As the 66th anniversary of VE Day approaches (May 8 in the USA, or May 7 in commonwealth countries) I am posting transcripts of several obituaries, some of whom were WW II veterans.
The first, Lt.-Col. Gemmill, was married to Gertrude Amy Poston, mentioned in the March 15 post on Chart R-9. It was published page 3 of a Kelowna area newspaper on Thursday, January 3, 1974.
Lt.-Col. Gemmill Dies At Age 88
Well known for his military career, Lt.-Col. James Dunlop Gemmill, 88, of 2110 Abbott St., died Wednesday.
Funeral service will be held from St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Okanagan Mission Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Rev. Jim McCullum, rev. Donald Kidd and Rev. J. A. Greenhalgh will officiate. Burial will follow in St. Andrew's cemetery.
Born at Ottawa, Dec. 14, 1885, Lt.-Col. Gemmill was the son of J. A. Gemmill, Q.C. and the former Emily Helen Ogilvie, daughter of the Hon. and Mrs. A. W. Ogilvie of Montreal.
MILITARY CAREER
Pursuing a military career, Lt.-Col. Gemmill graduated from the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., in 1906 and was awarded the Governor-General's Gold Medal.
He joined the Royal Engineers' Regiment, and served in England from 1906 to 1909, and in Gibraltar from 1910 to 1915.
During the First World War, Lt.-Col. Gemmill served mostly in France with the 12th Division, and during this time was awarded the Military Cross and Bar, and was given the rank of Brevet Major.
At the end of the war, he was lieutenant colonel on staff with the British army on the Rhine, and in 1921 he joined the London war office.
From 1922 to 1923, Lt.Col. Gemmill served in India, and for active service on the north-west frontier, he received a medal and clasp.
On his return to Canada in 1924, Lt.-Col. Gemmill settled in Winnipeg, and for the next 24 years worked in the head office of the Hudson's Bay office there. He also served with the Royal Canadian Engineers' Reserve army during the Second World War.
TO KELOWNA
Upon retirement in 1950, Lt.-Col. Gemmill moved to Kelowna. He served as rector's warden for St. Michael and All Angels' Church, was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, president of the Kelowna Lawn Bowling Club, and vice-president of the Okanagan Regional Canadian Red Cross Society for three years.
Lt.-Col. Gemmill is survived by his wife, Gertrude Amy, of Kelowna; one daughter, Jean Diana Gemmill, of Winnipeg, and a sister, Mrs. Hugh Phillipps, of Winnipeg. He was predeceased by his first wife, Isobel Vance, in 1950 and his son, Patrick, in 1962.
Those who wish may donate to the Heart Fund or to Canadian Arthritis and Rheumatism Society through Day's Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Kaz Tenada, Alan Moss, Jim Hann, Allan Hampson, Eian Danvers, Gordon Savage, Dr. R. J. T. Ball and Dr. D. W. Lim.
Honorary pallbearers will be George Goldsmith, jack Hampson, Col. C. G. Beeston, Gordon Crosely, Gordon Butler, Bob Wannop, F. A. Simpson, Nelson Rumley and Rex Marshall.
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This was from the Associated Press in Aug. 1970; which paper it appeared in is not noted. There is considerably more information available on line for Robert Taschereau, 10 Sep 1896 - 26 Jul 1970, but I give this clip because it is the one my mother included in a family album/scrapbook. He was my 3rd cousin 1x removed: My 3rd great grandfather was his 2nd great grandfather.
Robert Taschereau
Montreal
Robert Taschereau, former chief justice of Canada, died Sunday night following a brief illness. He was 73.
Taschereau was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1940 and was named chief justice in 1963. He retired in 1967.
One of the highlights of his legal career was his membership on the two-man royal commission on espionage in 1946, set up after Igor Gouzenko, a code clerk at the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, defected and disclosed the existence of a spy ring in Canada.
Associated Press
Here a link to more about Robert Taschereau: http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/ju/taschereau3/index-eng.asp
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