James GRATTON

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GRATTON: James Arthur Gratton fell asleep in death September 5, 2018 in Brandon. In his last days he was surrounded and attended to by his wife and three children, to the end. Left to grieve are his wife Cora, daughter Kara Gratton (Chase), daughter Evonne Halliday (Mark) and son James Cornell (Erin) Gratton. Also surviving are five grandchildren: Tim, Hanna, Oliver, Lucianna and Celia. Jim was predeceased by his sister Barbara and brother Ricky (Wayne). Jim was born in Brandon on September 14, 1947 and attended McLaren, George Fitton elementary schools and Harrison high school. Jim married his pen pal/sweetheart, Cora, on August 17, 1968 and they reached their 50th anniversary this year. Jim was employed at Federal Pioneer Electric and later Brandon Manufacturing for 20 1/2 years. When Brandon Manufacturing closed, he was employed at the Brandon Sun for The Globe & Mail as mailing room foreman for 22 years. He worked there until his retirement. Jim was always a good provider and subsidized his income with part-time work most of his life. Quite often he would barely be home long enough for a meal before he would scramble out the door to another job. In his younger years, Jim participated in co-worker sports including hockey and baseball. His favourite pastime was fishing with his buddy, Ted. Unfortunately, during the last few years, Jim’s knees wouldn’t take him down a rocky river bank to where he wanted to go. Jim took pleasure in simple things his kids, his cats and small economical cars. When life began to slow down, Jim and Cora enjoyed exploring country roads they had never driven before taking pictures and getting lost sometimes. Then Cora would say, “You know, every road leads to home eventually.” We want to express our gratitude to the dedicated and compassionate staff in the Palliative Care unit who not only dispensed medication, but also tears and hugs on our behalf. A private family graveside service was held at the Rivers Cemetery. Donations in memory of Jim may be made to Ronald McDonald House Charities, 566 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3A 0G7 or to the Canadian Cancer Society, 415-1st Street, Brandon, MB, R7A 2W8. We’ll miss you.Messages of condolence may be placed at www.brockiedonovan.com

As published in Brandon Sun on Oct 06, 2018