Obituary of Thomas "Tom" Gordon Cullen

CULLEN: Thomas Gordon Cullen "Tom." Tom passed away at the Brandon Regional Health Centre on June 17th, 2010 with his wife and children by his side. Tom was born February 18th, 1934 to William and Gwendolyn Cullen. He was the youngest son of eight children, William, John, Gwen, Jean, Mae, Jim and Ken all of whom predeceased him. The Cullen family was raised in the East End of Brandon and many stories were shared of their escapades growing up in the "good old East End." Tom leaves to mourn his loving wife Rita of 54 years, daughter Lynn of Whiterock, B.C., sons Edward, Donald (Iona), Richard (Suzanne), all of Brandon, and Gregory (Linda) of Winnipeg. His loving grandchildren, Tom (Caley), April, Ryan (Dawn), Darcy, Jenna, Cheyenne, Dean, Bradley and Rikki, great-grandchildren, Emily, Ethan and Danny. Sisters-in-law Dorothy Cullen of Brandon, Frances Cullen of Vancouver, Eileen Vivier of Portage la Prairie, brothers-in-law Irvin Anderson, Frank (Isabelle) Vivier of Kinisota as well as several nieces and nephews. The Cullens' come from a long line of masons that worked in the trade in Scotland. Tom followed his father into the masonry business. Bill and Tom started Cullen Brothers Masonry and worked under this name for many years. Later on it became Cullen Masonry with Tom and Howard Bettle doing the brick work on many buildings in Brandon and surrounding area. After failing health his son, Don, took over the business and continues to carry on the trade. A Celebration of Tom's Life was held at the Brockie Donovan Chapel on Wednesday, June 23, 2010. There are things we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go. Forever in our hearts