Obituary of The Honourable Wm. Frank Gerein

Wm. Frank Gerein, late of Regina, passed away at home with family by his side on the morning of November 9, 2014. He was seventy-five. Predeceased by his parents, Anthony and Mary Gerein, he is survived by his loving and beloved wife, Eileen, his son Anthony (Denise), his daughter Michelle (Wayne), his daughter Katherine (Troy), his five grandchildren, Rachel, Lauren, Amanda, Alexander, and Kira, as well as his brother Austin (Cathy) and family. Born in Regina, in 1939, Frank attended St. Joseph’s School and then went to St. Peter’s College at Muenster. He was always grateful to the Benedictines for his high school education. He went on to obtain his Bachelor of Arts (philosophy) through St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, enjoying every moment of his time there. Upon graduating from the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan in 1963, he was admitted to the Saskatchewan Bar on July 2, 1964. Finding his calling in the law, he worked tirelessly at Noonan, Embury, Heald & Molisky, then Gerrand, Gerrand & Gerein, and then Gerrand, Gerein, McLellan & Mulatz. A skilled trial lawyer, he was counsel on many significant cases. At the same time, and in addition to his devotion to his family, he gave his talents and efforts to politics and to service clubs, including the Knights of Columbus. Frank was appointed to the District Court for Saskatchewan on December 19, 1980. He became a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan on July 1, 1981, serving as Chief Justice of the Court from 2000 through 2005. He retired from the Bench this past April. On the Court he found the work he was most meant to do, and he never flagged in his commitment to serving justice and thus serving the people of Saskatchewan. He was also an active member of numerous professional associations and legal education organizations. He lectured at the College of Law, the Saskatchewan Bar Course, and in various legal forums, while sitting on many committees dedicated to the same purposes. Frank was a past chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Appointments (Saskatchewan), a past chairperson of the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Legal Aid Endowment Fund Trust, a member of the Saskatchewan Honours Advisory Council, and a member of the Saskatchewan Prayer Breakfast Committee. In 2003, he received the Canadian Bar Association (Saskatchewan Branch) Distinguished Service Award. Frank’s life was shaped by his certainty that one serves God and society best when one serves others. He held to the view that true service began by listening to, and valuing others. One of his favourite prayers includes a plea for God’s help to appreciate that no matter what words we hear from someone else the message is, “Accept the person I am, listen to me”. He did exactly that at home, at work, and in the community. He helped countless people through listening and acceptance, then he helped them further by doing what he could to ease the burdens which kept them from becoming the people they were meant to be. Frank lived The Prayer of St. Francis. To know it is to know him. Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen. The Funeral Mass will take place at Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church, in Regina, at 11:00 a.m., on Saturday, November 15. A private interment will take place later, in Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery. Flowers are most gratefully declined. Friends who wish to make donations in memoriam may consider the Archdiocese of Regina’s Annual Appeal or the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan.