Mr. Gordon Arthur Bregoliss died peacefully at Ponderosa Lodge in Kamloops on Monday, April 22, 2019 at the age of 96 years.
He was predeceased by his parents Ernesto and Wilhelmina Bregoliss, his brother Ron (Thelma), his sister June Koch (Tom) and his son-in-law Jim Wakely.
Gordon was born on May 11, 1922 in Revelstoke, but after two weeks, he moved home to Kamloops where he lived the rest of his life. He grew up at the corner of Victoria Street and 6th Avenue where his parents owned a grocery store. After school Gordon delivered groceries on his bike and later in his father's truck. After graduating from Kamloops Secondary School, he enlisted with the Canadian Army. He served proudly with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
He married Bridget (Bea) Schikowski on September 26, 1951 and together raised their family of six children. A deeply faithful Catholic, he devoted much of his time to OLPH Parish and the Knights of Columbus. A community builder, he spent 12 years in civic politics, serving as a councillor with the town of North Kamloops and then with the City of Kamloops. He played a key part in the 1967 and 1973 city amalgamations. He was honoured with Freedom of the City in 1977 and was elected to the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
He loved to play baseball and when his playing days were done, he volunteered as a coach and administrator. He discovered golf in his 60s and very much enjoyed spending his days on the golf course with his golf buddies and was always up for a game of golf. He was a longtime member of the Kamloops Golf and Country Club.
His greatest joy was his family and the big family dinners with his wife, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. True to his Italian /Scotch heritage he enjoyed a good glass of wine and a neat glass of scotch.
