PRESCOTT -- Thelma Buckland, 82, of Prescott, died September 8, 2004 at Brockville General Hospital.
She was born on July 20, 1922, at Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England, to Andrew Fraser and the former Louise Lead. She married Harry Buckland in August 1944 in England.
Mrs. Buckland was a housewife who enjoyed spending time with family, crosswords, knitting, music, walking, family games and holidays with her family.
She was predeceased by her husband and her parents.
Surviving are daughters Carol Rennick (Daryl) of Cardinal, Deborah McCaskey (Craig) of Edmonton, and Penny Leblanc (Bob) of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Also surviving are grandchildren Tanya, Steven, David, Erin and Nathan, and great-grandchildren Simon and Timothy.
Visitation was held at the Chris Slater Funeral Home, Prescott on September 12, with the funeral, officiated by Reverend Laurie Milito, in the chapel on September 13. A committal service took place at Sandy Hill Cemetery on September 13.
The pallbearers were Daryl Rennick, Steven Rennick, Craig McCaskey, David McCaskey, Nathan Leblanc and Peter Barton. The honorary pallbearer was Robert Leblanc. The eulogy was delivered by granddaughter Tanya Barton.
Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation will be gratefully acknowledged.
Henry Gurtner, 74
KEMPTVILLE -- Henry Gurtner of Smiths Falls died September 2, 2004 at Kemptville District Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was 74 years old.
Mr. Gurtner was born March 12, 1930, in Switzerland. In 1952 he moved to Canada where he met his wife, Mary Brooks, of Fredericton, N.B. They were married on June 14, 1958 in Fredericton and later moved to Kemptville. He worked for Marvan Equipment for one and a half years and then left to open his own welding shop known as Henry's Welding, Machine & Iron Works located north of Spencerville.
With the construction of Highway 16 their property was expropriated and he had to relocated his welding shop. In 1967, he purchased property on County Road 44, north of Hyndman Road, and relocated. During the construction of the highway he acquired lots of maintenance work on bulldozers and heavy equipment.
Mr. Gurtner and his wife both enjoyed camping. They camped at many places over the years and most recently each summer they set up permanent camp at Indian Lake.
Mr. Gurtner was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 604 in Spencerville.
He is survived by his wife Mary.
Visitation was held at the Grant Brown Funeral Home Rolston Chapel in Kemptville on September 3, with the funeral held in the chapel of the funeral home on September 4, officiated by Rev. Angela Bailey. Marjorie Patterson was the organist for the service.
Memorial donations to Kemptville District Hospital Foundation or the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be gratefully acknowledged.
Max Laushway, 82
J. Max Laushway, 82, war veteran and retired teacher at St. Lawrence College, died August 18, 2004 at Wellington House.
Born April 24, 1922 in South Mountain, he was the son of Simon Peter Laushway and the former Cora McIntosh. He was the ninth of 16 children.
In 1939 he joined the Canadian Army and shortly after was shipped to England along with three of his brothers. On June 6, 1944, he landed on the beaches of Normandy as part of the D-Day invasion and spent the next 11 months fighting in the Second World War.
One of the highlights of his life was returning to Holland in 1995 for the 50-year celebrations.
On June 26, 1948, he married Aileen Martel in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
In 1969, after 30 years in the army, he retired and moved to Brockville and spent 10 years working at Automatic Electric (later Brock Telecom) and five years teaching telecommunications at St. Lawrence College before retiring in 1985.
Over the years, Mr. Laushway has been associated with and very involved in the Shrine and Masonic Lodges.
After the death of his first wife, he married Cornelia "Corrie" Plooy in 1999, who survives.
He is also survived by sons Keith and wife Wendy of Toronto and Dwayne of Winnipeg, and daughters Linda Laushway of Brockville and Cheryl Dunn and husband Rick of Gananoque, as well as grandchildren Denece Ham, Kristina and Michael Halfpenny, and Elizabeth and Catherine Laushway, and great-grandchildren Taylor, Sidney and Cassandra.
Friends called at the Barclay Funeral Home, Brockville, where on August 21 the funeral was held, with Rev. Donald Wachenschwanz officiating. Burial followed at Union Cemetery, South Mountain.
Memorial donations were directed to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Mary Pledge, 76
Mary Pledge, 76, died of cancer August 21, 2004 at St. Vincent de Paul Hospital.
She was born March 21, 1928 in Toronto to Theodore Semenoff and his wife, the former Stanca Stoyanoff.
Raised and educated in Toronto, she married Bill Pledge there on June 17, 1962.
She worked in Eaton's department stores' head office in Toronto until her retirement 11 years ago.
In August 1996, she and her husband moved to Brockville. She loved to read and enjoyed classical music, the ballet and old classic movies.
