William Thomas Gordon Ritchie

RITCHIE William Thomas Gordon (Gord) May 30, 1952 - December 6, 2009 We lost our very own "Greek god" in the early hours of Sunday, December 6th, 2009 in the ICU at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital. Gord fought hard to get his life back on track after becoming a paraplegic five years ago, but his body finally succumbed to a series of infections. Gord was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba shortly after his parents and sister arrived in Canada from Northern Ireland. It must have been his Irish-Scottish background, but Gord kept us entertained throughout his life. His jokes and teasing, not to mention his singing, will be missed by all. He is predeceased by his mother, Frances Maud Kathleen in 2006. Gord is survived by his wife and best friend Tamara, his sons; Ryan and Brock, stepchildren; Sonya, Shaun, Stephen and Stephanie, six beautiful granddaughters; Sophia, Sadie, Reece, Miriam, Adah and Elle. Also left to grieve Gord are his dad, Bill and stepmother, Nina, sister, Laurna and younger brothers, Stewart and Scott and their wives Sandra and Tracey and 10 nieces and nephews as well as his handsome, beloved Golden Retriever, Teddy. He will also be missed by many friends and business associates. Gord has been involved in agriculture for most of his life. He started at Ritchie-Smith Feeds working with his father and eventually going out on his own as a grain broker. He took great pleasure and joy from his home and farm in Clayburn Village. His brothers nicknamed him "Gazebo Gord" because he enjoyed building special places to sit on the beautiful grounds surrounding his home. Our Gord enjoyed rebuilding cars of all kinds. His love of cars led him to become quite a car collector. This hobby began when he was a boy, building scale-model cars. He was always there to help others in need and gave generously to community charities. Gord has been a Big Brother for the past 31 years and derived great pride and joy from his many little brothers. His current Little Brother, Derrick, misses him very much. In lieu of flowers, we know that Gord would appreciate donations made to Big Brothers. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses in ICU who did everything they could to make Gord as comfortable as possible. Gord teased and sang to them too and they made many comments about Gord's cheerful nature throughout his many stays with them. All who knew Gord are invited to a celebration of his life at The Rancho, 35110 Delair Road, Abbotsford at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, December 15, 2009. Online condolences can be made at www.mem.com .