Passed away peacefully at St Joseph’s hospital, Toronto, on December 18 th 2023 in his one hundredth year.
Proud father of Denise, Anita, Desmond and Antoinette, and grandfather of Christopher, Roger, Giselle, Dominique, William, Aidan, Ava and Alana, he will be deeply missed. Born on the island of Grenada on May 29 th 1924, Gordon and his wife June, who died in 2018, lived a life of travel and adventure. Gordon lived and worked in Grenada, Trinidad, Venezuela, and Peru before finally retiring to Toronto. He was an avid portsman, playing competitive tennis, soccer and cricket. He was also an outstanding bridge player, as well as having a passion for horse racing. Blessed with a keen sense of humour, quick wit, compassion, and the ability to build long and lasting connections, his loss will be shared by his network of friends and family internationally. Friends and family are invited to celebrate Gordon’s life on Wednesday, December 27 th 2023 at 3:00 pm, at St John’s Anglican Church, 288 Humberside Ave, Toronto then after at 80 Quebec Ave, Toronto.

Gordon Preudhomme – Life Summary – May 29 th 1924 to December 18 th 2023

Born May 29 th 1924 during the “Roaring Twenties,” a time bookended by the First World War and the Great Recession. Gordon was born to William Preudhomme, a merchant, and Elfleda Date at their home in the remote village of La Digne, Grenada. Commonly known as Sunny, Gordon was sixth of seven children: Maria (1906), Telpha (1910), Leonard “Lenny” (1914), Evelyn “Baba” (1920), Frances (1922) and Dorothy (1926).
As a child, Gordon had many memorable moments. He used a donkey as his primary mode of transport, made his sister, Dorothy, jump out of a second floor window with an umbrella as a parachute, and “married” his childhood sweetheart, June Mignon, when he was 12. At 32 he married her again and a built a lifelong relationship. For secondary education, Gordon went to the capital, St George’s, as a weekly boarder. He was quick with numbers and excelled in multiple sports, including representing his school in soccer, cricket and tennis. Gordon had multiple adventures sailing on the family schooner during the 2 nd World War, taking animals to the market in Trinidad and bringing goods back to Grenada to be sold in his father’s store, whilst avoiding German U-Boats. His first job was at RBC bank in Grenada and at 18 he moved to Trinidad, where his mother had recently moved, again working with RBC. A week into his RBC Trinidad tenure he was cashing someone’s pay cheque, which was significantly larger than his. He asked the cheque owner where he worked to earn such a sum, and promptly applied for, and got, a job as an apprentice in the oil industry with Trinidad Leaseholds at Pointe a Pierre. He was one of one of 6 apprentices hired at that time. About a year into that role another opportunity came up, at Schlumberger, a progressive French service company in the oil industry, was looking for staff. Gordon joined Schlumberger and was sent to Venezuela. He worked in both the West (Maracaibo) and the East (El Tigre) of Venezuela, moving from Schlumberger to Dressler, a competitor, and attaining more and more responsibility over time. In a visit to Trinidad in late 1955 he met his childhood sweetheart, who was also visiting Trinidad at the time, and the fire rekindled. He and June married on April 7 th 1956, and June moved to Venezuela. Their first child, Stephanie Denise (known as Denise) was born a year later on May 1 st 1957. In 1958 Gordon was on the move again, given the opportunity to open up a Dressler location in Talara, north west Peru. A year into that adventure, and while on vacation, he was asked to come back to Venezuela to run the east of the country for Dressler. Gordon went back to Peru and packed up, while
Junie went to her parents in Grenada awaiting the relocation to Venezuela. Back in Venezuela, they had two children in quick succession, Anita, born October 11 th 1961, and Desmond, born October 5 th 1962.

On November 15 th 1962, 5 weeks after Desmond’s birth, they were on the move again. During a vacation visit to Trinidad the year earlier, one of the senior people at BP, a friend, encouraged Gordon to get Dressler to come to Trinidad. The Dressler people in Venezuela agreed on the strategy, and the Trinidad opportunity was confirmed. Dressler in Houston had a different opinion, cancelling the location setup. In communication back to BP in Trinidad, they encouraged Gordon to open an independent, similar company to Dressler for the local market. Gordon, plus 3 partners, opened Tri Can Perforators in late 1962, and a couple years later opened a branch in the West of Venezuela. Tri Can proved to be very successful, driving a profit from day one! And then there was the child born in Trinidad. On September 29 1965 Kathryn Antoinette (known as Antoinette) was born. With the birth of Antoinette, Gordon and Junie had their complete family, four children. While in Trinidad (1962 to 1986) Gordon became very engaged in horse racing, owning multiple very successful horses (Ole Ole, Quando Quando, Tico Tico, Toco Toco, Ballyquest, Fanfare, Cassanova, Ivory Jet, ++). In the sport Gordon was also a Steward at Union Park Race Track, actively engaged in all aspects of horse racing. As an avid sportsman, Gordon continued to play, and to follow cricket. He was a member of the Queen’s Park Cricket Club, and followed all sport known to man. And then there is tennis. Gordon absolutely loved the game, was an excellent player, and played the sport until he was 95! And boy did he love to watch tennis!!!
We cannot forget another passion of his: Bridge. In Trinidad he would take any opportunity to play bridge, and was an active member of the San Fernando bridge club. When he eventually moved to Toronto, he maintained this interest, playing both with the bridge group at his condo, plus playing weekly bridge at the Swansea Town Hall. Life in Trinidad was great for Gordon and Junie, as he was surrounded by family and friends, and had many, many interests. However, he had lived life as a nomad, and so a move was in the cards again. Junie had worked and lived in Montreal in 1948-49 then again in 1952-56, and loved her time in Canada. Junie convinced Gordon that they should retire in Canada, and off they went to Toronto in 1986.
In Toronto and now retired, Gordon continued with his lifelong interests, primarily bridge and tennis.Both he and Junie started riding bikes around the city and going to horse racing as well. Like always, sport remained a key interest, and he acquired a passion for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. Gordon built a great life in Toronto, with many friends and family members. He and Junie augmented their life in Toronto with an annual trip to Miami, Trinidad and Barbados (to avoid the cold winters of course). And then there were the grandchildren. Each of the four kids had two kids of their own, so Gordon and Junie had a total of eight grandchildren. These included Christopher and Roger (Denise and Richard), Giselle and Dominique (Anita and Michael), William and Aidan (Desmond and Jeanne), Ava and Alana (Antoinette and Anthony). Gordon invested heavily in his grandchildren and built very personal relationships with each.

In his last few years, Karen played a significant role in everything Gordon did. Her engagement allowed him to live at home, independently, well into his 100 th year. And of course, as a nomad, he travelled a lot. And I mean a lot, all the way to the end. As an example, he spent Christmas 2022, when he was 98, in Barbados. Then spring 2023 was in Florida: Miami, Marco Island, and also Tampa! Gordon led a prolific, inspirational, kind, fun and nomadic life. He has impacted many and will be remembered for many years. It was a privilege to know him, and an even bigger privilege to be one of his children!