Gordon Caley & Muriel (Windsor) Caley
Honoured by their daughter, Shirley Windsor (Caley) Elliott.
This leaf was presented to Shirley and J.C. “Dinty”Elliott on their 70th wedding anniversary on the 20th of February, 2013 by the Elliott family at a dinner at Churchill’s Restaurant in North Bay.
Gordon Allen Caley was born on 5th October, 1886 in Barriedale, Ontario (near Sundridge, ON) to Thomas William Caley and Mary Ann (Quayle) Caley, the ninth of ten children. Thomas emigrated with his family from the Isle of Man about 1870 to Cleveland, Ohio, USA, then farmed in Southampton, ON; Barriedale, ON; Nipissing Junction before moving to North Bay, ON, where he and most of his family were employed by the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway.
Gordon and two brothers followed the construction of the Railway to Latchford, where they founded a hardware store. Unfortunately the store burned down and Gordon returned to the T & N O to B & B Dept., to construct several stations in the North. As a patriotic Canadian, he enlisted in the Canadian Army in WWI, and served in France, including the Battle of Paschendale. On his return to Canada and North Bay, he went back to the T & N O, now the Ontario Northland Railway, as a coach carpenter in the North Bay Shops, until his retirement at age 65. He enjoyed gardening, hunting, fishing, games of cards, such as 500 and was a skilled carpenter and handyman.
Gordon married Maude Muriel Windsor in Callander, ON on the 2nd October, 1922, and the couple built a house at 236 Second Avenue East in North Bay, where they lived the rest of their lives raising a family of four daughters – Shirley, Wilma, Patricia, and Daintry. They were loving and caring parents as they provided for their needs – there always seemed to be a bicycle that needed repairs!
Maude Muriel Windsor was born in Callander, ON on 1st May, 1898, the fifth of ten children of Frederick Windsor and Emma (Berry) Windsor of Callander, ON. Frederick was a steamboat engineer on the tug “Sparrow”, owned by the J. B. Smith Lumber Company, operating on Lake Nipissing.
Growing up in Callander, Muriel took part in local programs, and several times, paired with a girlfriend, won the Cup for skating and home-made costumes. After her marriage, she was content to spend her time and talents making a comfortable, happy home for Gordon and their four daughters, including designing and sewing clothes for the girls.
Gordon passed away on 18th February, 1954, and Muriel passed away on 25th April, 1962, both in North Bay, ON and were buried in the Terrace Lawn Cemetery in North Bay.
The world around us is much better place because of the love and devotion of our parents.