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Heart attack claims Geoff King, who helped wife Ellie build Royal Canadian Theatre Company

Backstage roles kept him busy at theatres in the years since the company was founded in 2006
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Theatre company builders Ellie and Geoff King in a photo posted to Ellie King’s Facebook page.

A heart attack has claimed the life of Geoff King, who helped wife Ellie King build Royal Canadian Theatre Company over the past 16 years.

A Langley resident, Geoff King was involved in productions staged by the Surrey-based company ever since it was founded in 2006, typically in backstage roles including technical director and sound/set design.

Geoff died Sunday evening (Oct. 23), two days after suffering a massive heart attack Friday, Ellie posted to Facebook.

She called Geoff “the love of my life, my dearest, most amazing husband.

“Please, if you know someone whose life he touched, let them know. He was so well loved by all,” Ellie wrote.

“He was a creative, sweet, kind and loving husband, father, brother-in-law and grandfather. Words cannot express the loss the family is feeling right now.”

Last July, Ellie retired from the job of leading Surrey-based Royal Canadian Theatre Company, for which she was the managing artistic director, and handed the reins to production manager Crystal Weltzin and artistic director Kerri Norris.

“Geoff and I were a team in theatre, music, optics (!) and life,” Ellie posted on Sunday. “We laughed and loved together and we had one helluva life. He was truly a good human.”

A celebration of life is being planned, she added.

This month, Royal Canadian staged “Ghost of a Chance” at Surrey Arts Centre Oct. 14-15 before moving the production to Anvil Centre in New West.



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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