Victor Branch Obituary, Death – Victor Branch died peacefully on Friday at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. On March 6, Clifford S. and Margaret E. Branch gave birth to him in Stony Hill, Port Antonio, Jamaica, West Indies. He had previously worked as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in Alberta and Ontario, Canada.
From 1944 to 1951, he attended Titchfield Secondary School and St. George’s College in Jamaica, and from 1952 to 1956, he attended the Regent Street University of Westminster in London, England. He was an excellent student, earning first-place medals in Civil Engineering in both his third and fourth years. From 1958 until 1965, he served as an Executive Engineer and Assistant Chief Engineer for the Jamaican government, as well as for many consulting engineering businesses in England and Canada.
He also planned, created, designed, and built numerous major and complex civil, municipal, structural, and water engineering projects for Jamaica, Metro Toronto, Calgary, and Hamilton (this water treatment plant project received Canada’s Governor-Award General’s for engineering excellence in 1973); these projects, of which Victor was extremely proud, continue to serve and benefit their communities. He was a devoted father to Anne-Marie Branch, Fiona C. Wright, and Dawn A. Scott, as well as a devoted grandfather to Gregory Scott, Sasha Wright, and Matthew Wright, and a devoted great grandfather to Theodore Scott and Lucy Scott.
He was also the loving husband of Pauline Carmel Ayotte (who died in 2007), with whom he will spend the rest of his life. From 1978 to 1992, Victor volunteered as a volunteer youth soccer coach in Ontario and Alberta, and from 2001 to 2013, he worked as a Peterborough District Soccer Referee. Victor was a passionate volunteer in Catholic Church missions for seniors and the underprivileged; a cornerstone of the Peterborough community; and a major supporter to many humanitarian organizations across the world, including World Vision, Development and Peace, Missionaries for the Poor Jamaica, and CPAWS.
He was a skilled, charming, and exquisite champion cricket batsman at Titchfield Secondary School from 1948 to 1950, as well as a fan of all sports and athletics. He read daily newspapers, biographies, religion, history, and sports books, and he was well-versed in local, provincial, federal, and worldwide politics, civic affairs, and international events. Nature, particularly water, had a spiritual impact on him, and he enjoyed a wide spectrum of musical genres. In 2011, he traveled to Rome (Italy), the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica and Square, and St. Peter’s Crypt with his grandson Gregory.