We regret to advise of the death of Chief Warrant Officer Gary Frederick Marshall, CD (Ret'd) at the Blomidon Court Nursing Home in Greenwich NS, on 9 January 2025 at the age of 77 years.
Gary was born in Halifax NS. His dad served in the Canadian Forces, so the family moved a lot, including to France. Gay started high school in Sudbury ON, and finished in Victoria BC where he worked at the Hudson's Bay Company. He and his brother Dave enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1967. He started training as a Physical Education and Recreation Instructor but transferred to the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician trade with the Royal Canadian Engineers and trained at the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering in Chilliwack BC.
The early years of Gary's career were spent crisscrossing the country from east to west to north among the Construction Engineering Sections at many of the former Pinetree Line radar sites. His first posting was to Canadian Forces Station Gypsumville MB followed by CFS Falconbridge. He was then posted to CFS Moisie QC followed by CFS Kamloops BC. From there, he moved to CFS Barrington NS, on the East Coast. His next posting was to Canada's North for four years at CFS Inuvik NT. Gary was next posted to CFB Uplands in Ottawa. After Ottawa, Gary moved to Winnipeg to 1 Construction Engineering Unit. While at 1 CEU, Gary was part of the engineering team sent to the Middle East during the First Gulf War in 1990-91 to prepare and maintain the CF Base facilities.
Gary then returned to Ottawa for a stint at National Defense Headquarters. Here, he oversaw construction projects, such as fuel storage tank decommissions across the country, and he worked on special projects in partnership with External Affairs Canada. He managed the installation of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems and the commissioning of new Canadian embassies in Washington, D.C., and Beijing, China. He also worked on the embassies in Riyad, Saudi Arabia and Damascus, Syria. After Ottawa, Gary was posted to the Construction Engineering Squadron at 14 Wing, CFB Greenwood, for about a year. He retired from the Canadian Forces in 1998 after proudly serving Canada for 31 years.
Gary was involved in the base communities at each posting and was instrumental in organizing many base winter carnivals over the years. He participated on many sports teams—from softball and fastball to basketball, broomball, and hockey. Gary was also a fan of Nordic and alpine skiing. Gary loved the outdoors. He participated in many Search and Rescue operations and training exercises over the years. At CFS Kamloops, he was heavily involved in raft racing.
Gary stayed in Nova Scotia after he retired from the Regular Forces and lived for a time in Aylesford. However, he found his way back to CFB Greenwood, where he worked as a civilian for Defense Construction Canada and taught a Building Commissioning course with Dalhousie University. Gary also worked for Bird Construction, commissioning key local builds for Kings County Academy, Orchard Court Shannex, the RCMP detachment, and other projects around Atlantic Canada. Eventually, he fully retired to spend more time on the golf course, doing wood carving and enjoying life.
Gary's health started to decline in 2015, and he was diagnosed with vascular dementia. After being cared for at home, he entered long-term care, first in Middleton and, for the past two years, at Blomidon Court Nursing Home. Gary developed COVID-19 in December 2024 and did not recover.
Cremation has occurred, and a Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, 24 May 2025, in the White Family Family Funeral Home, 100 Bridge St., Kentville NS. A private casting ceremony will follow to ensure Gary arrives safely to where he wanted to be, at his favourite mooring spot in Indian Point Cove.
Instead of flowers, the family welcomes donations in Gary's name to some of the organizations and causes that stand for things he loved throughout his life and also that affected him in his later years: The Alzheimer's Society of Canada, The Alzheimer's Society of Nova Scotia, The Nova Scotia SPCA, or KidsSport Canada. Online condolences can be sent to the funeral home.
