William Gordon Hector Drummond

Known as Gord or Gordie to friends and family, he was the second youngest of six siblings, and spent his earliest years on the Canadian Prairies. His father was away when Gord was very young, serving and subsequently wounded in WWII. One day, little Gordie asked his mom who the strange man was sleeping in her bed, and thus was reintroduced to his father. Some years later, the family packed up and moved to Burton, British Columbia, with two adults, six children, and pets, squeezed into the cab of a pickup truck, and all their possessions piled high in the back.

Burton is nestled between the Monashee and Purcell ranges of the Columbia Mountains, and Gord grew up surrounded by nature. He loved to fish. He raised a pig that was more pet than livestock, and he was devastated when it was sold off to be butchered. He also nursed an injured fawn that became a pet. Perhaps because of these experiences, he did not like to hunt like his contemporaries. Gord was left-handed in a time when schools forced you to be right-handed. He was so left-handed that no end of raps on the knuckles with a ruler had any effect, so the school gave up trying to change him. For all his life, Gord mostly displayed a tough exterior, carefully guarding a soft center.

Gord met his wife of 64 years, Margaret, in Burton, and they had two children together.

He worked on tugboats and log booms on the upper Columbia River (before the dam turned the river in that area into the Arrow Lakes) without ever having learned to swim.

For a time, Gord and Marg and their young family moved to Saskatchewan, where Gord drove a Tournapull, helping build the Trans Canada Highway. If you have ever driven on Highway 1 through Saskatchewan, you can thank Gord and his co-workers.

In the late sixties, Gord and Marg and family moved to White Rock, British Columbia. He worked odd jobs for a while, until Marg told him to get a regular job, because he would often come home and report that he had not had the heart to charge the little old ladies he was working for. Gord and Marg bought a six-unit apartment complex on Marine Drive at East Beach, and he went to work for White Rock Utilities, the city’s water supplier.

In the mid-seventies, the family moved to South Surrey. Gord worked for White Rock Utilities for twenty-six years, starting on the crew and rising to Superintendent, until a serious stroke in his sixties forced his retirement. After his stroke, Gord worked diligently to recover as much function as possible. He exercised and walked daily. In his later years, Gord was an avid jigsaw puzzler. For twenty-plus years, the kitchen table was covered with a puzzle, except for Christmas and Easter family dinners.

Gord was a passionate Blue Jays fan. He certainly would have been thrilled with their World Series appearance this year. He loved his grandchildren above all. It seems his favourite thing was being a grandpa.

When his wife, Marg, passed suddenly in August of 2024, Gord lost his zest for life. For the last several months, Gord’s grandson, Andrew, stayed with him and that greatly eased his loneliness.

Gord is predeceased by his wife, Margaret, his parents, James and Stella Elsie, and his siblings, Leona (Nonie) and Ron. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Laureen and Brian Kohlen, and their sons, Graeme and Andrew, and by his son and daughter-in-law, James and Joanne Drummond, and their children, Justine and Jason. He is also survived by his siblings, Illeen, Ken, and Darlene, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Gord requested that there be no service. As per his wishes his body was cremated and his ashes will be scattered in Semiahmoo Bay. In Spring 2026, there will be an informal get-together with family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada or the Canadian Diabetes Association would be appropriate.