Obituary of Cameron Gray

GRAY: Lawrence Cameron passed away peacefully at the Brandon Regional Health Centre on Wednesday morning, December 26, 2012 at the age of 69 years. Cameron leaves to mourn his passing, his wife Kenzie (née Neelin) of Brandon, his three daughters Marla Winters (Ron) of Brandon, Jennifer Newitt (Bruce) of Brandon and Elizabeth Gray of Toronto, along with two granddaughters, Alyssa Newitt and Hope Winters. Surviving are Cameron's two brothers, Bill (Trudy) and Warren (Marilyne), brother-in-law William Neelin, sisters-in-law Janet Carter (Jim), Jean Neelin, Mary Kirkpatrick (Calvin), and Margaret Klein along with many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Lawrence Gray and Margaret Gray (née Cochrane), and brother-in-law John Klein. Cameron was born September 20, 1943 at the Brandon General Hospital. Cameron grew up on the family farm along the Grand Valley Road west of Brandon. The Gray century farm was established in 1883. He attended Hunter, Popular Hill and Earl Oxford Schools. He graduated from Brandon Collegiate Institute followed by two years of the agricultural degree program at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, before moving back to Brandon to fulfill his dreams of working the land as a farmer. On June 22, 1968 Cameron married the love of his life, Kenzie Anne Neelin of Killarney, Manitoba at the Killarney United Church. In 1972, he, Kenzie and his neighbour, Don Crofton, built their house overlooking the Grand Valley. As a young boy Cameron would often go deer hunting with his father, brothers and neighbours. He was a good marksman and venison was often prepared into sausages, burgers and steaks. He was also a great gardener and the family would work together in spring and fall to prepare food for the winter. Cameron was an avid saskatoon picker and he could fill an ice-cream pail faster than most. He could always find the best saskatoons. Saskatoon pie was one of his favourite desserts, in addition to apple, mince meat, lemon, pumpkin and well... any kind of pie on the table. He enjoyed pie eating contests with friends, families, and neighbours - and in most cases – he likely won. One of his favourite foods was potatoes and if a meal did not include this, he would always ask, "Where are the potatoes?" To say that Cameron loved cars was an understatement. He pursued a career as a Journeyman Autobody Technician and in 1988 began working at Fowler Pontiac Buick GMC, now called Fowler Hyundai. Cameron loved working on cars and took so much pride in his work. He was a mentor to the staff in the autobody shop, as he had over 50 years of experience due to his work on the farm and at Fowler Hyundai. Cameron was a worker by nature and always said he would never retire. He wanted to "go out with his boots on." His hard work, expertise, smile and positive attitude will be greatly missed. Cameron and Kenzie attended hundreds of their daughters' violin, fiddle, piano, and festival concerts as they actively supported them as they took violin and piano lessons. He took great pride in his daughters' accomplishments and encouraged their education and higher learning, supporting them in any way that he could. Grandpa Cam loved his granddaughters and though he never had any sons or grandsons, he would often surprise them with toy cars, farm sets or dump trucks. Grandpa was always planning what he could build them next, whether it was a train set, swing set, bike or little toy tractor, he always had a plan in the works and was always building something. A celebration of life took place on Thursday, January 3, 2013 at the First Baptist Church in Brandon, Manitoba with Rev. Orton Anderson Officiating. Pallbearers were Bill Gray, Warren Gray, Donald Gray, Stanley Cochrane, Bruce Newitt and Ron Winters. Donations in memory of Cameron may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, 415 – 1st Street, Brandon, Manitoba R7A 2W8 or the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Unit 3-824-18th Street, Brandon, Manitoba R7A 5B7.