Jack Gordon

Jack was born in Port Arthur, Ontario, November 24th, 1945, and raised in the small railway town of Schreiber, Ontario. He was the third child of Eva and Alex Gordon, joining his other two siblings at the time, his brother, Bruce, and sister, Bonnie. His younger brother Clyde joined the clan 12 years later.

Growing up in the small railway town of Schreiber, on the north shore of Lake Superior, in Northwestern Ontario offered the best life experiences for any young person. This tight knit community taught him how to appreciate the simple things in life. He never took for granted the unique beauty of nature surrounding him, literally at his back door! Being raised in this picturesque location shaped Jack’s love of travel and adventure.

As a young lad growing up, Jack spent hours with the neighbourhood kids playing games, street hockey, and building awesome forts in the bush, imagining conquering the world!

When he was very young, Jack spent his summers at the family camp at Walkers Lake, just outside of town. He learned to swim at an early age and continued his love of water throughout his adulthood.

When Jack was a young teenager, his dad and uncle decided to build a log cabin on Lake Superior. This entailed dragging old growth logs across the lake from a nearby island, and stripping and peeling the bark off each tree. This was all done manually and was no easy task! Jack and his family, spent endless hours working on those trees! The end result was a stunning cabin, complete with a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and slate fireplace (the slate was also dragged over from an island). Jack’s dad was a good carpenter, and even built the bunk beds for the kids to sleep in. All these years later, the “camp” as it is referred to, is still in the family and Jack continued to fund projects to maintain and improve it.

Like most Canadian kids, Jack played hockey. He was a good skater and although he loved the sport, it was curling that he really excelled at. Crystal has no doubt, that if he had stuck with curling, he would have ended up participating in the Briar!

Like most young teens, Jack was constantly on the go. One day he was rollerskating down the street when the wheels fell off his roller skates. He fell, and knocked out his two front teeth. At that time, the nearest dental care was in Port Arthur, which was 120 miles away. His poor mother had to travel with him, by train, numerous times, to have his dental work completed. He was probably the first kid in town to have caps on his teeth! As a result, Jack was never a fan of dentists or needles!

As a teenager, Jack was involved with the cadet corp. He learned many valuable lessons and travelled with the cadet regiment to many places including Banff.

Jack always was up for a challenge. His grandmother announced that she would give her beautiful piano, to whichever grandchild completed music lessons. Bruce and Bonnie gave it a go, but soon tired of the practicing. Jack on the other hand embraced the challenge and after many years of slogging down the street to Mrs. Smitherman’s house for piano and theory lessons, he inherited that piano. He used to say the worst part of the lessons, was Mrs. Smitherman’s breath …apparently she was a fan of garlic! For many years Jack played the organ at church and at weddings and funerals.

In 1963, Jack was approached by a certain young lady in town who was in need of his musical skills to accompany her, as she participated in a talent competition. She won the competition by the way, and within a few months, Crystal and Jack were dating exclusively. “Moon River” became their song!

Their attraction to each other was immediate, and they were rarely apart. When Jack was in Grade 13, his grades were dropping. The concerned school principal contacted his mother stating that, in his opinion, the only reason Jack was in school was to be near Crystal, and that school was NOT his priority. Jack ended up leaving school one subject short of graduating Grade 13!

After he left high school, he worked as a brakeman for CP Rail, and summers at the local pulp mill. At the time, Jack’s family lived across the street from the local funeral home. Jack’s parents were friends of Mr. Gawley, the Funeral Director. The funeral home offered services to the town of Schreiber, with a population of 2,000, as well as many of the surrounding small towns. The funeral home didn’t experience a high volume of business, and Mr. Gawley, , also worked full time for the railroad. He was in need of an apprentice and a helper. Jack mentioned to his mom that he was curious about what went on behind the scenes at the funeral home. Hence, Jack was approached to see if he’d like to learn the business. Within a week of gaining employment, Jack assisted picking up his first body with Mr. Gawley. Upon returning to the funeral home, with the body, Mr. Gawley had all the necessary paperwork in place to set Jack up to become an apprentice. He excitedly hurried over to Crystal’s house the next day to give her the good news. It took a bit of persuading, but she finally agreed to support his decision.

When you live in a small town, you often wear many hats. In many instances, Jack would wheel in a casket to the church, and then jump up on the altar to play the organ for the service.

Jack eventually became qualified, and thrived in his new role as a funeral director. But, due to the lack of volume in the business, he was forced to look for other work as well. He was awarded the job of Assistant Town Clerk at the Schreiber Municipal Office, and was introduced to the world of finance, of which he was very keen.

Crystal and Jack’s romance continue to bloom, and they were married in a beautiful ceremony in Schreiber on June 15, 1968. They moved into a cozy little house, and Crystal worked in the CP Rail office, while Jack worked both at the Town Office and for the Funeral Home. They were involved in the Kinsman Club, Curling Club and many other local activities.

