Thomas B. M. Neary (Tom to his friends) was born in Dublin, Ireland, of Celtic, Irish background, on February 8, 1930, nine years after Ireland gained its independence from England in a bloody uprising. As a result of an unfortunate incident he spent several years of his childhood in and out of hospital.

In 1952 he immigrated to the Peace River region of Canada where he soon found a job at the Court House in Peace River, Alberta, as a Court Clerk. He progressed to the position of Court Administrator which encompassed the official titles of Clerk of the Court and Sheriff for the Judicial District of Peace River. Neary retired in 1986 after 34 years of service. He became involved in the organization of the newly created Peace Regional Health Authority in 1992. He and his wife Anne moved to the South Okanagan in 1996.

BOOKS:

The Peace and the Poet (Durango Publishing - 2006)

[BCBW 2009]