Gordon Lloyd Kitching (Lloyd). On May 19, 2022 Lloyd passed away peacefully at Carman hospital, with family at his side. Lloyd will be missed by Gwen, his wife of 63 years, their four children: Karen (Brian) Webb, Shelley, Kevin and Scott (Barb) and five grandchildren; Nicole, Mitchell, Ian, Sydney and Brooklyn. Lloyd was predeceased by his parents Thomas and Lillian, and his sisters Edith (Perley) McCullough, Helen (Cliff) Preston and brother Jim (Jean).
Lloyd was born in Carman, Manitoba on September 9, 1927, the youngest of the four children. He grew up on the family farm in the Forest District and remained in the area his entire life. He met Gwen (nee Mulligan) while attending the Prairie Christian Training Centre in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, and the two were married on October 29, 1959.
As teenagers, Lloyd and brother Jim took over the family farm when their father died. Lloyd remained a farmer at heart the rest of his life. Over the span of 40 years, Lloyd farmed cattle and grains of all kinds, and, in the early 70’s, he and Jim were among the earliest farmers in the Pembina Valley to venture into growing potatoes. For 20 years Lloyd supplied potatoes to well-known processors like Carnation and McCain’s Foods, helping the world to get its fill of crispy fries!
Lloyd’s creative passion was writing. Whether it was plays for his family to perform at community functions, or church services, or articles and letters for magazines, Lloyd could always find a way to get his stories out there. He eventually went on to self-publish an anthology of his writings, “80 Years of Life & Laughter.” The book told humourous but insightful stories of his life on the farm and Lloyd took great pleasure in reading his works to audiences of all types; residents at local seniors’ homes, children in school classrooms; even reading passages from his book on CBC Radio.
Throughout his life, Lloyd was heavily involved in the Carman-Dufferin community. He spent many years as a director on the board of the Carman Co-op, was an active long serving member of the Farm Business Association, and was involved with many other vocational and local associations. He was especially proud to be a member of the original board of Rainbow Residence, a non-profit organization that provides housing and infrastructure empowering adults with intellectual disabilities to live independently. Spirituality was also very important to Lloyd, and he was a long serving Elder and Sunday School Teacher at the Carman United Church.
Family was important to Lloyd. Despite a busy farm life, he still found the time to attend many of his kids’ activities – and later in life, those of his grandchildren. He showed interest and support in everything his family did. He especially enjoyed gathering around the kitchen table to play Boggle, Dominoes, Pictionary or other games, and was regularly brought to tears laughing (most often while being teased about how bad his drawing skills were. To this day we have no clue how he could draw even a stick-man so slowly - and poorly). Lloyd’s love of family was rivaled only by his love of ice cream – in his eyes, every meal required ice cream for dessert.
All who knew Lloyd will remember him for his kind and gentle personality – as well as his amazing sense of humour - all of which firmly remained until his passing. During his final days in the hospital, Lloyd continued to provide a witty response to most questions posed by his nurses (for which we would like to apologize to the hospital staff). Lloyd could make anyone with whom he spoke feel valued; he loved meeting people from all walks of life and listening to their stories and experiences. He truly lived his Christian faith in all that he did, and was an amazing role model for how to treat others. For that and so much more, we will forever be grateful to have shared our lives with you.
The family would like to thank Dr. Kevin Earl for the exceptional, kind care he provided to Lloyd for many years. In addition, we would like to thank all of the doctors, nurses and other caregivers in the community who were so helpful, caring and supportive throughout the final years, and in particular his last few weeks in the Carman Memorial Hospital.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations may be made to the Carman United Church, Box 1177, Carman, MB, R0G 0J0.
Lloyd was born in Carman, Manitoba on September 9, 1927, the youngest of the four children. He grew up on the family farm in the Forest District and remained in the area his entire life. He met Gwen (nee Mulligan) while attending the Prairie Christian Training Centre in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, and the two were married on October 29, 1959.
As teenagers, Lloyd and brother Jim took over the family farm when their father died. Lloyd remained a farmer at heart the rest of his life. Over the span of 40 years, Lloyd farmed cattle and grains of all kinds, and, in the early 70’s, he and Jim were among the earliest farmers in the Pembina Valley to venture into growing potatoes. For 20 years Lloyd supplied potatoes to well-known processors like Carnation and McCain’s Foods, helping the world to get its fill of crispy fries!
Lloyd’s creative passion was writing. Whether it was plays for his family to perform at community functions, or church services, or articles and letters for magazines, Lloyd could always find a way to get his stories out there. He eventually went on to self-publish an anthology of his writings, “80 Years of Life & Laughter.” The book told humourous but insightful stories of his life on the farm and Lloyd took great pleasure in reading his works to audiences of all types; residents at local seniors’ homes, children in school classrooms; even reading passages from his book on CBC Radio.
Throughout his life, Lloyd was heavily involved in the Carman-Dufferin community. He spent many years as a director on the board of the Carman Co-op, was an active long serving member of the Farm Business Association, and was involved with many other vocational and local associations. He was especially proud to be a member of the original board of Rainbow Residence, a non-profit organization that provides housing and infrastructure empowering adults with intellectual disabilities to live independently. Spirituality was also very important to Lloyd, and he was a long serving Elder and Sunday School Teacher at the Carman United Church.
Family was important to Lloyd. Despite a busy farm life, he still found the time to attend many of his kids’ activities – and later in life, those of his grandchildren. He showed interest and support in everything his family did. He especially enjoyed gathering around the kitchen table to play Boggle, Dominoes, Pictionary or other games, and was regularly brought to tears laughing (most often while being teased about how bad his drawing skills were. To this day we have no clue how he could draw even a stick-man so slowly - and poorly). Lloyd’s love of family was rivaled only by his love of ice cream – in his eyes, every meal required ice cream for dessert.
All who knew Lloyd will remember him for his kind and gentle personality – as well as his amazing sense of humour - all of which firmly remained until his passing. During his final days in the hospital, Lloyd continued to provide a witty response to most questions posed by his nurses (for which we would like to apologize to the hospital staff). Lloyd could make anyone with whom he spoke feel valued; he loved meeting people from all walks of life and listening to their stories and experiences. He truly lived his Christian faith in all that he did, and was an amazing role model for how to treat others. For that and so much more, we will forever be grateful to have shared our lives with you.
The family would like to thank Dr. Kevin Earl for the exceptional, kind care he provided to Lloyd for many years. In addition, we would like to thank all of the doctors, nurses and other caregivers in the community who were so helpful, caring and supportive throughout the final years, and in particular his last few weeks in the Carman Memorial Hospital.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations may be made to the Carman United Church, Box 1177, Carman, MB, R0G 0J0.