February 4, 1925 – September 17, 2011
Our beloved Husband, Dad, Grandpa & Papa passed away peacefully on September 17, 2011. Gordon leaves his bride, Bobbie of 58 years, son Ross (Lynn), daughter Debbie (Dave) Richdale and grandchildren Robert, Trent, Curtis, Sydney & Derek. Predeceased by his brother Wilf and survived by siblings Frank, Eleanor & Winnifrid.
Gordon was born in Ernfold, SK. He served in WWII as a tail gunner then moved to Victoria in 1945. He retired from Shell Canada after 32 years of service. Gordon valued his long standing association with the Masonic Order.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at McCall Bros. Floral Chapel, Johnson and Vancouver Streets, on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 3:00PM. In lieu of flowers, Gordon requested donations be made to Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children c/o Jeneece Place, 2400 Arbutus Rd, Victoria, BC, V8N 1V7. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallbros.com .
“not that a death has occurred, but that a life has been lived ”
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Cathie (Champoux) Schumacher and family
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Ian & Janet Andersen Dear Birtwistle Family,
We were very fortunate to have Gordon around us for many, many years. He was very devoted to helping Dad ( R.B.Fox) attend his beloved Masonic meetings and we cannot ever thank him enough for this. Sorry we missed the funeral, we were out on the West Coast of the Island with friends on a trip. Our sincere sympathy to Bobbie and all his family …. The Andersens , Comox, B.C.
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Julie Baker Dear Mrs. Birtwistle and Family,
Please accept my sympathy in the passing of Mr. Birtwistle. My Dad when he was still alive always spoke highly and very kindly of Gordon, and they were good friends. Know that you are in my thoughts at this sad time. Sincerely Julie Baker, daughter of the late John Bray.
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bonnie lowery Dear Bobbie, I have missed seeing Grodie at the gym in the mornings.He always had a smill for me.MY deepest of sympathy goes out to you and your family at this time. Bonnie
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Rob Heppell Dear Bobbie & Family,
I could always expect a firm handshake and smile from Gordie whenever I saw him at lodge or any other function. He always had a positive demeanor about him and I know that the Masonic community will miss him.
Sincerely,
Rob Heppell
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DIANNE AUCHINVOLE Dear Bobbie and Family, How sad the news of Gordon. My Bruce truly treasured him as a brother and a friend. We were blessed to have him in our lives. My deepest sympathy to you and your family. With love, Dianne
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Colleen MacKenzie (nee Niven) Bobbie, you and Gordie were the best of neighbours on Kingsmill Rd; always friendly and helpful and never missing a wave as we passed by. My sincere condolences to you and Ross and Debbie as another wonderful man has left us to embrace his memory.
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Aldwyth Kubisheski Bobbie, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I know how hard these times are.Hang in there dear friend……Love Aldy
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Torrey & Barbara McCall Our sincere condolences to Gordie Birtwistle’s family.
From Torrey & Barbara McCall
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Cheryl & Willis Wingert Dear Bobbie & Family,
Gordie was such an amazing man! He was a friend to everyone. He was always happy and smiling. Gordie was truly interested in people and what they were doing. We have so many happy memories of our visits with both of you.My Mom, Florence Birtwistle, commented on how thoughtful he was at visiting his uncle, George Birtwistle and her friend, Shirley Sherman. He was always there for people.
We will miss him. Our thoughts & Prayers are with you all.
Love – Cheryl & Willis
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Jack & Lil Rossiter Hi Bobbie,
Lil and I Just wanted to wish you and your family our deepest sympathy. Gord was one of a kind. I really didn’t get to know him as well as Eric did but he and I met often through our masonic connections and he was always great company. He and I were the same age and we had in common our service in WW2 to talk about. We will miss him.
Jack & Lil Rossiter
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Karen Murray We are so sad to hear of Uncle Gordie’s passing. He was a wonderful man who was always so genuinely happy to see you and interested in your life. I’ll always remember the twinkle in his eye and his great sense of humor. I am so glad we were able to visit not so long ago and get that famous hug.
He was also a very loving, caring brother to my Mom and he will be greatly missed.
We send much love to Auntie Bobbie, Ross, Debbie and Family,
Winnifrid, Karen, Bill, Amber, Scott, Ginny and Sam
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Matthew Clark My sincere condolences to all Gordon’s family. He was always a pleasure to work with, and was consistently upbeat in manner and supportive of his fellows. He will be sorely missed.
Matthew Clark, TPGM SR Victoria
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Joyce Marshall I was so sorry to hear of Gordon’s death, Bobbie. I remember so clearly being at your wedding. I live in Sidney now and don’t really drive into Victoria anymore, or would attend the funeral. Just know I am thinking of you and your family.
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Robert Cleaver Sorry to hear about Gordie’s passing. Our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.
Brother Robert Cleaver
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Anne Smyth Gordie–the first neighbor I met when I moved across the street in “92. For 19 years we enjoyed his helpful kindness and happy encounters. I have missed Gordie and Bobbie so much these past few months and will always cherish the happy memories of Gordie’s friendship.
Bernhard joins me with sincere condolences for you Bobbie, Debbie, Ross and families.
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Walter Robinson Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Bobbi.
Walter, Sheryl, Karen, Mike.
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June Fletcher Very sorry to hear of Gordie’s passing. I am one of the people from the Esq. pool and enjoyed Gordie’s presence. He had a great sense of humour and was a very nice man. He is missed at the pool since he stopped going.
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Len Birtwistle We are truly sorry to hear about Uncle Gordie’s Passing. He will be sadly missed and our thoughts go out to Auntie Bobbie,Ross,Debbie and family.Sorry we won’t be able to join you on Saturday because of a prior commitment but we will be thinking about you.
Len, Lynne, Lena, Aj and Angela.
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Roger Strange So sorry to hear about Gordie – he was a wonderful man, a fine Mason, always cheerful and willing to help. He will be greatly missed, a loss to everyone who knew him. I will always remember his smile, and seeing him at Thrifty Foods!
My condolences to you, Bobbie, and all the family
Roger
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Jim & Jean Birtwistle Uncle Gordie was always happy and smiling. We will always remember his wonderful laugh, his great sense of humor, his hugs and caring of others. He was truly a very very nice man and we will cherish our wonderful memories of him.
My Mom took a great liking to Gordie and loved having him to play Bingo with at Berwick and was amazed at his energy.
Thinking of you all now with much love.
Jean & Jim and family
Dear Bobbie, Debbie, Ross and families.
As with all your friends, our memories of Gordon are of a happy,
caring, thoughtful husband and father. Our memories go back to
when your children and ours were all small, Gordon visiting and bouncing a baby on his knee or playing with the little ones. Such a privilege to have known him. Our sympathy and love to all of you.