Germán José “Gerry” Pareja passed away peacefully on September 21, 2026. He was
77 years old. Germán was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He moved to Vancouver in 1971,
studied geophysics at the University of British Columbia, and embraced his nickname
“Gerry”.
An avid cyclist, Gerry completed the prestigious Paris-Brest-Paris endurance bicycle
ride in 1979 as a member of the first Canadian team to ever participate. In the 1980s,
Germán established himself as a professional Spanish-language translator.
Germán was community-minded and volunteered generously with many groups
including the Vancouver Bicycle Club, the BC Randonneurs Cycling Club and the
Society of Translators and Interpreters of BC. He is survived by loved ones, Beth,
Daniel and Annalisa, and many dear relatives, friends, and colleagues. Germán was
pleased to know he would be given a green burial in the sustainable site at Mountain
View Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the UN High Commission for
Refugees (Donate in Someone’s Name – Honour a Loved One | UNHCR Canada) or BC
Cancer Research (Give in Memory, Honour or Celebration – BC Cancer Foundation)
Memorial gathering October 15, 2026.
8 Comments
Sandra Ayala
I will remember German for his kindness, his contagious laughter and the passion he always showed when sharing his translation knowledge, there was never a dull moment when you talked to him. My condolences to the family…
Pernille Kienle
My condolences to German’s loved ones. Rest in peace, German.
Nahid Sohrabi
Rest in peace. Sincere condolences to the family.
Mary Sherlock
Gerry was a very kind man. He and Beth picked up my daughter, along with their kids, from elementary school and looked after her until I was able to leave work. This lasted for some years, I seem to remember. Gerry was such an excellent, generous caregiver. We’r so glad we were able to visit him a few weeks ago. May you rest in peace, Gerry.
Jennifer Jacobson
Truly a great mentor and always sharing his translation knowledge. My deepest sentiments to his family.
Barbara Bernhardt
So many great memories of Cycling into and through the 80s and advocacy for the same. And great conversations on language. So glad we knew you, GP.
Erik Ivins
Some memories of Germán Jose Pareja from age 18-22, 1967-1972. I first met Germán on the 3rd floor of Aliso Hall at Cal Poly Pomona in November of 1967. I was a green Freshman and he a seasoned Sophomore. A group of us from that floor rented an apartment near campus in December of 1968. Among us refugees from Aliso, Germán was the only one with serious academic goals with sufficient self-discipline to study physics as a major. I was struggling with a freshman level physics course at the time and Germán remarked: “Erik, you are such a dunderhead in physics that I doubt you could ever possibly get a good mark”. The remark stuck with me, and I decided to prove him wrong and worked hard to become a successful physics major. What I discovered was that while Germán could be abrupt and abrasive at times, he also was a great mentor, and not just with me, but with pretty much everyone he encountered. In those days, I was the bike rider and he the car driver. During 1969-70, I listened to him tell the unique story of his father, the book he wrote about Padre Camillo, the move to Los Olivos, Argentina and then to Mexico City and finally to Vancouver. He told me how he and his mother and brother lived in Los Angeles while he entered public education there, how he rode the bus and learned the Spanish code words for non-Hispanic ethnic groups. In the Physics Department, Germán became a rock star and was considered the best student the young department had ever produced. We were both to learn later that we were but big fish in a very small pond, as we both wound up in very high-powered geophysics departments, he at UBC and I at UCLA. There we both had become smaller fish in much bigger ponds. I had a chance to visit Germán in Vancouver in summer of 1972 while he was getting his Masters degree in geophysics. He had changed by then, had a mellower attitude about how he wanted to live his life, perhaps influenced by reuniting with his father. He told me that here in BC he was known as “Gerry”.
Brenda Prince
My condolences to friends and family. German was my neighbour and we were quiet types but we were always happy to see each other. Amazing life he had. Now I wish I talked more with him. He surprised me when he said, “oh did you just do a show?”I forgot, or didn’t remember, I told him I did stand-up comedy. I’ll miss the gentleman.