Event Date : Wednesday, February 28, 1973
Event Type : Death

Description : A life-long resident of Bradford, Alexander W. Spence of 155 Barrie St. died in Wellesley Hospital, Toronto, on February 28. Mr. Spence, 72, owned and operated Spence Lumber on Bridge St. He served on the former Bradford School Board and on the Bradford Council for several years. He was active in the conservation association, served as a Past District Deputy Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge and was a member of the United Church. Funeral services were conducted Saturday, March 3 in the Lewis Funeral Home with Rev. Robert Chapman officiating. Interment was in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Surviving are Mr. Spence's wife, the former Mary Brady; one daughter, Mrs. Keith (Betty) Noble of Bradford; one sister, Mrs. Minnie Hammel of Bradford; one brother, Emerson of Delhi and three grandchildren, Douglas, Ronald and Barbara.Three brothers and one sister, William, Norman, Arthur and Emily are predeceased.

Event Date : Wednesday, January 23, 1974
Event Type : Death

Description : Funeral services were held for Seward Matthew Lee, January 26 in the chapel of the Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home in Bradford. Mr. Lee died at the York County Hospital, Newmarket, Wednesday, January 23. In his 84th year, Mr. Lee was the husband of Bertha Collins and children, John D. Lee of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Mrs. Thomas (Jean) Moulding of Denver, Colo., Mrs. Peter (Charlotte) Lauback of Woodland Hills, Calif., Samuel Lee of Bradford, Mrs. A. D. (Agnes) Palmer, Newcastle, N.H., Mrs. Robert (Edith) Stone of Rexdale, S. David Lee of Lakefield, Mrs. Thomas (Margaret) Evans of Bradford and Mrs. J. Antony (Barbara) Hines of Willowdale. Mr. Lee was a highland farmer, and owned a farm just north of Bradford. He was the only son of the late John Lee and Charlotte Hodgson. He was the brother of Mrs. R. Minnie Watt of Raymore, Sask., Mrs. J. E. Fraser (Luella) of Port Elgin, Mrs. J. Christine Hamilton, of Daytona Beach, Fla., and Mrs. D. Kenneth Jack (Henri) of Clarkson .Seward Lee is also survived by 26 grandchildren. Burial was held at the Anglican Cemetery, Coulson's Hill. A Masonic Lodge Service was also held for Mr. Lee Thursday, January 24.

Event Date : Monday, December 30, 1974
Event Type : Death

Description : At the T.L.C. Villa, Bradford, on Monday, December 30, 1974, Minnie Spence of Bradford, beloved wife of the late Archie Hammell, loving sister of the late William, Norman, Emily, Alex, Emmerson and Arthur Spence. Friends may call at the Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home, 30 Simcoe St., Bradford. Service in the Chapel Thursday at 2 p.m. Interment Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Event Date : Thursday, April 24, 1975
Event Type : Death

Description : Fred Cook, a man who for many years was a social and political influence in Bradford, died last Thursday in York County Hospital at 73. Mr. Cook was admitted to the hospital April 6 suffering from a heart attack. Funeral services were held in Trinity Anglican Church, Bradford, on Monday afternoon with the Rector, Rev. Jack House and Bishop Hunt, a lifelong friend of Mr. Cook, conducting the service. Hundreds of friends and associates gathered in the little church on Church St. that Fred Cook served so well. Mayor Joe Magani led a delegation of members of council and the town administrative staff. Many officials representing the various surrounding municipalities also attended the special funeral service.Reeve William Gibbins of Innisfil and Simcoe County Warden Edgar Currie and Reeve Orville Hughes of West Gwillimbury attended along with municipal, church and fraternal officials. Pallbearers included George Allison, Bradford Fire Chief Ted Gapp, Chief Constable John Dudgeon, Building Inspector Bert Magloughlen, Deputy Reeve Ken Wood and Ruston Folliott. Interment was in St. Paul's Cemetery, Coulson's Hill.During his 73 years, Fred Cook's life revolved around the town of his birth, Bradford.He was actively engaged in municipal politics and for more than 10 years served as the town's deputy reeve and representative on county council. In last year's election he decided to step down from the deputy reeve's chair. However, Mr. Cook did not leave the political scene and was successful in his bid to gain a council seat.Outside politics Fred Cook immersed himself in a number of community and social organizations. He was a lay reader in the Anglican Church from 1934 until his death and was involved in Christian education serving as Sunday School Superintendent for more than 45 years. In 1962 he received a citation from the Canadian Council of Churches' education department for his outstanding work. He was also a member of the Anglican Synod of the Diocese of Toronto. Mr. Cook was a member of the Simcoe Lodge #79 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. At the time of his death he had achieved the 32nd Degree of the brotherhood. In his service to that organization, Mr. Cook served as district deputy grand master of the A.F. and A.M.'s district C". Mr. Cook also served at a grand master of the Orange Lodge for Ontario West and was a faithful member of Centennial Lodge LOL 209. Until 1957 Mr. Cook operated an insurance business in Bradford. Fred Cook is survived by his wife Leone, one sister Reta (Mrs. T. Gardner) of Bradford and one brother John of Windsor. Bradford Mayor Joe Magani commented on Mr. Cook's death saying: "It would take me hours to talk about Fred Cook. He will be very much missed on council. To me he was a real man and always a real gentleman on council. I served with him on council for 18 years and he was a great worker for the public and for the town. He did everything he could to satisfy the ratepayers at all times. He did a good job in finance. If ever I got stuck for words I could always turn to him for help."The mayor added: "He was a very beautiful man. It will take a long time to find another one like him."

