Ronald Joseph Flood, 69, retired Parke Davis employee, died August 31, 2002 at Brockville General Hospital after a long illness.
He was born May 27, 1933, raised on a farm in Ballycanoe and attended Ballycanoe and Junetown public schools.
At an early age he started working for the Canada Steamship Lines on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Then in 1956 he started working at the newly opened Parke Davis pharmaceutical plant in Brockville and remained there until his retirement 40 years later.
He married Barbara Stewart on September 15, 1956, in Ballycanoe. The couple lived in Lyn and raised their daughter.
He loved his home and enjoyed his job. He was a good euchre player and enjoyed music and dancing. In his retirement years, he travelled north to Alaska, south to Florida and down through the eastern provinces.
Mr. Flood is survived by his wife Barbara, daughter Ruth Brayton and husband Tim, and grandchildren Ryan and Sarah.
A large gathering of family and friends attended the funeral at St. John Bosco Church, Brockville, on September 4. Burial followed at Oakland Cemetery.
The pallbearers were Glen Hess, Glen Box, Lyndon Searle, Harry Anderson and grandchildren Ryan and Sarah.
Funeral arrangements were entrusted to the Barclay Funeral Home, Brockville.
Klaas Leyenaar, 85
WILLIAMSBURG -- Klaas Leyenaar, 85, retired farmer, died September 22, 2002 at the Great War Memorial Hospital in Perth.
He was born June 10, 1917, in Oosterend, Netherlands, to Jacob Leyenaar and the former Antje Dykstra. He married Anskje "Ann" Vanderplaats on May 19, 1943, in Witmarsum, Friesland, Netherlands.
Following the Second World War, he immigrated to Canada in 1950 with his family and settled in the Winchester Springs area. Eventually he bought a dairy farm and thoroughly enjoyed his life on the farm. After retiring in 1979, he and his wife moved to Winchester where they lived until they moved to the Lombard Manor, RR 1, Lombardy, in December 2001.
He was a member of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Winchester. His family says his faith in God and trust in Jesus were central in his life.
After retirement, he and his wife enjoyed traveling. They visited several areas in Canada and the United States, and travelled to the Philippines and the Netherlands.
Mr. Leyenaar is survived by his wife Ann Leyenaar and their six children: Maryke DeJong and husband Piebe of RR 1, Chesterville; Jacob and wife Lillian of Komoka; Stuart and wife Adrie of Merrickville; Peter and wife Karen of Winchester Springs; Annie Burrage and husband Roy of Kitchener; and Clarence and wife Darlene of Newmarket.
Also surviving are his brother Jappie and wife Anna of Holland, 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, as well as several nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his brothers Pieter, Bouke, Wiebe and Dirk Leyenaar and sisters Aukje and Tryntje.
Friends called at the Marsden and McLaughlin Funeral Home, Williamsburg, on September 23 and 24. The funeral was held September 24 in St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Winchester, with Rev. Carol Bain officiating. Burial followed at New Union Cemetery, Williamsburg.
The pallbearers were grandchildren Matt, Chris and Sarah Leyenaar and Ansky, Siebren and Carl DeJong.
Memorial donations to the Canadian Bible Society or Timothy Christian School 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.
Harry 'Twinkie' Johnson, 91
Harry "Twinkie" Gilbert Johnson, 91, of Temperance Lake Road, died September 3, 2002 at Brockville General Hospital.
He was born February 22, 1911, in Brockville to Ernest Johnson and the former Caroline Billings. He was raised in Brockville and worked until retirement as a catcher in the rod mill at the Phillips Cables plant in Brockville. He was a veteran of the Second World War.
In his spare time he enjoyed ice skating, fishing, bowling, roller skating, playing music for fellow skaters, taking brisk walks, being the first to go for a swim in May at his home, and working in his vegetable garden.
He loved to dance; because he was so light on his feet he was given the nickname "Twinkie."
He believed people should keep their word, develop true friendships and laugh a lot. He always said the recipe for a good life was to take time to relax, enjoy some fun, eat healthy foods, exercise and get enough sleep.
Mr. Johnson is survived by his wife, the former Geraldine Jackson, whom he married December 17, 1971, in Athens. Also surviving are four daughters, Mary Johnson of Brockville, Pat Wright and husband Ken of Belle River, Paula Foster and husband Bruce of Brockville and Janet Theodosiou and husband Nick of Morrisburg; and two sons, Ernest "Bud" Johnson of Brockville and Jim Moffatt and wife Sue of Pakenham.
Also surviving are nine grandchildren, Mary Jane Irish, Colleen Martin, Ken Wright, Charlene Wright, Nancy Foster, Sheri Foster, Becky Pena, Jason and Aaron Moffatt, and four great-grandchildren, Emilee Irish, Jessica Irish, Rachel Martin and Austin Wright, as well as several nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents; his first wife, the former Edna Larkin; daughter Fay Harper; sister June Moad, and three brothers, Al Alberry, Albert Johnson and Hubert Johnson.
Friends called at the Barclay Funeral Home, Brockville, where on September 6 the funeral was held, with Capt. Alfred Wilson officiating. Burial followed at Oakland Cemetery, in the Brockville Cemeteries just west of the city.
The pallbearers were David Somerville, Victor Quantz, Aaron Scott, Don Johnson, Garnet Johnson and Doug Johnson. Honorary pallbearers were Jim Barclay, John Sharp, Alex Stewart, John McLean, Gerry Wilson and Bob Greenwood.
Memorial donations were directed to Big Brothers or Big Sisters.
Linda Van Schie-Whitcroft, 42
PRESCOTT -- Helena Maria "Linda" Van Schie-Whitcroft, 42, died November 1, 2002 at Kingston General Hospital.
She was born January 23, 1960 in Brockville to John Van Schie and the former Margaret Debruyn. On August 8, 1981 she married Richard W. Whitcroft in St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, Prescott.
She worked as an office administrator at Grenville Christian College.
She is survived by her parents, her husband, Richard Whitcroft; daughter Cassandra Lyn Whitcroft; son Brandon William Whitcroft; brothers Peter Van Schie and wife Cathy, John Van Schie and wife Nancy of Prescott and Albert Van Schie and wife Patricia of Ottawa; and sisters Ellen Besharah and husband Lance of Brockville and Patty Birch and husband Danny of Toronto, as well as several nieces and nephews.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated November 5 at St. Mark Catholic Church, Prescott, by Father John Appelman. Following cremation, the committal service was held November 7 at St. Mark Cemetery.
The pallbearers were Peter, John and Albert Van Schie, Randy Whitcroft, Ron Pyl and Nigel White.
Memorial donations to Breast Cancer Research and Grenville Christian College will be gratefully acknowledged by the family.
