after his passing, GSS just wasn't the same.