DONNELLY, Gavin
Dec 16, 1953 – Jul 21, 2021
Gavin passed away at home, surrounded by his family in the very early morning of July 21, 2021, at the age of 67. Early morning was fitting, as he would have normally been getting up at that time to put the coffee on and get the day going.
Gavin is survived by his loving wife of 46 years Brenda, children Shannon Boisvenue (Blair), Adam Donnelly (Lara) and Clayton Donnelly (Amanda), and grandchildren Brendan, Aidan, Isaac, Sarah, Autumn, Amelia, Ella, Evan, Lennox, Madden and Dawson. His dogs Lucy and Ethel will miss him dearly.
He was son of the late T.J and Jean Donnelly and is survived by his siblings Maureen Donnelly (Terry McKay), Pat Donnelly (Susan), Sharon Kelly (Keith Thompson), Shawn Donnelly (Nancy) and Kathleen King (Eric) along with his in-laws and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Gavin was a proud long time employee of the City of Ottawa until his retirement in 2008. With his young family living in the west end of Ottawa, he served his community as a hockey, football and baseball coach, Scout leader and any other volunteer job that was needed to help his kids and their activities or with his community.
In 1996, Gavin and Brenda moved to Almonte and immediately immersed themselves in the community. He played the bodhran with the Barley Shakers Celtic band, played hockey three times a week and post “retirement” worked with Mississippi Mills in the caretaking of the Almonte Old Town Hall.
Gavin was a tireless volunteer and dedicated his time to a long list of local causes. Just to name a few: He was a long time Civitan member, was a member of the Almonte Celtfest committee for 22 years, volunteered with Light up the Night, the Almonte Fair board, The Hub, and the Augusta street park committee.
His loss is a hard blow to the town. People like Gavin are the rare “glue” that holds things together in a community. His work ethic was legendary; the man could not be slowed down. If only we all had his energy and passion for getting things done.
As a grandfather, he was a dedicated fan of any endeavour that his grandkids were involved with. He drank a lot of early morning coffee in cold arenas, and he loved every minute of it.
His duty to, and love for, his friends and family will be sorely missed by all that were lucky enough to know him. His family wishes to thank the doctors and nurses that cared for him over his final weeks, especially Nurse Stacey and Dr. Rob Courchene, along with the many family members, friends and neighbours who supported Gavin and the family during this time.
There will be a private family service followed by a larger Celebration of Life at the Almonte Civitan Hall on Saturday, August 21 at 1pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you please consider a donation to the CNIB Guide Dogs Program (www.cnib.ca) or a charity of your choice.