She also loved animals, especially dogs. She identified with the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Mrs. Pledge is survived by her husband Bill of Brockville, brother-in-law Don Pledge and wife Phyllis and sister-in-law Marnie Layng and husband John, as well as close friends Vincent and Dora Hill.
She was predeceased by her parents and her sister, Lee.
Friends called at the Barclay Funeral Home, Brockville, where on August 25 the funeral was held, with Rev. Myra Garvin of St. John's United Church officiating. Burial will take place at a later date.
Memorial donations were directed to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Eileen Shaver, 86
Eileen Shaver, 86, died September 8, 2004 at Brockville General Hospital after a brief illness.
She was born in Kemptville August 13, 1918, to John and Mary Arcand. Raised and educated in Kemptville, she moved to Prescott when she was 17, living there until her marriage to George Edward Shaver in Wall Street United Church, Brockville, on July 23, 1949.
She worked for many years at Brockville Psychiatric Hospital in the housekeeping department. She retired in 1979. In earlier years she had worked for Kemptville Agricultural College and for Louis Fischl Glove in Prescott.
She belonged to St. Peter's Anglican Church, Brockville, where she was a member of the social club and, in years past, an avid volunteer.
Her interests centred mainly on her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She enjoyed regular outings with her daughter and son-in-law.
Mrs. Shaver was predeceased by her husband, George Shaver, just a year ago. She is survived by daughter Margaret Close and husband Jim and by her grandson James Close, all of Brockville, as well as great-grandchildren J.D. and Vanessa Close.
She was predeceased by her siblings Lorne, Eric, Joe, Elgin, Verna and Iola.
Friends called at the Irvine Funeral Home and Chapel, Brockville. The funeral was held September 11 at St. Peter's Anglican Church, with Rev. Michael Reid officiating. Archdeacon Bev Lindsay gave the homily and Bonnie Burke offered reflections. Burial followed at Oakland Cemetery.
The pallbearers were Roger and Aaron Burke, Mike Green, Gerry Shaver and Kevin and Merrill Arcand.
Memorial donations were directed to the Heart and Stroke Foundation and St. Peter's Anglican Church.
Antonius Roes, 77
Antonius "Tony" Roes, 77, a native of Holland and a Brockville resident since the late 1950s, died March 8, 2005 at Brockville General Hospital.
He was born April 2, 1927 in Nijmegen, Holland, to Albertus Antonius Roes, a metal-worker/blacksmith, and the former Jacoba Kuipers, a tailor-seamstress. He was one of three boys and four girls, who enjoyed a close family and a strict upbringing.
As a young boy he helped on his uncle's farm and in his father's wagon manufacturing company.
The Second World War broke out when he was 17 and he joined the Dutch Underground Resistance with his brother Albert. He later told stories from that time about helping Jewish people escape or hide from the Nazi regime, and stealing parts of German tanks to repair American tanks.
After the war he completed his apprenticeship as a skilled auto body tradesman for Ravenhorst in Arnhem. He met and fell in love with a young woman in Nijmegen named Theodora "Dora" Eikhoudt. Because there was no housing after the war, they had a long engagement, marrying in May 1951.
In 1956 the family came to Canada, first to Montreal, then to London, and finally to Brockville, where his former Dutch employer, Mr. Ravenhorst, had recently immigrated and set up a body shop.
Later Mr. Roes opened his own business in Maitland, Maitland Auto Body. After selling that, he went to work for Braden Ford in Brockville as an auto body manager. He retired at 60 and worked one more year, at a local Pontiac dealership in the same position. He designed and patented a frame straightener for the automotive industry.
After retirement he went back to school to study and master English at the community college. His interests were his family, home, gardening and socializing with friends.
He is survived by his wife Dora Roes, daughter Wilhelmina "Willy" Roes of Toronto, sons Albert Roes and wife Dulia of Prescott and Ron Roes and wife Sheila of Peace River, Alta., grandchildren David Roes of Prescott, Tara Place of Calgary, and Crystal and Paul Roes of Peace River, and great-grandchildren Sara Place and Damian and Patrick.
Also surviving are his former daughter-in-law Bev Arbeau and her husband Henry of Prescott and his sister Annie Roes of Holland, as well as Dulia Roes's son from a former marriage, Luis Pohoda of Prescott, and many nieces and nephews.
Friends called at the Barclay Funeral Home, Brockville, where on March 11 the funeral liturgy was held, with Father Brian Price officiating. Burial followed at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery.
The pallbearers were Albert, David and Ron Roes, Luis Pohoda, Ray Barham and Pat Peladeau.
Memorial donations were directed to the Canadian Diabetes Association.
