Shut family and friends of Gordon Lightfoot got here collectively for a small, non-public funeral on Monday held on the Orillia, Ont. church the place he was as soon as a choir boy.
A gaggle of roughly 50 individuals assembled inside St. Paul’s United Church for the almost two-hour ceremony that included a choir efficiency accompanied by an organ.
Beneath the nearly cloudless sunny sky, the local people went in regards to the day as another, with some doing yard work and some curious onlookers wandering previous the church to look at the exercise.
One neighbour arrange a garden chair exterior his home to see if Canadian rock royalty the likes of Joni Mitchell and Neil Younger would possibly pull up.
Relations carry the casket of singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot after a funeral service at St. Paul’s United Church, in his hometown of Orillia, Ont., Monday, Might 8, 2023. The legendary Canadian artist died Might 1, on the age of 84 from pure causes.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Thornhill
They didn’t appear to, nonetheless. A lot of the seen mourners seemed to be Lightfoot’s prolonged household, band mates and others who labored with him through the years.
After the ceremony completed, Lightfoot’s casket was loaded right into a hearse and left the church grounds as a small crowd of individuals gathered to look at the proceedings from throughout the road.
Lightfoot is to be laid to relaxation alongside his mother and father at St. Andrew’s and St. James’ Cemetery.
On Sunday, a public visitation was held at St. Paul’s United Church that drew greater than 2,400 individuals, in line with estimates from safety for the occasion.
Elsewhere, a e book of condolences is also signed at Toronto’s Massey Corridor, a venue the place Lightfoot ceaselessly carried out all through his profession.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
