Gordon Jacob Barkman

Obituary

Born on a Steinbach dairy farm on May 2, 1926 Gordon was the fifth of 10 children which meant that he had to run to keep up with his older siblings and learn to protect and help his younger siblings

His early years, which developed his sense of responsibility, were spent milking the family cows, delivering the milk to town, going to school and returning to the farm for chores. But the work was always followed by hockey or baseball with his brothers.

With a desire to expand his experiences, he and his cousin travelled to Prince Rupert, BC to work in the ship yards. They quickly found their place as their ability to read blueprints and their work ethic set them apart and helped them advance.

At age 18 (1944), with the world in turmoil, his commitment to society and to his country led him to enlist in the Canadian Army. Though he never discussed the details, service records show that he was assigned to the Canadian Intelligence Corp and participated in wartime intelligence and evidence gathering to assist in the prosecution of war criminals. Gordon was awarded the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and the Canadian War Medal for his service. After leaving the army in 1945 he became a founding member of the Steinbach Royal Canadian Legion in 1946, remaining an active member until his death, and, at different times between 1946 and 1981, he held the positions of general executive member, Vice President and President.

In 1945, Gordon resumed his formal education, culminating in his graduation from the University of Manitoba Law School in 1951.

Around this time, he met and won the attention of a Friedensfeld girl, Norma Borkowsky and convinced her to move back to Steinbach from her work in Ontario. Two years later (1953) Gordon and Norma got married and began a 65 year journey together.

His first two children, Kurt and Dallas, were born in 1956 and 1959. With the new responsibilities of family and a house built by his father-in-law, Henry Borkowsky, Gordon launched his private legal practice in Steinbach. As with his previous endeavours, he worked diligently, intelligently and with integrity. The long hours on the farm prepared him for the long hours in the law office. The years of schooling prepared him to help fulfill an important need in his community. The years of Christian upbringing prepared him to be caring in his dealings.

All this work and responsibility did not, however, prevent him from the continued enjoyment of baseball and hockey which he played most weekends. One story goes that an opposing team once tried to disqualify him because they were convinced they would lose if Gordon Barkman played. Another story was that Gordon was late to arrive to a ball game and learned that his team forfeited because they felt it was impossible to win without him. His support of sport even extended to convincing the Town of Steinbach to set aside a portion of a mill to fund athletic facilities in Steinbach, which continues to this day.

By the early 1960s, Gordon and Norma’s life was blossoming. Then in 1964 Gordon received a call from the Federal Liberal party asking him to run for elected office. Once again his commitment to society and his community was evident. In 1965, he placed his law practice on hold and enlisted his friends and family members to volunteer in the campaign. Gordon ran honorably but unsuccessfully as the Liberal Party candidate for the Provencher riding, during the Diefenbaker sweep.

While the step into political life was not successful, his efforts to help build the Lutheran church in Steinbach yielded better results. In 1966, Gordon mediated the merger of three struggling congregations into what is now St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and the construction of a new building for their future. His compassion for understanding the needs of various parties and integrity to provide fair and honest solutions brought together people in his community.

Through the end of the decade Gordon remained busy and engaged with the community through his legal work, participating on multiple boards and with the church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. However, at the turning of the decade, Gordon’s life began to transform again.

After Gordon and Norma completed a round-the-world trip to participate in the Commonwealth Law Convention, their second son, Andrew, was born in 1971. This was followed by the birth of his second daughter, Anne in 1973.

In 1972, Gordon was convinced to accept an appointment to become a Judge of the County Court in Manitoba. At the time, it was convention that a Judge should not have any business or community positions that might be perceived as influencing his impartiality. Therefore, Gordon resigned from nearly all his board positions and began a more reserved lifestyle.

Gordon was subsequently promoted to Chief of the County Court in 1983 and then promoted again to Her Majesty’s Court of Queen’s Bench in 1984 and he retired in 2001.

Throughout Gordon’s 29 year judicial career he maintained his characteristic qualities of patience, politeness and preparation. In his quiet and reserved way, he presided over a number of notable and defining decisions, including: setting common law on handshake agreements, large land claims and numerous organized criminal trials. It was an opinion in some legal quarters that if you drew Gordon Barkman as a judge, you had drawn a good judge.

While family and professional life were well established, it was in 1974 that Gordon faced tragedy when his parents died suddenly in a car accident.

Later, Gordon was approached in 1980 to help found the Bethesda Foundation in Steinbach. His sense of community was peaked again. He assisted with the incorporation, drew up the constitution and served the community as an active board member and honourary chair for 30 years.

It was with happiness that Gordon saw the respective marriages of his two eldest children in 1980 (Dallas and Mark) and 1981 (Kurt and Eva), and his younger children in 1997 (Andrew and Monique) and 2001 (Anne and David). As well as the birth of 6 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck again when his daughter, Dallas, passed away in 2015 after a courageous life-long medical struggle.

Through the latter years, Gordon and Norma travelled happily together around the world, visiting often with family and friends:

• Russia (2003)
• Valencia, Spain (2009)
• Holy lands (2010)
• England (2012)
• Panama Canal and South America (2014)
• New York (2014)

In the end, Gordon passed away May 14, 2018 with his wife and partner by his side.

The funeral will be held Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 11:00 am at the St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 465 Henry Street, Steinbach, MB.