DEVALL, Ronald Homer.

P.Eng. PhD. December 7, 1943 - June 8, 2020

It is with deep sadness that we announce that Ron passed away after a brief battle with brain cancer. He died peacefully in the early morning hours of June 8 after a difficult journey.

Born in Vancouver at VGH, Ron was the eldest son of Homer and Marjorie DeVall. Ron is survived by his wife, Hazel; his brother, Ken; his several cousins and their extended families; as well as countless colleagues and friends.

Ron enjoyed life to the fullest and in particular his work as a structural engineer. He spent his entire career of over 40 years providing technical leadership at Read Jones Christoffersen (RJC) where he was regarded as a mentor and good friend. In addition, he provided significant contributions to the development of structural engineering knowledge and building codes in Canada. He served on and led many technical committees for the advancement of structural engineering and had a strong influence in getting important seismic revisions incorporated into Canada's building codes since the 1980s.

In addition to working with the engineers at RJC, he also worked closely with professors at UBC throughout his career to help them deliver effective engineering education. His connection to UBC, which he shared with his close friend and colleague, Jim Mutrie, was a significant part of his life that gave him great satisfaction and pleasure.

In recent years, Ron was part of a local Peer Review Team that made significant contributions to the development of the Seismic Retrofit Guidelines for BC schools, which are now used by practicing engineers to assess and upgrade educational and other buildings.

In addition to his love of engineering, Ron also loved travel, jazz, good food, good wine, good conversation and above all good friends. Ron had many, many friends, some since childhood. As one of his long-time friends recently said, he had many friends because he knew how to be a friend. He will be missed.

We are extremely grateful for the wonderful and compassionate care that Ron received from St. John Hospice at UBC. We could not have wished for a better place to be for the end of his journey.

A gathering to celebrate Ron's life will be arranged at a later date when we are able to gather again in larger groups.

Donations in Ron's memory may be made to the following:

The UBC Faculty of Applied Science to help establish a new award for Civil Engineering students. This award will also honour his close friend and colleague, Jim Mutrie who passed away December 23, 2019.

Online gifts: https://memorial.support.ubc.ca/devall-mutrie

Gifts by cheque: Cheques made payable to UBC with DeVall Mutrie Award in the memo line may be sent to: UBC Faculty of Applied Science ATTN:Lindsay Barber, Development Office 5000-2332 Main Mall Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4

Donations may also be made to:

Order of St. John Palliative Care Foundation 6389 Stadium Road

Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4 www.stjohnhospice.ca