PRESCOTT -- Alton K. Baynham, 83, a retired stationary engineer at DuPont Canada, died September 8, 2002 at St. Vincent de Paul Hospital.
He was born on September 17, 1919, in Augusta Township, the son of John George Baynham and the former Ethel Mae Vallance.
In his spare time, he would tend to his large garden and prepare his produce for the next farmers' market. After the gardening was done, he enjoyed participating in euchre parties with friends.
Mr. Baynham is survived by daughters Sandra Robinson of Brockville and Sharon Baker and husband Robert of North Augusta; sons Ray Baynham of North Augusta and Brad Baynham of RR 2, Prescott; grandchildren Andrew Robinson, Leah, Amelia and Sarah Baynham, Mitchel, Christopher and Ryan Baker, and Theresa Dillon and husband Dave; and great-grandchildren Gabriel Dillon and Lucas Baker.
Also surviving are his sister Kathleen Finnerty and brothers Lelland and wife Ella, Spencer and wife Evelyn, Ken and wife Joyce, Reg and friend Edie, and John.
He was predeceased by his parents, wife Doreen Baynham (nee Alkerton), sisters Grace Atkinson and June Strader and brother Victor.
Friends were received at the Chris Slater Funeral Home, Prescott, where on September 11 the funeral was held, with Rev. Gerry Ring, St. John's Anglican Church, Prescott, officiating.
Pallbearers were Willis Brown, Ken Boyd, Cy Easterbrooke and George, Ed and Andrew Robinson.
Memorial donations were directed to Hospice of Providence Palliative Care.
Evelyn York, 81
Evelyn Mae York, 81, died of cancer November 11, 2002 at Hospice of Providence, St. Vincent de Paul Site.
She was born September 17, 1921, in Inkerman to Frank Barkley and the former Violet Curriston. She grew up in Inkerman where she married Walter York in 1938. She came to Brockville in 1941.
A homemaker, she attended Wall Street United Church and belonged to its United Church Women group.
In later years she enjoyed her membership in the Tenants Association of the Marguerita Apartments. She liked to play cards and go for walks, often spending time in the parks along the St. Lawrence River.
She enjoyed the companionship of friends and family, especially her sister-in-law, Jean York, and brother Ray Barkley, who were very supportive of her.
Mrs. York is survived by her daughter, Carol Jay and husband Rev. Bill Jay of Ottawa; two grandsons, Robert of Winnipeg and Peter of Montreal; brothers Bruce Barkley and wife Lenora of Shanly, Keith Barkley and wife Lila and Lyle Barkley and wife Annie, all of Inkerman, and Ray Barkley of Brockville; sisters-in-law Muriel Barkley of Winchester, Jean York of Brockville and Muriel York of Spencerville, as well as 13 nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband Walter, brothers Murray Barkley and wife Jesse, Lester and Carl Barkley and sister-in-law Annabelle (wife of Ray Barkley).
Friends called at the Irvine Funeral Home, Brockville, where on November 16 the funeral was held, with Rev. Bruce Ross of Wall Street United Church officiating. Burial followed at Roselawn Memorial Gardens, Maitland.
Memorial donations were directed to the Hospice of Providence Palliative Care.
Merrill Ferguson, 73
Merrill James "Fergie" Ferguson, 73, of Brockville died October 26, 2002 at Hospice of Providence Palliative Care, St. Vincent Site, Brockville after a one-year illness.
He was born February 9, 1929, to the former Fred Ferguson and the former Amy Barter in Junetown where he was raised and attended the one-room school there.
His formal education came to an end when he was 14, after the untimely deaths of his brother in 1937 and father two years later, and he began helping his mother and sister operate the family farm.
Having inherited his father's talent for carpentry work, he began working in construction. Later, he started his own business, "Fergie's Building Service, " in the Lansdowne/Charleston Lake area, where he built houses and cottages and did renovations. The last few years of his working life were spent in retail sales, until poor health caused him to take early retirement in 1980.
He was an active member of the community. He coached a boys' baseball team in Caintown and served several years on the Junetown school board. He held a 40-year membership in the IOOF Lodge No. 245, Mallorytown, and was a 30-year affiliate member of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch No. 484, Mallorytown.
He was also a charter member of the Thousand Islands District Lions Club and served on the board of the Lansdowne Medical Centre before and during its construction, in which he had hands-on involvement.
He was an avid baseball and horseshoe player and bowler. He loved to snowmobile, camp and play the harmonica and button accordion. He enjoyed spending time with his family and working on carpentry projects.
On July 21, 1951, he married Dorothy Vickery, of Lillies (northwest of Lyn), at Christ United Church, Lyn, with Rev. C.K. Mathewson officiating.
They moved to Junetown where they lived on the century farm and operated it while Mr. Ferguson also did his carpentry work. He attended St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Caintown.
In 1978, they sold their farm and moved into a cottage which Mr. Ferguson had built in 1970 on Killenbeck Lake. They lived there until moving to their last home, in the Brockville area.
He attended Christ United Church, Lyn, where he was a member of the choir and served on the property committee for several years.
