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Gilbert Cox

Gilbert Cox

Born In: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Born: April 9th, 1942

Passed in: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Passed on: July 8th, 2015

GILBERT LESLIE COX
April 9, 1941 – July 8, 2015

Gil Cox passed away at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary AB shortly after suffering a cardiac arrest in Golden, BC. He is survived by his second wife Geri Cox and his loving children, Heather (Aaron Rosensweet), Paul, and Guy (Ginette Purdy), his step daughters, Christine and Susan (Allan Redekopp), and his grandchildren, Elliot, Gabriel, Miles and Brendan, and his step grandchildren Kurtis, Kaitlin, Brianna, and Kenzie. Gil is pre-deceased by his first wife Brenda Cox (nee Roosdahl).

Gil’s life was filled with great stories and adventures. He was born in Halifax Nova Scotia to Marjorie White and Gilbert Cox and had three brothers, Owen, Ronald and Peter. He grew up in rural Nova Scotia – Lower Sackville and Lunenburg – and left school before graduating to join the RCMP, which provided an amazing collection of stories, from performing in the RCMP Musical Ride, to standing guard for Prime Ministers and the Queen.

Gil had a varied RCMP career, starting with working in downtown Toronto at age 20, and then volunteering to work in Canada’s arctic in Fort Smith, NWT. After being posted to Yellowknife in 1965, he met his first wife, Brenda Joyce Roosdahl (1941-2000), a registered nurse. Together they had three children and lived in Yellowknife, Fort Rae (Rae Edzo), Haines Junction, Whitehorse, Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit), and lastly Lake Harbour (Kimmirut) on Baffin Island. Together Gil and Brenda lived the frontier life for the first eight (1965-1973) years of their marriage.

When he came out of the North to continue working with the RCMP he began with the Dartmouth detachment (1973-74) for one year before being promoted to Sergeant in the undercover Customs and Excise division. This was at a time of great change in Canada and Gil’s team liaisoned with INTERPOL for the area of Boston-Montreal-Halifax. His stories include huge drug busts by boat and catching diamond smugglers.

The fact that he never finished high school always bothered him. He had a big love of history and loved to talk about politics, the world and its current state of affairs. While working for the RCMP and Customs Canada, he studied history at Saint Mary’s University and graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor’s Degree in History.

He retired from his 22 year career with the RCMP working in Amherst NS as the Sergeant in charge of the Cumberland County Division. He continued to work in the civil service with Canada Customs in Amherst and Parks Canada in Halifax until he and Brenda moved back North in 1990 to Yellowknife for the final stretch of working life prior to retirement in Golden BC in 1998. After Brenda died in 2000 he met his second wonderful wife Geri Lange who gave him a whole new life full of love, kindness, joy, family and friends in the Blaeberry Valley near Golden.

Gil never viewed retirement as a reason to stop working, and continued to keep busy all his life. Much of his time was spent volunteering for the United Church in Golden by dedicating countless hours to their Bargain Basement, volunteering as a lay minister, helping with the church and the services. He did this all on top of maintaining a homestead in the mountains, chopping his own wood, shoveling snow, working in the garden and playing as many rounds of golf as he could squeeze in.

He lived a life of adventure, travelling all over the world to visit his many friends and family in Canada, Europe and Brazil, and lastly spending many winters in Cuba at a resort in Varadero where he was well loved as a regular guest and friend.

A service to celebrate the life of Gil Cox will be held in Golden, BC on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 1:00 pm at St. Andrews United Church (901 11 Ave N), with a reception to follow at the Seniors Centre. In memory of Gil, donations may be made to Stars Air Ambulance Service (www.stars.ca). Photos, stories and condolences may be shared with Gil's family through www.choicememorial.com. Arrangements entrusted to Choice Memorial Cremation & Funeral Services
http://www.choicememorial.com/book-of-memories/2190027/Cox-Gilbert%20%22Gil%22/obituary.php

 

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