MacFarlane, Gordon Campbell –
Gordon passed away in Guelph, Ontario on June 10th, 2021, in his 90th year with his wife Eleanor ‘Bunnie’ by his side. Gordon and Bunnie lived a love story together for over 65 years.
Gordon was pre-deceased by his parents, George and Marian (Campbell) MacFarlane, and his sisters, Muriel Bragg and Margaret Gibson. He was the proud father of Megan (Steven), Keri Ellen, and Clark (Charlotte), and derived great joy from his four grandchildren, Gavin and Morgan Williams, and Hannah and Meredith MacFarlane.
Gordon was born in 1931 in Kennedy, Saskatchewan, and grew up in the small prairie town of Wapella, where he enjoyed wandering the fields reciting poetry, skating on rinks and sloughs, and curling. He attended the University of Saskatchewan, for a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then attended the University of Manitoba, earning a Bachelor of Social Work degree and later a Master of Social Work degree. There is a saying that, “you can take the boy out of the Prairies, but you can never take the Prairies out of the boy.” In spite of moving east to Toronto at thirty years of age, Gordon’s informal, friendly demeanour was testament to that adage.
Gordon applied his training as a Social Worker to create positive change for individuals, institutions, and society. Gordon began his career as a Treatment Supervisor at Regina Jail. He later taught Social Work principles at Kivukoni College in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for the Canadian International Development Agency. After returning to Canada, he became the Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Toronto, and later the Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Ontario. Gordon received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for his contribution to the abolition of the death penalty in Canada.
Gordon was a voracious reader and especially loved history, literature and mythology. He found an amalgam of these subjects in Jungian Psychology, about which he read deeply and pursued studies at the Jungian Institute in Zurich. He applied this knowledge at the end of his career when he brought his compassion, skill, and loving spirit to help people as a counselor in a psychiatric treatment setting.
Bunnie and Gordon moved to Guelph in 1997 and enthusiastically initiated and participated in a range of activities in the Village by the Arboretum. Gordon was a member of the Royal City Daylight Lodge, Past President of the Guelph-Wellington Men’s Club, and an active member of St. George’s Anglican Church.
Special thanks to the staff of the Elliott Community. For the past three years their always cheerful voices and lightheartedness brightened Gordon’s days and their efforts were rewarded with a smile, a quip or sometimes a song.
Due to the COVID restrictions, the service will be for immediate family only. All are welcome to join the live stream on the internet via ZOOM on Saturday, June 26th at 2:00pm. Link is below. A slideshow with memories of Gordon will be part of the ZOOM beginning at 1:30pm. If so desired, memorial donations to the Alzheimer’s Society, the Elliott Community, or St. George’s Anglican Church would be appreciated by the family. Donations can be made online following the charity link or in person at the funeral home.
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Thursday June 10th 2021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Gordon Campbell MacFarlane Thursday June 10th 2021..
Décès pour la Ville:Guelph, Province: Ontario