HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-02-07, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013.
GLEN EDWARD GASKELL
Glen Edward Gaskell passed
away peacefully on Jan. 12, 2013.
He was 89.
Glen was born April 17, 1923 in
Salmon Arm, British Columbia to
Eunice and William Gaskell. As
he would so often share, this was
the same birth date as his twin
sister, Gladys. The twins were
close. Their older sister, Ruth
says “if you took on one you took on
the other.” At the early age of six
Glen andhis two sisters rode the
train across country to be raised
under the watchful eyes of their
grandparents Sarah and Edward
Gaskell.
Glen joined the Canadian Air
Force in 1942 and while serving
overseas in England he met, courted
and married Enid Mary Smith.
Upon returning to Canada, Glen and
his new family settled in Ontario.
In 1950 the family moved to
Alberta where he worked as an
egg and poultry inspector for 28
years.
Over the years Glen proudly
raised his six children, Marilyn
(Ken) Butler, Dave (Fran) Gaskell,
Rob (Gloria) Gaskell, Sue
(Brad) Bengry, Brian (Barb)
Gaskell, Shelley (Terry) Orr and
(Robina Gaskell). He spent many
hours with his family, camping
in the summer, waterskiing,
Christmas tree hunting and
teaching the value of family love
and support.
In 1982 Glen married his
second wife Sara Martens Gove
adding to his clan step-children,
Bonnie (Ron) Kaupp, Sandie
(Dennis) Kaupp, Monte Gove and
(Diane Gove). He entertained all
with his great sense of humour and
showed how to be kind and
generous. Glen was a devoted
husband, father and grandfather,
proud of all his children and often
bragged about his 21 grandchildren,
35 great-grandchildren and one
great-great-grandchild.
Throughout his life Glen
developed many friendships and
served his community well as
an executive in his church, the
Royal Canadian Legion and Army
Navy and Air Force Veterans
Association. Glen will be
remembered for his smile, his
kind and gentle nature, and the
love he so readily shared with
others. Perhaps Glen’s most
endearing quality was his sense of
humour and fun. With a twinkle in
his eye he told jokes and pulled
pranks on everyone.
He is survived by his wife, Sara
and his two sisters Ruth Edna
Sauve-Schade (Neil) and Gladys
Myrle Metz.
The memorial service was held at
Friday, Jan. 18 at Martin Brothers
Riverview Chapel, Lethbridge,
Alberta. Rob Gaskell officiated.
Honorary pallbearers were Kim
Boychuk, Tyler Butler, Christina
Gaskell, Tanner Bengry, Douglas
Gaskell, Adam Kaupp, Joshua
Gove, Tracy Harding, Scott Gaskell,
Meghan Davis, Jay Gaskell, Braden
Kaupp, Jenni Gove, Ladell Kaupp,
Anita Nilsson, Robin Gaskell, Jess
Bengry, April Gaskell, Cody Kaupp,
Nathan Gove and Cameron
Kaupp.
Personal reflections were shared
by the Gaskell gamily – Shelley Orr;
the Kaupp-Gove family, the Gaskell
family – Marilyn Butler.
Family inurnment took place at
Mountain View Cemetery, Field of
Honour.
Following the inurnment a
reception was held at the Royal
Canadian Legion.
Memorial donations may be
made in Glen’s name to the
Heart and Stroke Foundation,
Box 2211, Lethbridge, AB
T1J 4K7.
When tragedy struck MDL Doors,
the Brussels-area business that
employed over 110 people
throughout the community,
employees were in a state of shock,
which is where many remain.
Fire tore through the business in
the early morning hours of
Wednesday, Jan. 23 and one of the
first employees to know about it was
third-year employee Nicole Noble.
Noble is currently on maternity
leave from the business, but herhusband Mike is a Brusselsfirefighter, so when the page came,
Noble immediately recognized the
business’s 911 number.
“As soon as I heard the pager, I sat
straight up in bed,” Noble said,
which is no different from any other
fire call that beckons for her
husband. However, when she heard
the location of the fire, she had a
more severe reaction.
“I just felt sick to my stomach and
I was desperate to know the extent of
the fire,” she said in an interview
with The Citizen. Soon after the pager sounded,Noble received a text message
saying that a video of the fire, taken
by Rob Miller (which can be viewed
on The Citizen’s website), had
already been posted online. Viewing
the video, Nicole said she then knew
the fire was not a small one.
“I knew, just by the look of the
smoke, that there would be nothing
left,” Noble said.
Once she realized how serious the
fire was and how extensive she felt
the damage would be when the dust
settled, Noble was unable to get
back to sleep, which, again, is not
unusual when Mike is out on a fire
call.“It was a long day,” she said.“After all that had happened, I cried
a lot.”
The state of shock that Noble
found herself in has persisted, she
says, and the feeling was mutual
among the rest of her fellow
employees, as an employees-only
meeting was called for Jan. 31 where
it was announced that the plant
would not be rebuilt.
“We were all just in a state of
shock,” she said. “I think we
understood why it didn’t make sense
to rebuild.”
One of the main factors in the
decision not to rebuild, Noble said,
was the economy and its currentfragile state. In addition, during thehypothetical hiatus during a several-
months-long rebuilding process,
MDL’s customers would be forced
to go elsewhere to purchase their
doors. Once the company was
rebuilt, she said, it would be unlikely
that those former customers would
return to MDL.
Given the reality of the situation,
Noble said it was hard to begrudge
the Lichty family for choosing not to
rebuild.
“The Lichtys really are great
people,” she said. “They really
looked at every avenue and just felt
MDL employees left wondering what’s next
Extreme temperatures
While it’s now covered in snow, two weeks ago the manufacturing building and warehouse at
MDL Doors was a blazing inferno resulting in the company deciding not to rebuild. (Denny Scott
photo)
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2013-2014 Telephone Book.
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Obituaries
County finds clerk
Huron County Acting CAO
Heather Adams is pleased to
announce the appointment of Susan
Cronin to the position of County
Clerk for the County of Huron,
effective Feb. 19, 2013. Cronin is
currently the clerk of the
Municipality of West Perth in
Mitchell having spent the last five
years in that position.
Cronin is a member of the
Association of Municipal Managers,
Clerks and Treasurers (AMCTO),
having completed the Municipal
Administration Program, the
Executive Diploma Program and is
applying for the Certified Municipal
Officer (CMO) designation. Cronin
has a Business Administration
Management Diploma from
Conestoga College.
“I am very pleased to
welcome Ms. Cronin to Huron
County on behalf of myself and
Council,” said Warden George
Robertson.
“We were fortunate to have a
number of very qualified applicants
for this position,” said Adams.
“We would also like to thank
Michael Di Lullo, Manager of
Corporate Services and Clerk for the
Municipality of South Huron, for
assisting us in the past months as
Acting County Clerk,” said
Robertson.
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen
Continued on page 22