GORDON LAWRENCE LITZ

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GORDON LAWRENCE LITZ February 7, 1927 - February 10, 2017 A great man and a loving father passed away on February 10, at the age of 90. Dad lost his beloved wife Margaret in 2013, after 65 years of marriage. Our father is survived by all his children: Alison (Guy), Lenore (Wayne), Karen (Dennis), Darlene and Gord (Brenda). He will be sorely missed by his nine grandchildren: Lori (Grant), Ryan, Jonathan (Laura), Cheryl, Kristin (Troy), Brittany, Jared (Logan), Michael and Rachel and he was blessed by the recent arrivals of two great-grandchildren, Benjamin Bitze and Lillian Litz. Dad was born and raised in Winnipeg, the eleventh and youngest child of Robert and Hilda Litz. He is survived by his brother Albert (Helen) and by his sister-in-law May (Fred). He was the last son involved in his father's crane rental and heavy machinery moving business (R. Litz & Sons). In the late 1960s he moved his family to New Westminster and partnered with his best friend Henry Nickel to eventually form Nickel Bros. House Moving. Later on he also partnered in a new venture with Mickey Falk, Vern Brown and Frank McLachlan to form Super Crane, which is now GWIL Crane Service. In a tireless effort to improve crane safety, Dad worked with industry and government to make the use of load weighing devices on cranes mandatory. He was a faithful member and deacon of Portage Avenue Baptist Church in Winnipeg for many years, and attended Immanuel Fellowship Church in Abbotsford since retiring to BC in 1988. Dad's faith guided and sustained his entire life. Although our hearts are breaking we know that he is with our Saviour at last. A special thank you to all the caring staff at Maplewood House in Abbotsford. In lieu of flowers, friends may wish to make a donation to the Alzheimer Society of BC in Gordon's name. The funeral service will be on Thursday, February 16 at 11:00 a.m. at Avalon Funeral Home (13288 108 Ave., Surrey, BC) with a reception to follow.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 14, 2017