Gordon Lawrence Polley

March 2, 1945-May 19, 2017.

Gordon passed away after a courageous battle with cancer at Burnaby Hospital with beloved wife Linda, niece Pam and dear friend Louise at his side. He is survived by his sister Anne, nephews Larry and Brad and many good friends. A Celebration of Gordon’s life will take place on Sunday June 18, 2017 at the Firefighters Club, Banquet Hall from 1100 am to 3pm at 6515 Bonsor Ave, Burnaby, 604-437-6338. Flowers gratefully declined. Memorial donations to Burnaby Hospital Foundation or BC Cancer Foundation would be appreciated. For more details and an online tribute to Gordon please go to www.dignitymemorial.ca

Gordon's Biography

Gordon was born in Calgary, Alberta on March 2, 1945 to parents Gordon and Laura. He had one sister, Anne who arrived two years later.

Gordon and his family moved to North Burnaby, BC, when Gordon was a teenager. He attended Burnaby North Secondary School. He later attended Simon Fraser University as a Charter Student (one of the first students admitted to the University upon its opening) and received his Bachelor of Science in 1969.

Gordon had many different jobs during his young life. He was a general errand boy, gas pumper and mail collector while working in Shoal Bay. He was also a proud member of the Vancouver Infantry Regiment of the Irish Fuseliers of Canada where he was known for his marksmanship skills.

Most of Gordon’s professional career was spent as a Chemist at Cantest (Maxxam), an analytical laboratory. During his 40 years there, Gordon had many roles and was a mentor to many staff and students. He would often go above and beyond to make sure things ran smoothly and accurately. One role he was particularly proud of was Forensic Equine Toxicologist (or Horse Pissologist as he fondly referred to himself ) . This resulted in lots of trips to the race track, watching the trainers collect specimens from the horses after the races.

At a very young age, Gordon showed his penchant for fixing things. He helped his mother by taking apart her vacuum cleaner and although there were spare parts left over, the vacuum worked very well for many years. He also had many other skills as a plumber, auto-body repair man, mechanic, electrician, you name it, Gordon could fix it. Even if a part was missing or broken, he would make it. He was fondly known as Mr. Fix-it by his friends.

Gordon met Linda in 1976 at a young alumni club at UBC. It was love at first sight, even though Linda would not give him her phone number and suggested he look it up. He did, they married in 1981 and have had a wonderful life together having just celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.

He was truly a man for all seasons. He enjoyed skiing, baseball, skating and hiking but his passion was cycling and he was often seen as a bike escort at the annual Vancouver Marathon urging the runners to the finish line.

Gordon had a passion for camping with Linda and his remodeled Boler. Together, they went to places throughout Canada and the United States and had great times exploring and spending time together.

Gordon was an avid collector of all sorts of things including coins, stamps, coasters, plumbing parts, electrical parts, you name it, he collected it (and kept it.

Gordon was very adamant about protecting the environment and had clever ways of doing so. Recycling, reusing and refusing to use the car whenever possible and making sure that both of them used their bikes for local (and sometimes not so local) errands. Gordon also developed his own method of weed control. One day Linda came home to find him using her good vacuum cleaner to remove the dandelion seed heads to prevent them from spreading.

Gordon will be remembered for his strength of character, his honesty, loyalty, positive attitude, good natured disposition and other endearing qualities. Gordon was a loving husband, loyal brother and uncle, true friend and a great role model who inspired us all. He will be deeply and sadly missed by his treasured wife, his family and his many, many close friends and buddies.

Gordon’s life will be celebrated on Sunday June 18, 2017 at the Firefighters Club, Banquet Hall from1100 am to 3pm at 6515 Bonsor Ave, Burnaby, 604-437-6338.

Flowers are gratefully declined.

Memorial donations to Burnaby Hospital Foundation or BC Cancer Foundation would be appreciated. Both of these organizations demonstrated exemplary care and compassion to Gordon.

Burnaby Hospital Foundation at www.bhfoundation.ca

BC Cancer Foundation at www.cancer.ca/donate

Arrangements under the direction of First Memorial Funeral Services, Vancouver, BC.