GORDON HARVEY (CAT) HAWES

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GORDON HARVEY (CAT) HAWES Surrounded by the love of his family in their hearts and at his bedside, our Dad and Grandpa, Gordon, known by most as "Cat", passed away peacefully on August 8, 2001 at Selkirk and District General Hospital. Dad was predeceased by his wife Ruth in 1984, whom he truly missed, and was the last surviving sibling of a family of nine. He leaves to mourn his passing and to treasure his memory his children, Mariann and her husband Denis Fitzpatrick, David, Danny and his wife Nola, Harry and his wife Linda; and his grandchildren, Sean and Neil Fitzpatrick, Pamela and Blair Hawes, Dezi, Jayce and Janel Fiddler; plus numerous extended families. Dad was born and raised in Selkirk and was the son of Henry and Marguerite Hawes. He began his working career very early in life and worked at such jobs as driving truck hauling fish from the Interlake and then as a plumber working for many years with Balcaen and Sons Plumbing and Heating, and with Smiths and Selkirk Supply. He retired and spent the early years of his retirement with Mom, driving her to work, and picking her up, helping her to bake and cook which she loved to do and together they spent ours with their grandsons, Sean and Neil. After Moms passing, he filled his days by taking the tour around the docks and being "The Foreman", checking on construction projects and renovations which family or friends or the community may have been doing. He became interested in the house building project taken on by the Selkirk Recreation Foundation in the building of "Home Draw 84" project and renewed old acquaintances and made new friendships. Dad was a true kidder and loved to tease. Us kids and his grandchildren, nieces and nephews, could measure the extent of his love for us by the nicknames we all received and by the nose scrunches that no nose could escape. He spent hours with a grandchild or two on his lap just making noise and singing at the tops of their lungs. Some days we thought we had one extra child in our homes because Grandpa played so well with them. Dad loved his sports and in the most recent years especially enjoyed watching his grandsons play hockey. He was loved very much by all of his nieces and nephews and will be sadly missed by all who knew him. In lieu of flowers, friends may make donations to the Cancer Society or a charity of their choice. A celebration of his life will be held on Monday, August 13 at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel at Gilbart Funeral Home, Selkirk, Manitoba, with Rev. Lynn Stevens officiating.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 11, 2001