Event Date : Sunday, July 20, 1975
Event Type : Death

Description : Died at the Bestview Lodge, Newmarket, in her 99th year. Of Bradford, beloved wife of the late H. F. S. Gardner and dear mother of Tom and the late Ada, loving grandmother of John of Toronto and Donald of Simcoe. Service was held from the Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home, 30 Simcoe St., Bradford, on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Interment Newmarket Cemetery.

Event Date : Sunday, August 29, 1976
Event Type : Death

Description : Died at Scarborough General Hospital in her 50th year. Of Scarborough, wife of Harold; dear mother of Patricia (Mrs. Ken Sweeting) and Terry of Scarborough, Randy of Richmond Hill; Margaret Anne (Mrs. Hugh Kilpatrick), Newmarket and Penny of Scarborough and the late Debbie, Scarborough. Dear sister of Margaret (Mrs. Bill Ingram), Holland Landing, also survived by five grandchildren. Rested at Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home, 30 Simcoe St., Bradford. Service was in the chapel Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Interment Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Bradford.

Event Date : Friday, November 04, 1977
Event Type : Death

Description : Died peacefully in his sleep in his 81st year. Of Bradford, beloved husband of Julia Ambrus and dear father of John and William of R.R. 4, Bradford, and Gisi (Mrs. Paul Borcsok) of Mississauga. Also survived by 12 grandsons and 3 granddaughters. Rested at Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home, 30 Simcoe St., Bradford. Funeral mass was held at Holy Martyrs of Japan Church, Bradford, on Monday at 10 a.m. Interment Holy Martyrs Cemetery.

Event Date : Saturday, January 07, 1978
Event Type : Death

Description : Died at York County Hospital, Newmarket. Eldest daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Webb, dear sister of George, Agatha (Mrs. L. Walker), Mary (Mrs. H. Hillary) and the late James and Dan Webb. Funeral service was held in Trinity Anglican Church, Bradford, on Jan. 9, 1978.

Event Date : Thursday, August 17, 1978
Event Type : Death

Description : One of Bradford's most active and well known women, Dorothy "Dode" Marks died August 17 in York County Hospital in Newmarket. She was 68. Mrs. Marks was born in the home she lived in most of her life the daughter of Walter Reeves, a Bradford police officer for 20 years, and Sadie Saint. She was educated in Bradford attending both Bradford Public School and Bradford High School after which she worked for a short time in the Stein Furniture Factory which stood on the property now occupied by Toby's Restaurant. In 1930 she married Harvey Marks and spent the next few years raising three children Noreen (Hodgson), Beverley (Sanders), and Bill. She also had seven grandchildren and one great-grandson. An active woman Mrs. Marks was a member of the Women's Institute and also enjoyed bowling tennis badminton and baseball. She worked off and on for The Witness for 25 years often working well into the night organizing subscriptions. A tireless worker she was never heard to complain according to co-workers. Mrs. Marks was a member of the community centre board from its inception in 1956 until 1974 running for no wage the concession booth. According to former board member and co-worker Joe Magani, "Dode and Ted Dow ran that thing all year and the only compensation they got was a steak dinner once a year. For almost 20 years they kept that arena out of the red and that's a fact. Our expenses for running the arena were paid by the proceeds of that booth." A descendant of Bradford's pioneer families Mrs. Marks had a thorough knowledge of the history of the area and provided The Witness with many of the historical photos used in the Yesterdays column. Many of those same photos were used in the Bradford Centennial Book of 1957. Funeral service was held Saturday August 19 in the chapel Lathangue & Skwarchuk Funeral Home. Pallbearers were James Church, Jack Church, Gordon Church, Robert Watson, Kenneth Saint, and Bill Enwright. Burial took place at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Event Date : Friday, December 05, 1980
Event Type : Death

Description : Former West Gwillimbury councillor and life-long township farmer Robert Henry Westlake died December 5. He was 69. Mr. Westlake also served as the township tile drain inspector until about two years ago. He leaves a wife, Emlyn Turton; children Ken of Shelburne; Kathryn (Mrs. Steve Varga) of Bradford; Doug of Red Deer, Alberta; Betty (Mrs. Carman Buttars) of Cambridge; Lawrence of Red Deer, Alberta; and Diane (Mrs. Ross Caldwell) of Agincourt. Mr. Westlake also leaves seven grandchildren, three sisters: Ethel (Mrs. Frank Hurd) of Caledon East; Lillian (Mrs. Walt Edney) and Ruth (Mrs. C. Kneeshaw), both of Bradford; and brother Ernie of Toronto. He is predeceased by brother Roy. Born in Bradford, Mr. Westlake was the son of Henry Westlake and Annie Morrison. He married his wife in Kleinburg February 20, 1942. He was a member of the Scotch Settlement Presbyterian Church. A funeral service was held at the Lathangue and Skwarchuk Funeral Home December 9. Rev. G. M. McFarlane performed the service, with interment following at Emmanuel United Church Cemetery in Bond Head. Pallbearers were sons Ken, Doug, and Lawrence, along with sons-in-law Steve Varga, Carman Buttars, and Ross Caldwell.Relatives and friends attended from Palmerston, London, Toronto, Red Deer, Alberta, Renfrew, Cobourg, and Strathroy.