Father George John Gardner, 87 years, passed peacefully on January 15, leaving behind communities and individuals whose lives have been deeply impacted by his legacies.
Father Gardner had a long and storied career at Canada Cement (later Lafarge Canada, Lafarge Holcim and most recently Holcim Group) and built the terminal in Whitefish River First Nation (WRFN). Both were associations he kept right up until his passing.
“George was a remarkable person,” said Esther Osche, who as WRFN lands manager was lead negotiator for the band with Holcim. Together, they forged a memorandum of understanding that cleared the way for a new terminal lease agreement. That agreement is now awaiting the go-ahead from the federal government.
With his strong ties to WRFN, Father Gardner was named an honorary chief by then Chief Leona Nahwegabow and given his spirit name, Wassai Giizhagaad, by community members Archie and Violet McGregor baa.
“George would always listen carefully,” noted former WRFN chief Shining Turtle (Franklin Paibomsai) for whom Fr. George was both a mentor and spiritual advisor. “His first reaction would be ‘how best can I help?’ Many people would go quietly to George seeking help, and he never said no.”
His executor, Mary Scannell, noted that many people thought that Fr. Gardner was a wealthy man, but a life of giving to others left him with very modest means.
“Lots of times people thought it was Lafarge that was making the donation when it was George himself,” she said.
Ms. Scannell was Fr. Gardner’s close companion and he had promised his late wife that he would always look after her. For her part, Ms. Scannell looked after the priest as devotedly as a mother hen.
Fr. Gardner’s latest involvement on behalf of Holcim Group was negotiating a new lease for the Lafarge Canada Whitefish Terminal.
“George was a remarkable man,” said his successor at the Whitefish Terminal operations manager Howard Scruton.
Mr. Scruton noted another side of Fr. Gardner, his days as a no-nonsense business leader, and woe betide anyone who did not live up to his standards when it came to looking after the terminal.
“It was his baby,” said Mr. Scruton. “There wasn’t a week that went by where he did not call me, even long after he retired. Our last conversation was just before he died.”
One of his most important legacies with the company was the institution of the annual fish fry wherein the whole community of WRFN and company officials gather on the shores of the North Channel for a feast. Fr. Gardner insisted that the event be held outdoors as much as possible and was instrumental in having an arbour built on the property leased by Lafarge for its terminal for that purpose.
As part of his duties with the terminal, Fr. Gardner undertook the required courses to provide harbour security. One of his proudest accomplishments in his late 80s was in passing the course with a 98 percent score.
He would go on to perform security duties for the cruise ships coming into the Port of Little Current for several years.
“For several years Father George helped provide security for Great Lakes cruise ships on the docks in the Port of Little Current,” said Northeast Town Mayor Al MacNevin. “He was responsible for ensuring that only registered passengers and authorized crew boarded the ships after exploring Manitoulin Island. His friendly personality and spirit ensured that the visitors felt welcome and safe during their visit. He will be missed.”
You read that right; for several years Fr. Gardner was port security. Should a ship be in port on Sunday, he would invariably enhance his parish flock with Catholic passengers he met while performing his duties.
A devout Catholic, Father Gardner took on holy orders following the passing of his wife Mary and at the gentle suggestion of his long-time friend Monsignor Jim Hutton he continued to serve as the parish priest at St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church right up until his passing.
It was no mean feat to become a priest at the tender age of 69 as it included many years of study and devotion to meet the educational requirements for the job.
Bishop Robert Harris ordained Father Gardner as a deacon on October 29, 2006 at St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church in Little Current and was ordained to the priesthood on June 22, 2007 by Bishop Most Reverend Jean-Louis Plouffe D.D., also at St Bernard’s Church. Father Gardner took up appointments on June 23, 2007, at St. Bernard’s and at St. Gabriel Lalement Church in Birch Island.
“I had the pleasure to get to know Father George not long after becoming the Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie,” said his Excellency Bishop Thomas Dowd. “I learned that he was our oldest parish priest, having been ordained a priest at the age of 69, and he was still eager to serve his people. I really admired and supported him and I was looking forward to spending a week with him for a parish pastoral visit later this year. I will miss him.” Bishop Dowd will be officiating at a mass honouring Fr. Gardner at St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church in Little Current at 2 pm on March 12.
The mass will be a fitting bookend to Fr. Gardner’s ministry, noted Bishop Dowd, as most of the priests in the diocese attended his ordination and will be present for the March 12 mass as they are gathering for an historic Chrism Mass to be held the next day at Holy Cross Church in Wiikwemkoong.
Fr. Gardner enjoyed fishing and was devoted to his pet dogs.
The most common statement heard from all of the people interviewed by The Expositor about Fr. Gardner was “we were very close.” His ability to connect with those he met was a rare quality and one which served him well during his ministry.
As a parish priest, Fr. Gardner was devoted to his parishioners and he continued to serve them despite having a badly compromised immune system and having contracted both COVID and long COVID during the pandemic. On his last day of life, he was engaged in ensuring that the parish would have a replacement priest while he continued to recover—his optimism ensured he could not envision his recovery not happening.
A mentor to many of the powerful, Fr. Gardner remained a humble and devoted servant to both his church community and his adopted community of WRFN.
A private service was held on Friday, January 26, 2024, at 3 pm at Jackson and Barnard Funeral Home in Sudbury.
Fr. Gardner was the beloved son of the late Ernestine Grossinger and George Gardner Senior. His father passed while Fr. Gardner was 12 and his experiences informed his tremendous capacity for empathy. Father Gardner was predeceased by brothers Henry (Julie Ferro) and George, and sisters Lily (Lucien Brunet), Gertrude (Ernie Kells) and Susan (Cliff Harfield).
Father Gardner was predeceased by his beloved wife, Mary (Lukie) and his stepchildren, Anthony (Tony) wife Anita Huska, Melvina ‘Molly’ Guyan (Mickey) and Helen Smith (Bill). He leaves behind eight grandchildren, 13 grandchildren and a great grandchild. From the Gardner family he also leaves behind many nieces and nephews.
