Gary Frederick Marshall

We are sad to share that Gary Frederick Marshall passed away at the Blomidon Court Nursing Home in Greenwich, N.S., mid-morning on Thursday, January 9, 2025. His partner of 25 years, Heather Morse, was faithfully by his side, holding his hand as he made his way through the emotional sendoff he received from the staff, family and friends who were able to gather there that morning. 

An often-quoted poem by Brian A. Chalker starts with the line, "People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime." This line is terrific for helping us make sense of our interactions with different people throughout our lives. It is very fitting to think about Gary's entire life and all those around the world he met. 

Gary was happy to blend into the background. He never wanted any fuss about him; he just wasn't that guy. In looking through some of his scrapbooks and souvenirs to prepare this retrospective, we're sure he also didn't quite understand how far and wide his reach was. Gary lived a tremendous life, as those who knew, worked, played, learned, loved, sang, danced, and laughed with him can attest. He was witty and had a bubbly sense of humour, often self-deprecating. When you had his affections, you knew it. He generously shared hearty laughs, engaged in deep conversations, and offered his experience and expertise to everyone. Gary was a people person, and for that, we are all so much richer. 

Gary was born in Halifax on July 30, 1948. He was the second son to his parents, Cecil Frederick and Mary Margaret Marshall (nee Hatt), arriving about 16 months after big brother Dave and five years before little brother Mike. When he was young, Gary's family often visited the Annapolis Valley with his extended family -- Grampy, Grammie, and many of his aunts, uncles and cousins lived there. Gary and his family often camped at Dunromin Campground in Granville Ferry near Annapolis Royal. They spent time fishing and ate ice cream from the canteen. It was fun, and the kids always got into mischief. 

Gary's dad, Cecil, served in the Canadian Forces as an Orderly, overseeing supplies and administration. Gary's mom, Mary, would often work in the base snack bars, wherever they were posted. One of Gary's favourite times was when the family was transferred to Metz, France and lived in Paris. They crossed the Atlantic on an ocean liner, the SS Homeric, in 1955. Gary and Dave played a lot on the boat, watching all the activities and goings on, and loved the entire experience. Gary said they had to dress up for dinner every night and "behave." He also talked about the baked Alaska parade on the ship! 

In Paris, they lived in an apartment at 17 Rue Faraday, in the 17th ARR. The family had a lot of fun in that community of Canadian ex-pats. The two older boys would visit a park near their apartment or watch street construction. A zoo was nearby, and Mary would take the boys to look at the monkeys. Gary said there were a lot of kids to hang out with, and they always had fun at parties. He said his dad played Santa for all the kids one year. Gary, Dave, and Mike all shared a bed in the apartment. The family took trips to Germany and Normandy in their little car. Gary and Dave explored some of the abandoned bunkers from WWII on the landing beaches, jumping off the top onto the sand below. While living in France, Gary attended a school taught by nuns. He said they were quite strict, but it was okay. 

After returning to Canada, they continued to move around as military families did. When Gary was in high school, they lived in Sudbury, Ontario. He played many sports, taking after his mom. Once, he took such a hard tackle at a football game that his front teeth got knocked out, and he had to renovate his smile. Gary loved music, dances, and, of course, cars. While he liked many kinds of vehicles, he and his brother Dave were Mustang aficionados. Gary had a red one, a regular model, and Dave had a black fastback. 

Toward the end of high school, Gary and his family lived in Victoria, B.C. He had a job working at the Hudson's Bay Company, but the family business, The Canadian Forces, was calling. His brother Dave joined up, and so did he in 1967. Pvt. Marshall excelled at many things. He studied at the Canadian Forces School of Physical Fitness and then transitioned to the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering where his technical focus was Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.  Coincidentally, both Dave and Gary moved to CFS Gypsumville, Manitoba, for their first posting. At Gyp, they spent a lot of time with the other 20-somethings, playing sports, having fun, and going to bonfires on the nearby beach. He met his first wife there. She taught at the elementary school on the base. They went on to get married in Victoria, B.C. Being in the military can be hard on families, and that, plus some other stuff, eventually took its toll on Gary's marriage. He and his first wife separated right before Gary retired from the military and divorced shortly after.

