Charles "Charlie" Gillis 1918 - 2008 Charles "Charlie" Gillis, 89, of Bathurst and formerly of Moncton, passed away peacefully at the Moncton Hospital on Tuesday July 15, 2008. Born in Deepdale, Cape Breton, he was the son of the late John Alex and Mary (MacNeil) Gillis, of Deepdale. He was predeceased by his first wife of 56 years, Catherine "Kaye" Gillis in 1998, and survived by his second wife, Barbara Burns of Bathurst. He was a parishioner of Holy Family Church in Bathurst and formerly of St. Bernard's Church in Moncton, where he served for many years as an usher and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. Charlie was known by many as a local businessman, having operated with his son Chuck a home heating oil business, a vending company (Maritime Amusements) and other businesses during his long working life. When his first grandchild Shane dubbed him Bumpy rather than Grampy, Charlie wore the label with pride, and two generations of grandchildren and great-grandchildren knew him as Bumpy or Bump. He was renowned for his garden on Elmwood Drive, where he grew and, later in his life, sold canna lilies and other bedding plants. He took great enjoyment in hunting for a bargain and read the classified ads closely, frequently calling to enquire about prices or haggle for a better deal. He was a devoted hockey fan, and for many years had season tickets to Moncton's various AHL hockey franchises. He often selected seats behind the opposing team's bench so that he would be well situated to vocally support his team while irritating their competition. His Christmas light display was always memorable particularly because, as was his habit, he'd gotten a deal on the wise men and so his display featured six rather than the more traditional three. His grandchildren recall fondly coming over to help plug in all of the lights (some of the boys recall, slightly less fondly, having to climb to the tops of the evergreens to string the lights up). He was an enthusiastic dog owner and motor home traveler, and his children and grandchildren all recall trips with Kaye and Charlie to Cape Breton and elsewhere. Charlie was a natural storyteller and joker, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than reeling in an unsuspecting listener with a tall tale. Often those stories were sprinkled with Gaelic phrases, and he took great delight in ensuring that one particular Gaelic phrase unsuitable for polite company was passed on to all of his grandchildren. He was notoriously bad with names. One granddaughter spent many years thinking that "Jinarchie" was a Gaelic term of affection since Charlie used it so frequently with those he loved. It turned out that he was simply calling everyone John Archie, a common Cape Breton name. Charlie took great delight in children and they in him: his mischief, silly handshakes and stories charmed them all. Charlie instilled in those around him a love of fiddle music, good company, tall tales and a shared meal or drink. He told anyone who would listen that he had been lucky in his life to have the love of two exceptional women, Kaye and Barb, and to be blessed with children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so many others related by blood and by affection. We were lucky to have him for so long and will miss him dearly.