Gordon Alexander Skelly

1914 - 1997  (82 years)

• Name	Gordon Alexander Skelly
  Birth	30 Dec 1914	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  	PA Dept of Revenue inheritance tax documents in the estate of Robert Walter Gordon, schedule D beneficiares Alexander Gordon Skelly in the Ontario, Canada Births, 1832-1917 Name Alexander Gordon Skelly Gender Male Birth Date 29 Dec 1913[1913 Dec 30] Birth Place York, Ontario, Canada Legitimacy Y Father William Skelly Mother Margaret Jane Skelly Reference Number 80-2
  Gender	Male
  Death	20 Mar 1997	Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada
  	Gordon Skelly BIRTH 30 Dec 1913 DEATH 20 Mar 1997 (aged 83) BURIAL Pine Hills Cemetery Scarborough, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I2527	Drollinger Genealogy
  Last Modified	14 Jul 2023

  
  

  Father	William Skelly,   b. 16 Jul 1880, Ligoniel, Belfast, Ireland d. 20 Jun 1954, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Age 73 years)
  Mother	Margaret Jane Gordon,   b. 6 Aug 1882, Kilmore, Down, Ireland d. 31 Jan 1962, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Age 79 years)
  Family ID	F825	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Laura Radburn,   b. 28 Sep 1915, Toronto, Ontario, Canada d. 22 Aug 2004, Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada (Age 88 years)
  Children	1. Robert Skelly,   b. 22 Feb 1943, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  Family ID	F1063	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Mar 2016

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 30 Dec 1914 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada Death - 20 Mar 1997 - Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  Gordon Skelly and Laura Radburn at their wedding

  
  

  Headstones		Plot: BURIAL Pine Hills Cemetery Scarborough, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada
  		Gordon Alexander Skelly gravestone

  
  

• Notes

  1921 Census of Canada <http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8991&enc=1> about Gordon Skelly Name: Gordon Skelly Gender: Male Marital Status: Single Age: 7 Birth Year: abt 1914 Birth Place: Ontario Relation to Head of House: Son Father's Name: William Skelly Father Birth Place: Ireland Mother's Name: Jennie Skelly Mother Birth Place: Ireland Racial or Tribal Origin: Irish Province or Territory: Ontario District: York East District Number: 142 Sub-District: Toronto (City, part) Sub-District Number: 45 City, Town or Village: Toronto Street or Township: 55 Jones Av Municipality: Ward 1 Occupation: Student My uncle Gordon had a life long interest in shooting which I some how picked up. He kept his firearms locked up in a closet and the ammo in an old refrigerator in his cellar. He worked in the optical field making lenses and glasses. During the second world war he made telescopes and binoculars for the military and escaped the draft. He lost his job over some sort of argument with his employer in the 40s. Since he had a skill or trade it didn't take him long to get a job with the T. Eaton Company in down town Toronto. It was a department store that later became Eatons. It was located on a corner and diagonally across the corner was another department store called Simpsons. I would ride the street car along Queen Street and get off at Eatons. It was always exciting to shop there. Or a better word would be wander through the store and look at all the treasures there. Uncle Gordon worked as an optician and was one of the very few who could make the entire pair of glasses from doing the eye exam to grinding the lenses to installing them in the frames and doing the final fit. Uncle Gord as my aunt Harriet called him told me the tale of how he got his first pistol. His uncle John Gordon came up from Pittsburgh for a visit after the first world war. He brought a Sam Brown belt, holster and pistol for his nephew. It was left on a chair and Gordon came in and saw it. In all innocence he put it on and off he went down the street. I think he was 8 or 9 at the time so that was a major flap. My grandfather didn't like firearms so it wasn't until later Gordon was able to hunt and shoot. He and some friends had a hunting cabin they built way up by Hudson's Bay. He used to go up and they would hunt deer and other large animals. My dad went with him a few times but didn't care for the lack of a chair while camping. My uncle had a late model Monarch that he really liked. The Monarch was a Mercury made for the Canadian market. It was a dark red color and inside the gas cover he had painted white gas only. Of course I never knew what that meant being too young. My grandfather didn't have a car nor did he drive so it was uncle Gord that was pressed into service if the street cars weren't available. He kept it in a garage that was off the back yard behind the corner house. For mechanical problems my dad would be pressed into service for his was that of a mechanic. My uncle enjoyed coming down for visits and staying at my dad's cottage. He could relax and let down his hair so to speak. It was sort of a family joke about him and my great uncle Bob Gordon. Both had their teeth extracted so wore dentures. Since uncle Gord delt with the public he had to have his false teeth fitted quickly. Since that was the case it must have hurt to chew with them. Uncle Bob carried his around in his shirt pocket and put them in to eat. Uncle Gordon would take his out to eat. So the joke was they needed only one set of teeth and exchange them at meal times!