<div itemprop="description">It is with great sadness that the family of Iain Gerrard announce that Iain died unexpectedly, while en route to New Orleans, Louisiana. He was on a musician's dream bicycle trip to discover what he considered “the greatest part of North America, the American South” when he was struck by an 18-wheeler on Highway 61 south of Memphis. He was killed instantly. Beloved son of Jean and William Gerrard, cherished grandson of Sarah Brand of Glasgow, Scotland, and Edward Gerrard of Toronto; cherished nephew of Joan and Gerry Bryans of Glasgow, Scotland, Amparo and Richard Gerrard of Denia, Spain, and Yanelis Parga de Brand of Camaguey, Cuba; and cousin to Alejandro, Daniela and Cristian. Iain was a wonderfully inquisitive, musically talented, perceptive, young man and very much loved. He left behind a record of his experiences and observations in a trip blog. http://cycleroundtrip.tumblr.com/ <br /> <br />The local media, including the Desoto Times, a local newspaper in Mississippi, and WMCNews have published stories about him. <br />http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2014/07/17/news/local/doc53c6eea9ec797147877799.txt <br />http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2014/07/19/news/doc53c99c6472ba4210662794.txt <br />http://www.ktre.com/story/26055572/lost-tent-could-answer-questions-about-cyclists-death <br /> <br />The Toronto Star has also published an article. <br />http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/07/27/young_mans_cycling_journey_cut_tragically_short_by_highway_accident.html# <br /> <br />Iain’s love of both music and the outdoors may have started a few days after he was born, when he began to spend weekends at the small farm his parents had near Owen Sound. He began to sing-along to Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and other folk singers on the CDs that provided distraction during the long drives to and from the farm. Grandma Sally sang to him a seemingly endless collection of Scottish songs and took him for long walks along country roads. <br /> <br />Starting from the age of 3, his grandmother Nidia sat with him at the piano and introduced him to the “birds” that sang when he pressed the keys at the right end of the keyboard, and the sound of the “elephants” on the far left. Iain continued his musical education with piano teacher, Elina, guitar teacher, Doug at Bloor West Music Studios, and with Zimfira at High Park Choirs. <br /> <br />Learning to enjoy the outdoors may have started at the farm, but it was with Beavers, Cubs and Scouts 101st Troop at Windermere United Church that Iain got a foundation in camping and outdoor survival. He continued to hone his skills on many trips with his family to the untamed wilderness in the ZEC Dumoine in Quebec where he loved to go trekking with Dad into remote lakes. <br /> <br />He began to appreciate cycling as a means of transportation when Dad bought a Trail-A-Bike. Together, they would ride in tandem to destinations all over town, which helped Iain gain confidence in how to deal with traffic on the road. By the time he was in senior elementary, riding on his own to school was a part of his daily routine. <br /> <br />Iain’s formal education began at Queen’s Park Day Care, continuing with Swansea Public School and Runnymede Public School. For his high school degree he attended three schools: Western Tech (academic program), Inglenook and Subway Academy, where he graduated. It was at Western that he started learning about audio equipment while volunteering for the school’s intramural radio program. Later, he was accepted at The Audio Recording Academy (TARA) in Toronto where he earned a diploma in Audio Recording, an achievement in which he took great pride. <br /> <br />While in high school, Iain volunteered with the Out of the Cold program at St. Andrews in Toronto. It is from this time that he learned to appreciate people for who they were despite their circumstances. <br /> <br />Iain’s love of sports and particularly football (i.e., soccer) grew from seeds planted by his Aunt Joan and Uncle Gerry, a great Glasgow Celtic supporter. Although he dodged physical education through high school, he threw himself into team sports later and joined several amateur ball hockey and football teams. <br /> <br />But music was what he really loved. Whether it was jamming with friends, or creating a new dance piece, he did it simply for the sheer joy of making music.</div>
