Terence “Ter” Charles Hamer is being remembered for his contributions to Yellowknife’s hockey culture and for bringing young athletes together.
Ter passed away peacefully in Alberta at the age of 79 on March 6, surrounded by family.
His family members describe him as a community builder, volunteer, storyteller, prolific writer and a friend to many who had a sharp wit, deep love of family, and lived by the philosophy of leaving the world a better place.
“He always wanted to give opportunity to kids to have healthy activities,” Ter’s wife Julaine told Cabin Radio.
“I think he helped a lot of kids that way, just working with people to make things better.”
While in Yellowknife, Ter coached hockey and curling and was involved with the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce.
He is known for creating the Wade Hamer Hockey School and the city’s since-demolished Wade Hamer Mini Golf, as well as helping to continue the Wade Hamer Challenge Cup – an ongoing annual hockey tournament between Yellowknife’s École St Patrick and Sir John Franklin high schools.
The initiatives were named to honour Ter and Julaine’s late son Wade, who was killed in an industrial accident when he was 18 years old in 1987.
Julaine said she first met Ter when she was living in Calgary and training to be a nurse and he was working for the Bank of Commerce.
“I found him very easy to talk to,” she said. “He was very honest about everything.”
The couple married on September 14, 1968 and went on to have four children and welcome nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Julaine said they moved to Yellowknife five years after they got married, when development in mines, business and politics were happening in the North, as Ter “wanted to go where things were happening.”
The couple spent 31 years living in Yellowknife.
Ter got involved in the local hockey and curling scene because their children played, Julaine said, and he took on a midget hockey team that needed a coach. She said he helped the players to work together and be considerate of one another.
“I think for the most part, he was well liked by the players and they respected him and they were a successful team,” she said.
Julaine said Ter was also “instrumental” alongside Len Jason in helping to raise money for a study on building the Deh Cho Bridge.
“As an accountant for Super A Foods, Ter was very aware of the need for an all-weather bridge across the Mackenzie River,” she said.
“Two times a year, the stores would have to get extra supplies for the time when the Mackenzie River ice crossing was either not there because the river was freezing or the ice was breaking up in the spring.”
The couple moved to High River, Alberta following Julaine’s heart transplant to be closer to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.
“He was always just very supportive of me, looking after me all the time and all of our kids,” she said.
Julaine said Ter liked having conversations with people about everything from hockey to politics, but he would seldom be swayed from his views.
“He could talk about just about anything and I think people respected that,” she said.
“Conversations with Ter were always interesting, sometimes funny and at times annoying because your views were not always the same as his.”
Despite his passion for politics and skill at public speaking, Julaine said Ter kept his promise to her not to run for political office.
“I always admired his honesty to me, though I feel that he would have made a good politician,” she said.
Julaine said she enjoyed the time she and Ter spent with their family and friends, particularly out at their cabin on Prelude Lake, which she said was the place Ter liked best.
Games were a cherished family pastime, Julaine added, and Ter and his sons developed a war game – Hours of Glory – that their grandsons have since gone on to play.
“Since Ter’s death we were playing Ticket to Ride and had decided that we would play the real rules of the game. As we were opening the box, a copy of the Hamer House Rules fell out of the box,” she said.
“We laughed and said that he was making sure games were played as Ter liked to play them. Often his rules were better than the original rules.”
A funeral service for Ter, streamed online, took place at St Francis de Sales Catholic Church in High River on March 16.
The family has said donations in Ter’s memory may be made to the Canadian Transplant Association. People can also share tributes to Ter on a dedicated webpage.