Gary's first daughter, Melodie, was born in 1970 while they were in Gyp. A second daughter, Natalie, arrived four years later in Sudbury when CPL Marshall's young family was posted to CFS Falconbridge. Gary carried on with more postings, crisscrossing the country from east to west to north. When Chief Warrant Officer Marshall retired in 1998, he had proudly served Canada for 31 years in the Canadian Forces. 

The early years of Gary's career were spent supporting the Central Engineering Sections (CE) at many of the old Pinetree Line radar sites. After CFS Falconbridge, it was on to CFS Moisie, Quebec. Another couple of years later, the family moved to B.C. – living on Mt. Lolo, where the CFS Kamloops was. From there, it was all the way to the East Coast and CFS Barrington at Baccaro Point in Nova Scotia. Their next posting took them to Canada's far north. Gary and his family spent four years at CFS Inuvik, Northwest Territories. After that, Gary was posted to CFB Uplands in Ottawa. He then was sent to Winnipeg to head up 1CEU (Central Engineering Unit). During that time, Gary was part of the advanced Engineering team sent to the Middle East during the first Gulf War in 1990/1991. The team worked to ensure that the CF Base facilities there would be ready and safe for personnel in the event of chemical attacks. This mission was right before the ground combat started. After Winnipeg, he returned to Ottawa, this time for a stint at NDHQ (National Defense Head Quarters), where he oversaw many CF construction projects, such as fuel storage tank decommissions across the country and worked on many special projects in partnership with External Affairs Canada. He handled the HVAC system installations and building commissioning during the construction of new Canadian embassies in Washington, D.C., and Beijing, China. He even did HVAC work on Canadian Embassy properties in Riyad, Saudi Arabia and Damascus, Syria. After Ottawa, Gary transferred one last time. Before retiring, he spent about a year with the Construction Engineering Sqn at 14 Wing, CFB Greenwood. 

Gary was quite involved in the base communities at each posting, even though he only lived "on base" in PMQs once in Gypsumville. He participated on many sports teams—from softball and fastball to basketball, broomball, and hockey. Gary was also a fan of Nordic and alpine skiing. He enjoyed days in Kamloops on Tod Mountain, across the river in Quebec (especially at Mont Ste-Marie when living in Ottawa), and making ski trails in the "back 40" woods in Barrington. Gary was a self-proclaimed "daredevil." He was still quite eager to try parasailing and jet skiing. He was also willing to go bungee jumping when he travelled south in later years.

Gary also loved the outdoors. He participated in many Search and Rescue operations and training exercises over the years. At CFS Kamloops, he was heavily involved in raft racing when the base decided to enter teams in many events around the province. After a successful season of local B.C. race victories in 1978, they travelled to Edmonton to participate in the Sourdough Raft Race, one of the big ticket draws at Klondike Days. The Bullship men's team won the whole thing in record time and participated in the Klondike Days parade. Gary also loved fishing and got out whenever he could. Moisie had excellent fishing. He and his buddy Stu took fishing trips while driving the Dempster Highway and later near Ottawa. In Inuvik, it was snowmobiling and four-wheeling. Gary was also instrumental in organizing many base winter carnivals over the years. He always wanted to ensure everyone was having a terrific time at the events and could be seen with his clipboard recording results. He always participated in the beard-growing competitions - enjoying one of the only times in the year that he didn't have to remain clean-shaven for work. In 1980, at CFS Barrington, he won for best beard, though his friend Butch would say he won by default as he was the only guy who entered that year. 

After Gary retired from the regular forces, he stayed in Nova Scotia. He lived for a time in Aylesford, neighbouring the zoo. He could hear the big cats sometimes from his back deck. Even though he'd just left, he found his way back to CFB Greenwood, working as a civilian this time for Defense Construction Canada (DCC). He also taught a Building Commissioning course offered through Dalhousie University. Gary even worked for Bird Construction doing building commissioning. He was involved in key local builds for Kings County Academy, Orchard Court Shannex, the RCMP detachment, and projects around Atlantic Canada. Eventually, he fully retired to spend more time on the golf course (one of his favourite pastimes), do wood carving, and enjoy life with Heather. 

