Gerald Swackhamer

During the eveninghours of July 18, 2020, Gerald SWACKHAMER in his 95th year, passed away peacefully in his sleep at Brampton Civic Hospital. He is sadly missed by his son Brent (Linda) and his grandchildren Kyle, Troy and Jacob and his many nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his wife Marie SWACKHAMER,brother Grenville SWACKHAMER and sister in law, Muriel SWACKHAMER

Gerald was born on January 31, 1926 and lived all his life in Brampton. Where his wife was the social butterfly, he was more the quiet and stoic individual. He would choose to sit back, assess the situation and then decide whether to offer his opinion.Once he gave you advice, he would sit back and then let you learn from the experiences, never pushing his opinions on you. He, like his wife came from a generation that was never afraid of hard work. No matter what the task, whether it be at his job or around the house, he would just set to getting it done. No noise, no fanfare, just an honest work ethic. He took pride in the home that he and his wife had built out in the country.

He worked for 40 years at Brampton Optical, which was a subsidiary of Imperial Optical in Toronto and was a proud member of the Brampton Legion. Upon retirement he and his wife Marie scoured the continent on numerous trips, first by plane and then by bus.

During the years he had many passions which ranged from raising pheasants to growing pumpkins to harness racing. Despite his passions, there was nothing more important to Gerry than family. In the early years he took pride in the accomplishments of his nieces and then later on he thoroughly enjoyed his grandchildren and reveled in their accomplishments.
There were many times, prior to his failing health where he would make the trek from Brampton to watch them as they engaged in their many sporting events. Once he discovered that they had a love for hotwheels cars, he would go from garage sale to garage sale attempting to secure more for them.

The most important thing to him was the love of his life-Marie. They were married for almost 70 years and he doted on her, just as much as she had doted on him. He always wanted the best for her. They had fun together.

The service will be broadcasted live and can be viewed through Ward Funeral Home Book of Memories on Saturday July 25, 2020 at 11:00am.

Please visit "Photos and Videos" to view.

In light of the recent COVID-19 social distancing regulations, this service is limited to 40 people. We apologize for any inconvenience but ask that you keep Gerry and his family in your thoughts.
Please feel welcome to leave a condolence for the family in the guestbook page.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada are welcomed.