Mr. Ferguson is survived by his wife, Dorothy; four daughters, Jan Stephenson and husband Bob of Mallorytown, Judy Plooy and husband Adrian of RR 5, Brockville, and Joan Ferguson and Jill Ferguson, all of Brockville; grandson Nathaniel Plooy and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents, sisters Gladys Green, Edyth Green and Jocie Warren, and brothers Bryce and Harris Ferguson.
Friends called at the Barclay Funeral Home, Brockville. The funeral was held October 30 at Christ United Church, Lyn. Members of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 484, Mallorytown formed an honour guard at the church and at Lyn Cemetery.
The active pallbearers were nephews Fred Ferguson, Hubert Ferguson, Daryl Livingstone, Douglas Warren, Bill Rowe and Tom Bolton. Honorary pallbearers were Harold Eligh, Lloyd Vandusen, John Bennett, Aden Freeman, Elswood Gamble and Donald Horton.
Memorial donations to the Canadian Cancer Society and Hospice of Providence Palliative Care were gratefully acknowledged by the family.
Frank Perkins, 86
PRESCOTT -- Frank Alfred Bishop Perkins, 86, a retired tool and die maker, died October 27, 2002 at Brockville General Hospital.
He was born June 17, 1916, in Prescott to Harry Perkins and the former May Bishop.
On April 6, 1946, he married Ruth Alkerton in St. Paul's United Church, Prescott.
He was a tool and die maker at Automatic Electric in Brockville, at Newell Manufacturing in Ogdensburg, N.Y., and at Parke Davis in Brockville. Eventually he operated his own tool and die company, Frank Perkins Co., in Prescott and taught at Canton ATI in Canton, N.Y.
He also enjoyed woodworking and built five all-wooden clocks and a 16-foot boat from Royal Marine mahogany and made several cabinets.
His work was always of the highest quality, whether in metal or wood, for he was a perfectionist and his work was also his hobby.
He enjoyed playing his Yamaha electric organ.
Mr. Perkins is survived by his wife Ruth, daughter Diane Jozefowicz and husband Tony, and granddaughter Laura Oberwarth and husband Cayle.
He was predeceased by his sister, Margaret Neatby, and brothers Arthur and John Perkins.
Friends called at the Chris Slater Funeral Home, Brockville, where on October 31 the funeral was held, with Rev. Blair Paterson officiating. Burial followed at Sandy Hill Cemetery, Prescott.
The pallbearers were his nephews, Harry and David Perkins, Ron Bratti and Charles and David Alkerton, and friend Barry Brown.
Memorial donations to the St. Paul's United Church Roof Fund will be gratefully acknowledged by the family.
Gordon Nickle, 86
Gordon Nickle, 86, retired research scientist and an avid sailor, died suddenly at his home October 30, 2002 after a heart attack.
He was born Alexander Gordon Nickle on February 18, 1916, in Kingston to William Folger Nickle and the former Katharine Louise Gordon. He attended Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Queen's University and Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.
He worked for Imperial Oil before the outbreak of the Second World War. Then as a civilian with the National Research Centre in Ottawa he helped the war effort through operational research. Later he was sent to England where he continued doing operational research with the Royal Air Force's HQ Coastal Command in England, 1943-45.
While in England he met Betty Margaret Fraser, who was also working as a civilian researcher with the RAF, and after the war ended, she came to Canada and they were married in Kingston in July 1946.
Mr. Nickle worked as a researcher with the Ontario Research Foundation and then Standard Chemical, both in Toronto, before joining Alcan in Montreal and Arvida (now Jonquiere), Que., where he worked on a process for making high quality aluminum.
He was a member of the Chemical Institute of Canada, Queen's University Alumni and Alpha Chi Sigma fraternity.
He retired early and in 1969 moved with his wife to Brockville. Here they joined the Brockville Yacht Club and the Brockville Power and Sail Squadron. For 10 or 12 years they took their sailboat along the Trent-Severn Waterway into Georgian Bay and explored Lake Huron. They would spend the summer sailing and then around Labour Day return to Brockville.
His passion was sailing and he enjoyed sailboat racing, maintaining his interest in both, and in yacht club activities, until his death. When he could no longer take long sailing voyages, he and his wife enjoyed sailing locally.
In earlier years he had enjoyed skiing. He loved reading and enjoyed researching the stock market and other matters on the Internet; in fact, as his wife says, he continued to be a research scientist to the end. He also belonged to the Brockville Concert Association.
Mr. Nickle is survived by his wife, Betty Nickle, of Brockville; son William Fraser Nickle of Toronto; daughters Carol Nickle of Toronto and Elspeth Nickle of Lethbridge, Alta.; sister Catherine McLean of California; grandchildren Yolande Gooderham, William Gooderham and Alexandra Nickle; niece Cathy McLean, nephew Gordon McLean and wife Lynn, and grand nephews William and John McLean; and distant cousins on the Nickle and Gordon sides of his family.
He was predeceased by his parents, brothers William M. and Douglas Nickle, and sister Evelyn Campbell.
A gathering to celebrate his life was held November 3 at the Brockville Yacht Club and memorial donations were directed to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
The Barclay Funeral Home, Brockville, was entrusted with arrangements and cremation was at the Cataraqui crematory.
