We regret to advise of the death of Gilbert Thomas Howden on 14 January 2008 at the age of 88. Gil was born and raised in Vancouver, joining the Militia in his teens with the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles) before transferring to the Royal Canadian Engineers. He served six years overseas during WW II in England, France, Belgium and Germany. Constructing Bailey bridges and clearing minefields, he was proud to be liberating Holland when the war ended.

After the war, Gil joined the Post Office where he worked first as a letter carrier, then a railway mail clerk, then onto supervisory roles at the main post office and airport until his retirement in 1983 with 39 years of service. He was a lifelong member of the Royal Canadian Legion and a past Master Mason of Crossroads Lodge.

A celebration of Gil's life will be held at the Boal Chapel and Memorial Gardens, 1505 Lillooet Rd, North Vancouver at 2 p.m. Thursday, 24 January. In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation to the George Derby Care Society www.georgederbycentre.ca , or the Alzheimer's Society of British Columbia, www.alzheimerbc.org , would be gratefully received.^{khSep2016}