George Styran Boldon

Our beloved Georgie will be bidding his 30 for 60s, casting his salmon flies and watching the sunset in a new place now. He has played his last game of 45s on this earth. His Monday afternoons at Victoria Hall will likely be one of the things he will miss the most.

 One of eleven children, he made his entrance on October 27, 1929, to George and Georgina (Styran). His youth was spent in Rabbit Town on Victoria Street where he had many boyhood adventures, many of which we have purposely heard nothing about. We do know that the Boldon boys always moved their beds to the front porch in the summers, that their mother was an accomplished church pianist whose musical talents live on in the family, and that when George was on a Ranger Scout trip to Norway and wanting to stay on to travel in Europe, a telegram from that same mother made it very clear that was not a good idea.

 Predeceased by his wife, Joan (Reynolds); son, Mark; brothers, Jim and Gordon; and sisters, Margaret Ann, Mary Ellen, Nancy, Hannah and Jeanni; he leaves behind his brother, Tom; sisters, Katherine and Emily Ruth; step-siblings, Gail and Mac (Barton); sons, Rex (Louise), Eric (Colleen), Philip (Janine); and daughter-in-law, Tanya (late Mark); grandchildren, Ryley (Mallory), Fraser (Laura), John (Bhavika), Shannon (Sebastian), Darrell (Brianna), Nick, Maryn, Brett and Annik; special granddaughter, Sophie (Landry); and great-grandchildren, William, Abigail, Charlie and Mabel.

 His grandchildren christened him Gangie, a name he wore proudly for more than three decades. And no one appreciated his sense of humour, his dry wit or his card-playing ability more than those kids. After all, he was really just one of them; how he enjoyed them all.

 George will forever be connected in our minds with his fishing camps on the Renous and Miramichi Rivers. It was a requirement that every grandchild and daughter-in-law learn to play cribbage. Once that was mastered, it was on to 45s. And then the fun began. Silly little trophies were presented to tournament winners with bragging rights established. It was an honour to have Gangie as your partner. He bonded with so many of us over a single game of cards. His trash talking was legendary and the louder the banter, the happier he was.

 A graduate of the Maritime Forest Ranger School, George’s early career was spent as a mining technician in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. He moved his family to Oromocto in 1962, where they lived for 60 years. George owned and operated the Oromocto Irving Service Station with his brother Tom and was both a town councillor and a deputy mayor.

 George, Eric and Rex then oversaw the construction of his palace (as his daughters-in-law call it) on the bank of the Southwest Miramichi in Boiestown where he very contentedly spent his later years. Always happiest when fishing or being in the wilderness, he spent his time watching salmon being caught and released; the river freezing up and the ice going out; the eagles and ducks; the canoeists, kayakers and tubers; and most recently, the antics of his four feral cats Stuart, Beatrice, Rip and Moose all of whom have taken up permanent residence at the palace and miss him dearly. George made Boiestown his last earthly home thoroughly enjoying the community, particularly his Zoomer friends.

 His last two weeks were spent at the DECH where he was cared for by compassionate, dedicated and kind medical professionals. We wish to extend heartfelt thanks to the staff in Emergency, 4SW and Palliative Care.

 George, Dad, Gangie – his 95 active and lucid years were as full as a life could be, a blessing for which his family will always be grateful. He leaves a void that will be impossible to fill. It will be a long, long time before anything becomes normal again.

 At his request, there will be a celebration of his life at a later date.