May 12, 1931 - Oct 30, 2017
Gordon Lorne House - 1931 - 2017
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of a great man, Gordon Lorne House, on October 30th, 2017.
He was a father, brother, grandpa, great-grandpa and a dear friend. Gord, Gordy to his friends, was born May 12, 1931 in Toronto, ON to parents Labella and Lorne House.
Dad's father died when Gord was 4 and he, his pregnant mom and young sister, moved to St. Thomas, ON to live with his grandmother. He quit school in grade 9 so he could help with the family finances. He and his family moved to London and soon after he met and married his wife of 60 years, Sylvia Dawn Pilkey. A year later their daughter Barbara Jane was born followed by Richard Gordon and then the baby James Edward.
Dad worked many years as a machinist and in the evenings, he hit the books and taught himself to become an amazing "Tool and Die" maker. Dad's hobbies were fishing and hunting which he turned into a business venture, taking men from all over on great expeditions in his freighter canoes down the Albany River in James Bay.
As a family, we spent most of our summers camping and ice fishing in the winter on Lake Simcoe, which was another business venture. Dad and mom were always members of the Legions where they lived. Dad taught us to have great work ethic, honesty, integrity, compassion and how to enjoy an ice-cold beer, Labatts 50 in those days.
He is predeceased by his mom and dad, wife Sylvia, sister Catherine, grandson Mathew, son in law Gary and brother in law Robert.
He will be missed by his daughter Barbara, sons Rick (Laura) and Jim (Shirley), his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his brother Donald, sister in law Jane Seaman as well as many nieces and nephews.
To sum up, we, his children, would like to say "if we have ever forgotten to show our gratitude for all the things that you did, we are hoping that you knew all along just how much you meant to us. You were our hero".
The family would like to welcome friends to join us at the Westbank Legion November 19th from 2 pm until 5 pm to celebrate the life of our amazing dad.
Condolences may be left for the family by visiting www.hansonsfuneral.ca
Hansons' Funeral Chapel