Gordon Earle Tomlinson

Died peacefully in his sleep after a long struggle with Alzheimer`s and dementia, on March 1, 2015, in the Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Hospital, Halifax, N.S. Gordon Earle Tomlinson of Dartmouth, N.S. was born in Cambridge (Galt), Ont. in 1926. He was the third of five children, all boys, born to Harry & Eva (née Slatterie) Tomlinson. Gordon joined the naval reserve in 1943, at the age of seventeen, and served aboard the HMCS Lunenburg during World War II, and later with the Royal Canadian Navy, retiring after thirty years in 1979 as Chief Warrant Officer First Class (Marine Engineering).

Gordon met his wife, Yvonne (née Chiasson), of more than fifty-seven years, in 1956, on a date arranged by a mutual friend. They were married the following year at St. Mary’s Basilica in Halifax, and honeymooned in New York City. From Halifax, they moved to Quebec in 1966 to follow Gordon’s naval career, and then back to the Halifax/Dartmouth area in 1969, where, with the exception of a year in Montreal, they lived the remainder of their life together.

Gordon was most proud of his service in the navy. In 1945, as the youngest member of the crew of HMCS Lunenburg, he received the honorarium of Captain for the Day. His many naval endeavours included working for a year, in 1954, on Padloping Island in the Arctic Circle. He also worked on the navy’s hydrofoil project in the 1960s. The many ships he served on throughout his career included HMCS St. Laurent, HMCS Saskatchewan, HMCS Micmac and HMCS Ottawa.

Upon retirement from the navy he worked for the Department of National Defense until his second retirement, from the Naval Engineering Unit at the Halifax Dockyard, in 1986. He loved to travel, first in his van and later in his motor home, and was happiest when on the road with Yvonne. Together they spent much time, throughout the 1980s and `90s, visiting with family and friends in Ontario, California, Florida and Mexico.

He was a longtime member of the Chief & Petty Officers’ Association in Halifax and could often be found at the mess on Friday afternoons enjoying a drink with friends and old shipmates. He was also a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. In 1996, Gordon was the lead individual in organizing a reunion of those surviving shipmates from his wartime service aboard the HMCS Lunenburg.

A principled, patriotic and hardworking man, he will be sadly missed by all. Besides his parents, Gordon is predeceased by his older brothers, William and Donald, and his younger brother, David. He is survived by his loving wife, Yvonne, his devoted son, Steven, of Montreal, by his brother Robert, of Port Rowan, Ont., as well as by many nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the staff of the Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Hospital, especially those most closely associated with his care on V6-West. A Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, March 7 at 9:00 am in St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, Spring Garden Rd. in Halifax. Burial will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Lower Sackville. Arrangements have been entrusted to the JA Snow Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Dr., Halifax.