Gary Bienvenue

It is with great sadness the family of Gary "Slug" Bienvenue announce his passing on October 7, 2015.

He will be sadly missed by family and friends. His battle with cancer started in 2005 and he appreciated the kind and loving care he received from Thunder Bay Regional.

Gary was born and raised in Thunder Bay and after attending local schools he began working at Canada Car/Bombardier at the age of 19 where he held various positions over forty years.

He was often called the Wayne Gretzky of stores and had fun speaking at the company Quarter Century Club. Gary was an avid photographer and performed hundreds of weddings in the area and shooting generations of family members.

He also enjoyed collecting buttons, pins and sports cards where he bartered with an extensive amount of people over the years. He was a devoted animal lover and loved his days of collecting baseballs with Duffy.

Everyone loved watching Gary roller skate and he could be seen several times a week at Saints/Wheelies. He excelled at couples and trick skating. Gary was a shy and soft spoken individual. He expressed himself through his talents but was quite knowledgeable on many subjects if you could actually get him to speak.

Gary was predeceased by his parents Arthur and Evelyn Bienvenue, siblings Louis Bienvenue and Yvonne MacDonald and niece Diana Aiken. Gary is survived by his daughter Brandy (Mark) Coulson, grandchildren Brianna (Jesse), Marcus, and Mackenna, great grandchild Lincoln, all of Atikokan, sister Sherry (Ian) Bienvenue, sister in law Helen "Rusty" Trepanier both of Thunder Bay, brother Dennis (Audrey) Bienvenue of Stevens Point Wisconsin and his faithful feline companion Cleo aka "Sparks".

As per Gary's wishes there will be no service but donations would be appreciated to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Thunder Bay Humane Society.