In the next year, they were given the opportunity to buy the local funeral home from Mr. Gawley. They had a huge decision to make, as that would mean remaining in Schreiber forever. After much deliberation, they made the decision to move to Thunder Bay so that Jack could attend Lakehead University to pursue a business degree, and later become a Chartered Accountant.

They were forced to buy a house in Thunder Bay to accommodate their Great Dane. Crystal was so enamoured with the dog, that she refused to give it away. Jack attended Lakehead University, and Crystal worked in the office of a local media company and later at the Hydro office. Jack worked when he could at Everest Funeral home in Thunder Bay. To say they scraped by, is an understatement. It’s been said that they spent more on dog food in a month than they did their own groceries! But, in the end it was worth it and Jack graduated in 1972.

He articled with the Clarkson-Gordon Accounting firm and often worked out of town on many audits. Their son Drew as born in 1972 and Dean followed along in 1974. In 1980, Jack accepted a transfer with Clarkson-Gordon and they relocated to Oakville. After a few years Jack decided to move on and accepted a position with Tridel Corporation in Texas. This was a huge move for this young couple from little Schreiber, Ontario! They built a lovely home there and enjoyed their time in Texas.

In 1988, they moved back to Oakville. Shortly after the move, Jack was offered a job in Thunder Bay at a school board, which he accepted. He was barely into that job, when a job offer from SCI surfaced. After pondering their options, he decided to accept the job with SCI, and the young family relocated to Vancouver.

Jack continued working for SCI for the next 30 years. He had an incredible impact on growing the company. Over the years he developed lifelong friendships and mentored many along the way.

Jack enjoyed adventure, and he and Crystal were very fortunate to travel the world, making memories of a lifetime. Unfortunately many of these memories were of him “losing” his Ipad, camera, Iphone, or earbuds! He was very proud of his Scottish heritage and after visiting the UK, he was adamant that Scotland was far superior to the other countries.

He really loved spending time at their home in Palm Springs. Many times he’d look around his property there, and then say “wow, can you believe two young kids from Schreiber could accomplish so much?” He was a shining example of what you can achieve if you work hard!

Jack loved hockey and was a staunch Canuck supporter for many many years, attending games or watching on TV. He also enjoyed gardening, video games, and being with his family. He looked forward to his duck and elk hunting trips and loved fishing in the Queen Charlottes.

Jack loved Deep Cove. He could spend hours watching the activity on the waterfront from his home, or spending time walking down to the Cove where he enjoyed the uniqueness of this quaint little village.

He was a man of so many talents. Can you believe when he was young, he even learned to knit and made a sweater for his sister’s first baby! When he wasn’t working, he was always busy doing something.

Crystal and Jack’s relationship was the envy of many. They adored and lived for each other. Family was the most important thing in Jack’s life. He was a fabulous father to Drew and Dean and was so very proud of them and all their accomplishments. Jack’s greatest joy was being Papa to Jackson, Lexi, Taylor and Sydney. They were his shining stars and they all loved him immensely.

Jack made a tremendous impact on everyone he met. He was the epitome of a gentleman, kind, honest, and always that great sense of humour! The true sign of a life well lived is when everyone, remembers you with a smile and can honestly say it was an absolute honour and privilege to know this great man. He will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him.

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Mr. Jack Gordon, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, October 20th, 2021 with the love of his life, his bride Crystal by his side. Jack was born John Arthur George Gordon on November 24, 1945 to parents Eva and Alec Gordon. He was raised in Schreiber, Ontario, a small railway town on the north shore of Lake Superior. He attended Schreiber High School, and later studied Business at Lakehead University, Graduating in 1972. Jack articled with Clarkson-Gordon Accounting firm and became a Chartered Accountant in 1975. In 1980 Jack accepted a transfer with Clarkson Gordon to Toronto. He moved to Oakville, Ontario on the outskirts of Toronto and enjoyed the challenges of his new position. In 1985 joined Tridel Corporation. They had interests in the oil fields in Texas and Jack moved to Tyler, Texas to help run their operations there. In 1988 Jack and family moved back to Oakville. He worked for a short time with the Lakehead Board of Education before being offered a job with SCI in 1990. This job opportunity brought Jack and his family to Vancouver. His employment with SCI would last for 30 years. During this time he made a huge impact on the company and its many employees. He helped grow the Company and was influential in numerous decisions. His expertise was valued immensely. Jack and Crystal were high school sweethearts and married on June 15, 1968. They were blessed with two sons: Drew (Andrea), and Dean (Jennifer). His grandchildren Jackson, Lexi, Taylor and Sydney were his absolute joy! Jack is also survived by his brothers Bruce (Joyce), Clyde (Elena), and his sister (Bonnie) as well as numerous nieces and nephews. A celebration of Jack’s life will be held at 1:00 pm, Friday, November 5, 2021, at the Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier, 138 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, BC. Jack's celebration of life will be live streamed at Funeraweb.tv link below. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jack’s memory may be made to the SPCA, Lions Gate Hospital Foundation or the Canadian Cancer Society. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Glenhaven Memorial Chapel, 604-255-5444. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.GlenhavenMemorialChapel.com for Jack's family.