Obituary of Gordon Stone

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021 three days after his 85th birthday, during a blazing sunset, Gordon went peacefully home to his Lord and Maker. He has been reunited with his brown eyed beauty, Betty, whom he has desperately missed for every one of the 1540 days they have been apart. He has been a cherished and treasured father to Debbie (Randy Burns), Grampa to Valerie, Jamie, and Amanda (Chris Amond) and Guggy to Zoey and Corbin. Predeceased by his father, Leonard Sydney Stone, mother Sylvia (Wright) Stone and his sister, Jacqueline Sylvia (Stone) Rubner. Gordon was born in Halifax, on February 27, 1936 into a Canadian Naval family. He traveled extensively with his parents and later with Betty. He met Betty at a young people’s church group while attending U.N.B. to acquire his undergrad in forestry. He completed his Masters at Syracuse University and later obtained his PhD by distance education. He was instrumental in the creation of the Forestry Program at Sault College. He was a member of the Canadian Institute of Forestry and held a position on the Board for many years. In his final days with the CIF he was a consultant invited to China to assist with a reforestation project there. He was a deeply spiritual person who was a life-long church member with the United Church of Canada, and he held all lay persons positions at one time or another. He later became a Lay Minister, which was one of his life goals, so he could share his faith with others. Gordon was a cross country skier, golfer, camper, tele-care volunteer, day hospice volunteer and instrumental in opening present day ARCH hospice. He helped plant many of the beautiful trees on that surrounding property. Gordon’s adoration of God’s creation, love of people, gifts of photography, poetry, and spoken and written word, leaves behind a legacy that will not be forgotten. He was so proud of his family! When snippets of his memory started to desert him, he remembered his family and asked about them by name at each visit! Since 2014 Gordon’s home has been Maple View where he was adopted into a new extended family. The care and compassion, he received from ALL the staff of Harmony Bay made this chapter of his life one that was often surrounded by many moments of gentle kindness. The folks in Programs, Physio, Housekeeping, Dietary, Maintenance, Residents Council, Luisa at the Front Desk, every single person on the team helped in so many ways on this part of the journey. He was also Blessed with some amazing companions, Debbie, Elaine, Nancy, who shared his passion for nature and “fresh air”, and more of those precious spoken and written words. The final chapter of his story was spent at the Sault Area Hospital, where once again he received exemplary care from another group of dedicated care givers in ED and 3C. Gordon is missed already and will be remembered for those famous hugs – one for your heart, one for your soul, one for peace. He has taught whole generations how to hug. A private family service will be held at Northwood Funeral Home Cremation and Reception Centre (942 Great Northern Rd, 705-945-7758) on Saturday March 13, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Nancy Ferguson officiating. The service will stream live through the Northwood Funeral Home Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/northwoodfuneralhome/. Simply be on Northwood Funeral Homes Facebook home page at 2:00 p.m. and the video will appear when the service begins. Memorial donations to the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie would be appreciated or plant a tree in Gordon’s memory in partnership with the Canadian Institute of Forestry at https://treecan.tributestore.com/memorial-tree?oId=20160967.