Maurice Embra

Suddenly, with his wife and dear friends at his side, at Langley Memorial Hospital.

Maurice was born in Bolton, England, but left an expected life in the Lancashire cotton mills at age 16 to see the world in the Merchant Marine.

When he sailed into Vancouver harbour he fell in love with the city and emigrated in 1951. Self-taught as a cinematographer, he became part of the early Vancouver motion picture industry. He created and collaborated on many award-winning films and commercials in Vancouver, Toronto, the U.S. and Europe.

In the 60s, he teamed up with Bill Cunningham to become the CBC’s Far East correspondent team based out of Hong Kong.  They covered the Vietnam war and were the first western news team to enter China after the Cultural Revolution. Returning to Vancouver in the 70s, he started his own film production company and created many memorable and award winning films and commercials.  In the 80s, his interest in creating unusual camera mounts led to a business of designing and building specialty mounts for the motion picture industry, many of which are in use throughout the globe. On the day of his death he was still drawing, designing, and working in his shop.

Maurice was a creative man, a visionary, a painter, a passionate photographer, and in the words of a close friend "the kindest man I have ever met."

He is deeply loved and dearly missed by his wife Ann and her extended family, his son Joe, his brother Louis (Mary) of Wales and brother Ken

(Barbara) of England, his former wife Audrey Russell (Eric), Marlene, Herman and many other close friends, and his dogs Rolley, Lani and Sparky.

Grateful thanks from the family to the paramedics and ER staff at Langley Memorial for their compassionate care.

At Maurice’s insistence, there will be no services. A donation in his memory can be made to the Canadian Diabetes Association or the BCSPCA.

You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence.