Gordon Hawes

Gordon was born in Whitby on September 1, 1913.  He lived in Whitby all his life, attending Whitby Public School and graduating from Whitby High School at the age of 17.

Always a sports enthusiast as well as a proud Canadian, Gordon’s two deepest regrets in life were his inability to actively participate in sports and to join the military.  Gordon suffered from rheumatic fever as a child, which left him with a heart condition that restricted physical activity.  Not to be detered from involvement in sports, Gordon began coaching baseball and hockey.

Gordon was one of the founders of the Whitby Hockey Association in 1943-44 and was the manager of the Whitby Juvenile hockey team that won the Ontario Championship in 1944.  He became involved with the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, as a convener in the early 1950’s and then becoming an executive member in 1957.  From 1968 to 1970, Gordon was the President the Ontario Minor Hockey Association.

During his hockey career, Gordon helped organize referee clinics throughout Ontario as well as other centres in Quebec and the U.S. (Michigan and Ohio). One of Gordon’s major achievements was to help bring a mandatory helmet rule to minor hockey.  He was also responsible for booking all referees from Toronto to Kingston (about 6000 referees at all levels) and with his wife Jean, known as Mrs. Hockey, traveled to just about every arena in Ontario.

A lifetime member of the Kinsman Club, and chosen as Mr. Kinsmen in the 1950s, Gordon was one of the driving forces behind the Kinsmen Park and Pool.  He was known as a “doer” and when the need arose, he would mentor others to help get it done.  Gordon was always concerned with the well-being of children.

After the Second World War, Gordon was part of a Kinsmen Team from across Canada that spearheaded the “Milk for Britain Campaign”.  Gordon loved children and hockey was his passion. He lived by the motto: “NO MAN IS SO TALL AS WHEN HE STOOPS TO HELP A CHILD”.

Gordon passed away at the age of 81 on August 27, 1995.