Gary and Heather's time together started when they met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend in 1999. Though they were both incredibly nervous, the date ended up going well. They were soon quite the pair, practically inseparable. Gary and Heather were so grateful to have found one another -- each stating that they were the loves of each other's lives. They bought a big old cedar house in Hubbards at the end of Johnston Road, where their friends often congregated for parties. The year after Hurricane Juan, they moved back over to the Fundy side, first to Windsor and then on to their dream retirement bungalow in Coldbrook. Gary settled into an easy life of gardening, golfing, and smaller-scale construction projects like building decks, sheds and pergolas in the backyard. He loved it! They always had visits from many friends, extended family, and grandkids. Gary loved being a grandfather. When grandkids came, they would go to the beach, have water fights, and wrestle. Once, he even showed his granddaughter Maya how to put lobsters to sleep. 

Gary and Heather vacationed south in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba, and the British Virgin Islands for years. They loved spending time with their gang of friends, Rick and Tanya, Peter and Mary, Darrell and Ruth, and Myrtle. They happily crewed on their friends' sailboats. Sailing was a good fit for Gary as a Parrot Head. Gary and Heather even went to Toronto to catch Jimmy Buffet in concert. Of course, they both sang their hearts to all the words in his songs, with Mañana holding a special place in their hearts. It was a time when many cheeseburgers were eaten in the paradise of all of their adventures. 

In 2015, Gary arranged a trip to Cape Coral, Florida, for Heather and Melodie, son-in-law Mike, and granddaughter Maya met them there. It would sadly be his last trip south. Shortly after returning home, Gary visited the doctor as he seemed to be struggling to adjust to retirement. It turned out to be a bit more complicated than that. He was showing signs of what was later confirmed to be vascular dementia:   exceptionally difficult news to hear for someone who had rarely been ill during his lifetime. It was also frightening as Gary knew what was happening to him. Gary lived with the brain changes he was experiencing the best way he could. It wasn't easy. Heather stepped into a full-time caretaking role. Gary's daughter, Mel, would travel to spend time with Gary and Heather as often as possible. Sometimes, if school was out for summer, Gary's granddaughter, Maya, would come along. These were times to spend having adventures, playing, and just being together. There were many walks at Grand Pré, looking for eagles at Sheffield Mills, trips to Halls Harbour to the lobster pound, checking out the beaches around Cape Split, going to a rib festival in Halifax, pop-ins and evening cookouts along the shore with the Guitards, and quick trips down to Annapolis Royal. Gary and Mel even got to Truro once to meet up with the Cornfields. 

Dementia takes a lot from a person, but it didn't touch Gary's life-long love of music. He would sing and tap his fingers while driving in the car and dance with Simba, his cat, in his arms. He also enjoyed special music therapy sessions, playing his red tambourine and singing to his favourite tunes. 

Dementia is scary not only for the person directly experiencing it but also for their caregivers because both of their worlds inevitably start to shrink. It's tricky because many friends and family aren't sure what to say or do. Gary would offer advice that just being there and being present is perfect. No one should ever be afraid to do that. The truth is that your presence means the world, and you should never worry about trying to fill in the blank spaces. 

Heather cared for Gary at home for five years before it got to his turn on the placement list for long-term care. Unfortunately, Gary moved to Middleton in 2020, two days before the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. He was in an unfamiliar place and couldn't understand why. The pandemic was exceptionally unkind to people living in long-term care and their families. Gary spent his days walking the halls. The staff called him "marathon man." Tragically, he thought he had been abandoned. Mel got an iPad into the facility that we could use for FaceTime. It was set to pick up automatically, so Gary didn't need to do anything. It helped us connect as long as the staff could charge it. Sometimes, Gary was confused when we spoke to him. He always wanted to come home. Once the Province permitted it, Heather would drive the hour and a bit several times a week to visit. Wearing mandatory PPE at visits and keeping the prescribed distance apart didn't help. Sadly, Gary's experiences in this nursing home were very traumatic, and it resulted in him developing aphasia (the loss of most of his language abilities). While Gary was in Middleton, Mel worked with caseworkers at the Province for about three years, trying to find a way to transfer him closer to Heather. 

