Gerald (Jerry) Heffernan, 100, sitting at his office desk in a jacket and tie, calls up memory after memory from a life of remarkable accomplishment, anchored by an 80-year romance that, sadly, has come to an end.

One of Jerry's earliest memories is of holding on to his mother on a horse ride to visit his grandfather's mine in the Kootenays. The family mining connection gave shape to his career, and the outdoors remained a lifelong passion.

Geraldine (Gerry) O'Leary was his other passion.

The relationship blossomed as they both studied at the University of Toronto — he studied metallurgical engineering and she physiotherapy. They were married in 1943, with Jerry serving the balance of World War II in the Royal Canadian Engineers.

After a stint at graduate school, Jerry joined a foundry in Vancouver to learn the steel trade. Combining a drive for efficiency with a bold entrepreneurial spirit, Jerry went on establish the first-ever continuous casting mini-mill in Canada. Smaller, cheaper and simpler, mini-mills revolutionized the steel industry and allowed Jerry to create an international steel-making empire during the 1970s.

As a couple, Jerry and Geraldine became noted philanthropists, widely supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. After Jerry experienced heart care at Sunnybrook, he chose to make a gift because he was "impressed with how they did things."

With advancing age, wife Geraldine developed Alzheimer's disease and passed away in September 2018.

To honour her memory, Jerry made a gift to support the work of Alzheimer's expert Dr. Sandra Black, to attract the brightest minds to Sunnybrook to combat dementia. And to "find a solution to aging brains," so Jerry Heffernan can hold on to his most cherished memories.