Gordon HOLDEN

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HOLDEN: Just as the harvest was starting, Dad started a new trip. Gordon (Duffy) was born October 14, 1918, on the home farm SW22-4-22 RM of Winchester, near Deloraine. As a young man, he worked with his father on the family farm and after he finished attending Bidford School, he continued to the University of Manitoba where he obtained a Diploma Course in Agriculture in 1939. He met Bernice Payne in Medora in 1945 and they were married in New Westminister Church in Winnipeg on October 26, 1947. After their marriage they settled in farming with Gordon’s Dad Howard with Gordon taking over the family farm in 1948 after Howard’s unexpected death in 1948. Gordon was a registered seed grower and enjoyed networking at the annual conventions held across Canada. The travel to these events became family summer events which the kids well remembered. He liked to try new innovations in farming and was the first to use dual tires and a spray coupe. Gordon was also one of the first farmers in the community to plant new crops such as canola, lentils, safflower, and coriander. Gordon and Bernice loved to travel and enjoyed several winter trips to Hawaii but also traveled extensively within Canada and the USA. Dad even followed a shipment of seed cleaned at the family seed plant to Japan in 1985 and saw it unloaded there - talk about a foreign market in those days. Several times they flew to Hamilton to pick up a new Grand Marquis at the Ford Company Plant in Oakville, Ontario, stopping to visit family members in Hamilton, Sudbury and other locations along the way. Dad was a Charter Lifetime member of the Deloraine Elks. He was a Deputy Reeve and a Municipal Councilor for 34 years and participated on the Deloraine Memorial Hospital Board, The Doc Bonar Arena and Deloraine Cemetery Boards as well. He often remarked that he remembered planting some of the evergreens with his father that grace our cemetery. He was very community minded and instilled that, with many other values, to his family. He was always interested in how the kids were doing, especially the Grandkids and the Grandpets. His lifelong interest in mechanical areas was evident as he would discuss how things worked and how technologies had changed. Duffy and Bernice continued to work the farm until 1993 when they moved to the Centennial Apartments in town, a dream come true for Bernice. He was a common sight around Deloraine on his red scooter. He often said “ Wish I would have had this sooner.” He was predeceased by his wife Bernice, his son Glen, sister Edith (Jack) and brother Harold (Noreen). He is survived by Jim (June), Murray (Mary), Marie (Randy Wray), Lori (Wayne Corkum), Mark (Joanne), 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren with the latest arriving on the day Dad died. In lieu of flowers please make donations to Del-Wynda Court Handivan Fund, Box 447, Deloraine, MB so that others can get around like he did.

As published in Brandon Sun on Sep 06, 2014