Richmond loses renowned developer and benefactor

He was a true “pillar of the community,” who loved adventure and gave generously to Richmond charities as often as he could.

Initially a dairy farmer, then a home-builder and finally a land developer, Gene Greczmiel passed away peacefully on Aug. 11 at the age of 89.

A born and bred Richmondite, Greczmiel was renowned in his industry for having “an amazing eye for design and style.”

In 1958, Greczmiel turned to house building after a successful career as a dairy farmer, forming E.H. Greczmiel Construction and Conway Richmond Estates which, in 1983, became Conway Richmond Ltd.

Such as his contribution to the community, he and his company were lauded by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce in 2015 by being inducted into the Business Excellence Awards Hall of Fame.

In the business world, Greczmiel will be remembered for developing Maple Lane, Westwind and Terra Nova.

Later, his company grew to include commercial real estate, owning commercial centres in Richmond, including Blundell Centre.

But away from business, Greczmiel was a generous benefactor to the community, supporting organizations such as the Richmond Hospital Foundation, BC Children’s Hospital, Pathways Clubhouse Society, Richmond Food Bank, Salvation Army, Union Gospel, Richmond Christmas Fund, Richmond Working Poor Fund, Richmond Society for Community Living and Covenant House.

According to his family, Greczmiel “took inspiration from everything around him, always striving for quality and looking for more. 

“He was a true believer in learning from the best and asking questions.”

He was married for 24 years to Barbara and had two daughters, Michele (Bruce) and Lisa (John), followed by his grandchildren, Carly (Steve), Ryan, Sydney (Roberto), Fraser (Stephanie), Spencer, Sophia and Asher. 

The highlights of his later years were his great grandchildren, Anastasis, Athena and Aeryn.

Greczmiel’s greatest passions were family, boating and travel and he was fortunate enough to be able to spend many years enjoying all three, walking for miles locally and across many countries.

According to his family, he “was an incredible teacher and story teller.  We are all truly thankful and feel extremely blessed to have had him in our lives for as long as we did.”

A celebration of life for Greczmiel was held Tuesday, Aug. 28 at the Britannia Shipyards in Steveston.