Named after his two grandpas, Gordon Daniel was born on March 4, 2020. He was our first born and instantly a bright light in so many people’s lives. He was a people person right from the start, with his never fading smile and the way he had of connecting with people and drawing them in. Gordie had a wonderful sense of curiosity, always studying things closely to discover how they worked. He loved to laugh and could easily make anyone around him join in his fun. He hit his developmental milestones early, such as walking by 10 months, and developing an ever increasing vocabulary.
Gordie idolized his dad, always wanting to join in his projects, and had an extreme love of tools as a result. He was always carrying a tool or two with him, most often a tape measure, and would “work” away on many projects around the house. Gordie had a love for reading very early on, and would bring anyone a book to read to him. His most recent favourite books were The Little Blue Truck and Moose, which he often requested for bedtime. Gordie loved music, whether it was sitting at the piano listening to mom play, dancing in the kitchen, or watching the wiggles (or giggles as he called them). He had an inquisitive nature and a love for the outdoors. He would spend hours outside investigating things. He loved working in the garden and his biggest thrill was going for golf cart rides – an activity he requested several times a day.
In August of 2021 Gordie became a big brother when our second son, Mack, was born. He was hesitant of his little brother at first, but quickly warmed up to him, often blowing him kisses and showing him off to any visitors. He found it funny to steal Mack’s soother and would often try to pick Mack up when he thought no one was looking.
Gordie was a healthy boy, and had never really even had the common cold. On September 27, 2021 he was feeling good and acting as normal. He had his 18 month well baby appointment in the morning, then went to a garden centre to pick out some fall porch decorations. The rest of the day was spent playing outside, “working” with his tools on the fireplace mantle, reading books, and other typical toddler activities. He went to bed as he normally would have with no indications that he was ill. He woke up a couple times early on, but that wasn’t uncommon with adjusting to the schedule of his newborn brother. He last stirred around 11:00pm, but quickly settled. That was the last time we saw our sweet boy alive. On September 28th, Gordie did not wake up as he usually did, calling from the corner of his bed. Instead, he was found not breathing and unresponsive. CPR was attempted, but was unsuccessful. After an extensive death investigation, including an autopsy, toxicology, cultures, microscopic tests, and genetic testing Gordie’s death is still undetermined – they have found no cause of his death. Not knowing a cause or reason adds a whole other layer to grief, especially when there were no indications or warning signs of any health issues. Healthy children are supposed to wake up: sudden unexplained death isn’t something parents should have to worry about.
In September of 2022, almost one year after Gordie died, our youngest son Levi was born. Mack has followed in his big brother’s footsteps with his constant kisses for Levi and Levi’s smile lights up the room just like his oldest brother’s.
Gordie loved life and people, and at only 18 months lived each day to the fullest. Words cannot describe how much we miss our sweet boy.
Gordie’s Measure of Kindness 