Obituaries

Dear Norma, Darren, Sharon, Shellie, who came once (or twice ) to Ambly in Belgium! I cannot believe it! I was trying to find news about Gilbert and Norma, their children and grand-children and found that Gilbert has just passed away. We are part of the same family. I do hope Norma, Darren, Sharon and Shellie remember coming once to Ambly in Belgium, our family native village. We were so happy to try to make our family tree. That was in the 1990s. I have kept all the letters we received from Gilbert, our family living on the other side of the ocean. The last one is dated 2010. Gilbert was so happy and proud to talk about his wife, his children and grand-children. I am so sad to read that Gilbert has passed away. If one of you could send me an Email address (or another way of communicating), so that we won’t lose track of each other, I would really appreaciate. Time passes so quickly! I wish you all (Norma, her children and grand-children) a lot of courage and hope to hear from you very soon. Marie-Josée Dambly 41, rue Lafayette B-5580 Rochefort (Belgium)

A Note for Grandpa (Oct 27th, 2020) I write this to you on the day of your passing. I have heard recently that one thing in your life you wanted was to live to see your grandchildren. Grandchildren to spoil, discipline, teach, love, and grow with. Grandchildren you can create fond memories that will last a lifetime. And let me say, you succeeded. You spoiled your grandchildren with cupcakes and Timbits, even though we already had lunch and chocolate for dessert. You disciplined us by reminding us to NEVER get you mad; like when Derek won a game of hide-and-seek by default, ending with the police department being called to find a missing boy. My golly, we learned NEVER to get on grandpa’s bad side. You taught us how to fish and drive a boat, that hard work gets you far in life, how to cut a 2x4 and tell a joke that sounded along the lines of “the prairies are so flat, your dog could run away and you could still see him three days later”. You loved us with all of your heart; demonstrated by playing the “Sack of Potatoes” game for far too long as children, kissing our scrapes when we fell, and walking us to the door every time we said goodbye. You grew with all of us, present for our lives smallest and biggest accomplishments. Seeing us take our first steps, to graduating with University degrees and moving out. You have built a shelf for yourself in all of your grandchildren’s lives. This is where you sit and where you rest. Enjoy watching your grandchildren continue to grow, be loved, and learn. Your shelf is where we will store all of our memories of you. And we know it is stable, because you were the best handyman. I will miss your smile. I will miss your snide comments to get the table laughing. I will miss hearing your voice exclaiming “Hey kiddo” when we stood at the front door. I know you are at peace and comfortable. You know your grandchildren love you, and that is a memory that will last many lifetimes.

We offer our deepest condolences to Norma Dambly over the loss of Gil and to Shellie and Darren, his children. We were next door neighbours for 32 years. Gil was a wonderful man who was thoughtful and caring. He was always on the move but never failed to stop and chat with you. Gil will be greatly missed.

We are sorry Norma to hear of Gil's passing. Deepest condolences to you and the family. Our thoughts are with you at this sad time. Chuck and Mary Carlson