Gary lived the last two years of his life at Blomidon Court Nursing Home. Despite his struggles, the carers who knew him well would agree that distinct aspects of his personality shone through as he walked the halls or scooted along in his wheelchair. Staff also saw this in his unwavering bond when he got visits from "his girl," Heather, and the special connection they shared. Heather would meet him almost daily for lunch, bringing him his favourite snacks and treats. They would spend time together in his room, listening to their favourite tunes from his personalized playlist or going for walks around the houses. Their visits would end as Heather would rub his chest and hold his hand. Gary would then relax for a nap on his bed, with his trademark right arm behind his head and his feet comfortably crossed. 

While he had always been vaccinated against COVID-19, Gary developed it for the first time in December 2024. He had a hard time recovering from it. Heather and Melodie would like to thank the dedicated care team, particularly Sheila and Tammy, who stayed alongside Heather and helped tend to whatever Gary needed during his last days. 

Gary is survived by his partner, Heather Morse, and her son Troy Cochrane (Lisa); his daughters Melodie Holmes (Mike) of Kitchener, Ontario, and Natalie Marshall (Danny) of Ottawa, Ontario. His grandchildren will miss Grampy: Melodie's Maya Holmes of Kitchener, Natalie's Chelsea and Dylan of Ottawa, and Troy's Mason. Gary is also survived by his brother, Mike Marshall of Aylesford, N.S., his brother Dave's wife, Cathy Marshall, in Brandon, Manitoba, as well as nieces and nephews, plus many cousins who still live in the Annapolis Valley. Gary and Heather's sneaky boy, Simba, the cat, has lived with Melodie and Mike in Ontario since 2020. 

He is also remembered fondly by extended family Hayley Morse-Lowry (David and kids Jack, Kenna, Coen, and Caryss); Ryan Morse (and kids Madeline and Caleb); and Tyler Morse (Amy). 

Gary was also fortunate to have had many friends who he considered family throughout his life. He relished time spent sailing, travelling, getting into mischief, fishing, four-wheeling, and so much more. It's guaranteed that Rick & Tanya Kidlark, Butch & Sharon Guitard, Stu & Rocky Cornfield, Mary & Peter Sanford, Darrell & Ruth Richards and Myrt, would all have stories to share. 

Paula Vincent (mother of Melodie and Natalie), Joanne Weir, Alastair Gillespie, Wayne and Debbie Wawryk, and their kids would also have fond memories of time spent with Uncle Gary when all their families were young. 

Gary was predeceased by his parents, Cecil (1970) and Mary (1996), his older brother Dave (2013), his grandson, Natalie's Brody (2011), and he and Heather's first cat, Rascal (2016). 

Cremation has occurred, and a celebration of life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, 2025,  in the White Family Funeral Home, 100 Bridge St., Kentville, NS. B4N 2E4 

A private casting ceremony will follow to ensure Gary arrives safely to where he wanted to be, at his favourite mooring spot in Indian Point Cove. Then, he can travel the world again through ocean currents. 

Instead of flowers, our family welcomes donations in Gary's name to some of the organizations and causes that stand for things he loved throughout his life and also that affected him and our hearts dearly while living the last part of his life with vascular dementia:  The Alzheimer's Society of Canada | The Alzheimer's Society of Nova Scotia,

The Nova Scotia SPCA, or KidsSport Canada.

Please visit https://www.mykeeper.com/GaryMarshall to view more about Gary’s life, contribute memories, share photos, or find out how to make a donation in Gary’s memory.

 

We love and miss you.

Chimo, Gary!