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A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project
In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
GURR, Gardo Delano - Born in Dauphin, MB, the youngest of 9 children to Harry and Lucille Gurr (all now deceased). Gardo had a sharp wit and intellect, loved to whistle, laugh and tease, was a scotch man (though he quit drinking years ago), and he could croon like the best of them to his favourite jazz standards, pop and country songs. The family was poor during the Great Depression, with Gar’s dad dying when he was just a baby. He had the nickname “Boots” from hand-me-down footwear, and used that nickname for decades instead of his own. He joined the navy at age 17 in 1948 and after training in Halifax, was based in Naden (Victoria) and served mainly on the HMCS Ontario and Athabaskan. In 1951, he met Jenny Saunders and they married before he sailed overseas for a year of service in the Korean War. He left the navy in 1953 and signed on to the RCAF shortly afterwards, was then posted to Comox, followed by Winnipeg; and in 1958, a transfer to Zweibrucken, West Germany. At that time, it was Jen and their first two children in Germany, with a third born during their 3-1/2 years there. They then transferred back to Canada to Cold Lake (where their fourth child was born) and finally to Comox. Gar and family left the military in 1968, moving to Brentwood Bay, BC. Boots made a good living for his family working as a life insurance salesman, and then in 1977, with Jen and the two school-aged children, moved to Red Deer, Alberta to escape an economically depressed BC. Gar trained and started-up a mortgage brokerage and also worked in commercial real estate sales. In 1983, with the family now raised, Gar and Jen returned to Victoria, working as property managers until retirement in 1996, when they moved to Nanaimo to be closer to their oldest son’s family. Gar and Jen greatly enjoyed their home, yard, weekly bowling league, road trips and family barbecues, until Gar’s heart attack and associated health issues took hold in the last few years. Left to mourn are Jen and children: Gary (Stella), “Babe” (Jodi), Ron (Katsuko), Ken (Kathy); five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Evergreen Centre is in charge of arrangements. Gar requested no funeral or memorial service. (Victoria Times Colonist 19 Apr 2020)
Ships served in:
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For Posterity's Sake 
