Obituary of Gordon Lyman Graham

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Gordie on Thursday, June 27, 2024 at the age of 78. We take great comfort knowing that he is now reunited with his beloved wife of 53 years, Barbara. He will be sadly missed by his two daughters and sons-in-law, Mary and Joe Maurice, and Gail and Kevin Cameron. Gordie was a much-loved Grampy of five and will be sadly missed by Rachel Cameron, Andrew Maurice, David Maurice, Matthew Maurice, and Chelsea Cameron. He will be missed by his sister June and his two sisters-in-law Marilyn Whalen (Terry) and Rosemary Wilkinson and his nieces and nephews Clifford Whalen (Kerri), Cathy McMinn (Ashley), Stephen Whalen (Valerie), Jordan Graham. He will also be missed by his friends and neighbours of forty years, Bill and Susan Maville and Gerry Hebert, and his cousins Morley and Tim Irwin and Patti Bjornsen. 

Gordie was born on March 12, 1946, in Sudbury, Ontario, and was the second son of Lyman Aubery Graham and Ruby Margaret Cannon. He leaves behind his brother George, Richard and Blair Graham and his sisters June and Janice Graham. On October 23, 1970, Gordon married the love of his life Barbara. The two doted on their children Mary and Gail. They moved to Sault Ste. Marie in 1983 where they met and enjoyed a deep and abiding friendship with their neighbours of over forty years Bill and Susan Maville and Gerry Hebert. 

Dad was a hard worker.  He started work at the age of 16 working as a roller for Towland Construction and in the winter, he worked as a trapper. In 1975 he went back to school and became a welder.  He worked at S.D. Adams until it closed. From there Dad worked for Steel City Truck lines, welding and repairing transport trucks. Dad had many passions. He was a phenomenal wood worker and in retirement he made wooden toys for his grandchildren, bookcases, benches, side tables and anything else our mom wanted made. He loved to fish and enjoyed the outdoors. He liked to hunt, particularly partridge. Dad was also willing to help a friend or neighbour, and he was a handy man extraordinaire. He could make something out of nothing, and always had a bit of something in his garage that would help fix the problem. Dad’s warm heart, sweet smile and twinkling eyes will be missed by many near and far. 

A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Hemy and Manuel dos Reis for all their help and support over the years. We would also like to thank the VON for their kindness and compassion over the last year.  A sincere thank you to Connie Traves for the endless hours she spent with Dad over the past year playing Rack-O.  Finally, we would like to thank the FJ Davey Home Third Floor Birch Lane for all their kindness, compassion, and hard work over the past three months.  

Friends and family are invited to visit at Northwood Funeral Home Cremation and Reception Centre (942 Great Northern Rd, 705-945-7758) on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 from 1:00 p.m. until the time of the Funeral Service in the Chapel at 3:00 p.m. with Rev. Helen Smith officiating. Interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Memorial donations to the VON would be appreciated by the family.