OBITUARY FOR RAY THOMAS FERRIS

Hello friends, I encourage yo to go to the Sands Funeral Chapel Cremation and Reception Centre Guest Book, and write a tribute to Ray.
Memorial Service details @ end of Obit.

Obituary

FERRIS, Ray Thomas April 24, 1929 - December 4, 2019 Born in Leeds, England, to Thomas Ferris and Alice Monk, Ray spent his early years in Stapleton at the Brotherhood Church, a Tolstoyan anarchist commune founded by his father. When Ray was seven years old, a terminally ill Tom Ferris sent his son and eldest daughter Clare to live at the Bruderhof (place of brothers), a commune of refugees in England fleeing religious persecution from Germany. His mother, Alice, with new husband Howard (Steppy) Hazelhurst, rescued her malnourished children from the Bruderhof when Ray was nine.

RAY FERRIS, ADVOCATE AND FRIEND PASSED AWAY

RAY FERRIS – It is with personal sorrow that I inform you that Ray Ferris passed away on Wednesday December 4, 2019. Ray was in his 90^th year. He and his wife Jeanne lived in Victoria, B.C. News of his passing will be received with sadness by so many people in B.C. and beyond. 

Ray Ferris was my friend and fellow advocate.  Ray was an expert on child protection and specifically the work of the Ministry of Children and Families in British Columbia (MCFD). He was the author of  'The Art of Child Protection." I met Ray in 2008 when each of us became persuaded that injustice was done to Zabeth and Paul Bayne in the seizure of their children. We teamed to assist them recover custody of their four children from the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Zabeth was a champion in her own right. Whereas I was the daily online blogger’s voice, Ray was Zabeth’s resource of knowledge about the MCFD, and the legislated ACT that governed it. With Ray’s data, lawyer Doug Christie came alongside the Baynes, and was able to obtain a judge’s decision in favour of the Baynes. In the years that followed the joyful reunion of the Bayne family, Ray and I have continued to receive requests for advice from parents and caregivers whose lives are torn as children are removed. Ray Ferris’ commitment to helping people to navigate their heartbreaking troubles has been beneficial to so many. I miss him already. 

RAY receiving a Justice Award