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Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario. |
Gordon Henry Barrable
1919 - 2005 (85 years)-
Name Gordon Henry Barrable Born 27 Apr 1919 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 
[1] Gender Male Eby ID Number Waterloo-405062 Died 7 Feb 2005 Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [1] Buried 11 Feb 2005 [1] Person ID I405062 Generations Last Modified 3 Mar 2025
Father Charles Stirling Barrable, b. CA 1889, d. Yes, date unknown Mother Jesse Jarvie, b. CA 1889, d. Yes, date unknown Family ID F267000 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Sheelagh Ferguson, b. CA 1919, d. Yes, date unknown Married May 1948 [1] Children 1. Sheelagh Ann Barrable 2. Ross Barrable 3. Robert Barrable 4. William Barrable Last Modified 4 Mar 2025 Family ID F267001 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Notes - BARRABLE, Gordon Henry - Born April 27, 1919 Gordon Barrable passed away peacefully at Cambridge Memorial Hospital on the evening of February 7, 2005. The fourth child (third son) of Charles Stirling and Jesse Jarvie Barrable, Gordon was born in Winnipeg, MB just two weeks prior to the Winnipeg General Strike. His first work was a paper route for the Winnipeg Free Press which he held through-out the depression. He attended St. John's High School and later, Wesley College. In 1939 he took a job managing a lumberyard in Lipton, Sask. Soon after he met his future wife Sheelagh Ferguson, at a Valentine's Day dance in Fort San, Sask. The war soon intervened and Gordon enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1941 Gordon was sent to Armaments School where he became a munitions expert. He was posted to several RAF bomber squadrons in Scotland and England where he was eventually promoted to the rank of flying Officer. In 1943 his fiancé Sheelagh joined the Women's Division of the RCAF so that she could be sent overseas and get to see Gordon and her brother Robert, Squadron leader of night Fighter Squadron 410. Mercifully the war ended before Sheelagh could be sent overseas. In March 1945 Gordon was decorated for distinguished service. After the war Gordon enrolled in a business program for veterans at the University of Toronto. After graduation he finally proposed and married Sheelagh Ferguson in May 1948. One year later their first child Sheelagh Ann was born in Toronto. This was followed by two sons, Ross and Robert. They moved to Galt in 1957 so Gordon could take a job as personnel manager with Eastern steel. He later worked in the extrusion division of Reynolds Aluminum Company. Three years later Gordon and Sheelagh had their fourth child, William. In 1970 Gordon went to work for Alcan aluminum and remained until his retirement in 1984. In his retirement he became a driving force behind the Cambridge Literacy Council until his health became threatened again and he reluctantly gave it up. In the intervening years he served as Clerk of Session at St. John's on the Hill, United Church, and devoted most free time to working on the family home and property he affectionately called Brigadoon. He was never indifferent and loved his children and grandchildren sometimes to a fault. Till the end one characteristic was constant, his admiration and respect for Sheelagh, his wife of 57 years. Countless times he said, "The best thing that ever happened to me was marrying your mother." Gordon is survived by sisters, Mary (Winnipeg) and Edith (Sydney, Australia); his brother, Jim (Montreal); his wife, Sheelagh, his four children; five grandsons and one great-granddaughter. A funeral service will be held Friday February 11, 2 pm at the St. John's on the Hill United Church in Galt. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundations or the Cambridge Memorial Hospital Foundation. Arrangements entrusted to the Barthel Funeral Home, 653-3251. Tributes may be made to mem.com.
The Record - Feb 2005
- BARRABLE, Gordon Henry - Born April 27, 1919 Gordon Barrable passed away peacefully at Cambridge Memorial Hospital on the evening of February 7, 2005. The fourth child (third son) of Charles Stirling and Jesse Jarvie Barrable, Gordon was born in Winnipeg, MB just two weeks prior to the Winnipeg General Strike. His first work was a paper route for the Winnipeg Free Press which he held through-out the depression. He attended St. John's High School and later, Wesley College. In 1939 he took a job managing a lumberyard in Lipton, Sask. Soon after he met his future wife Sheelagh Ferguson, at a Valentine's Day dance in Fort San, Sask. The war soon intervened and Gordon enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1941 Gordon was sent to Armaments School where he became a munitions expert. He was posted to several RAF bomber squadrons in Scotland and England where he was eventually promoted to the rank of flying Officer. In 1943 his fiancé Sheelagh joined the Women's Division of the RCAF so that she could be sent overseas and get to see Gordon and her brother Robert, Squadron leader of night Fighter Squadron 410. Mercifully the war ended before Sheelagh could be sent overseas. In March 1945 Gordon was decorated for distinguished service. After the war Gordon enrolled in a business program for veterans at the University of Toronto. After graduation he finally proposed and married Sheelagh Ferguson in May 1948. One year later their first child Sheelagh Ann was born in Toronto. This was followed by two sons, Ross and Robert. They moved to Galt in 1957 so Gordon could take a job as personnel manager with Eastern steel. He later worked in the extrusion division of Reynolds Aluminum Company. Three years later Gordon and Sheelagh had their fourth child, William. In 1970 Gordon went to work for Alcan aluminum and remained until his retirement in 1984. In his retirement he became a driving force behind the Cambridge Literacy Council until his health became threatened again and he reluctantly gave it up. In the intervening years he served as Clerk of Session at St. John's on the Hill, United Church, and devoted most free time to working on the family home and property he affectionately called Brigadoon. He was never indifferent and loved his children and grandchildren sometimes to a fault. Till the end one characteristic was constant, his admiration and respect for Sheelagh, his wife of 57 years. Countless times he said, "The best thing that ever happened to me was marrying your mother." Gordon is survived by sisters, Mary (Winnipeg) and Edith (Sydney, Australia); his brother, Jim (Montreal); his wife, Sheelagh, his four children; five grandsons and one great-granddaughter. A funeral service will be held Friday February 11, 2 pm at the St. John's on the Hill United Church in Galt. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundations or the Cambridge Memorial Hospital Foundation. Arrangements entrusted to the Barthel Funeral Home, 653-3251. Tributes may be made to mem.com.
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Sources - [S490] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - The Record (1994-March 2008), Obituary of Gordon Henry Barrable - Feb 2005.
- [S490] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - The Record (1994-March 2008), Obituary of Gordon Henry Barrable - Feb 2005.
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Event Map 
Born - 27 Apr 1919 - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 
Died - 7 Feb 2005 - Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada = Link to Google Earth
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