Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Former REALTOR® Barrie Vattoy passed away in August. He was 73.

Barrie was born in New Westminster and raised in Coquitlam. He was a high school athlete best remembered for playing football and baseball. He went on to coach baseball in Coquitlam, instilling the values of sportsmanship and teamwork into young athletes.

After a successful career in retail management and other sales positions, Barrie became a REALTOR® in 1979. He was first licensed with Royal LePage on Austin Avenue in Coquitlam and eventually moved to Prudential Sterling Realty (now Royal LePage Sterling Realty). He retired in June 2022 after faithfully serving the Coquitlam and surrounding area for his entire career.

Barrie exemplified professionalism in his career, never taking shortcuts. His style built up a loyal client base that repeatedly used his services over the years, because it was always about the best interests and well-being of his clients. Barrie’s friends and colleagues knew him as “the go-to guy” for local real estate information and he was always eager to recommend a good home repair contact.

Outside of real estate, Barrie was an avid sports fan and for years participated in sports pools with his buddies. He always kept abreast of sports events, and global and local news. If there was breaking real estate news in the neighbourhood he was sure to know about it.

Barrie was very social and loved keeping in touch with his network of friends – he’d be the first to say “let’s get a few people together, have lunch or a BBQ!” He was the glue that kept his longtime friends in touch with each other, and he always believed that the best social platform was the telephone.

Christmas was Barrie’s favorite time of year, and his favorite movie was A Christmas Story. He was the first to put up a tree, he’d start playing Christmas carols in early November, and he could detect even the smallest amount of snow before it would fall!

Barrie was predeceased by his parents Elias Vattoy and Lilly Selin (Vattoy). He’s survived by his loving wife Shelley (Hielscher), stepchildren Tara Cochrane (Alex) and Nick Cochrane (Michelle), grandchildren Cassie, Aiden, Grayson, Josie, and countless friends, colleagues, associates, and other family members. He’ll be sadly missed by all who knew him.