Obituary of Floyd Murray Skilliter

With great sorrow, the family of WO Floyd Murray Skilliter (Retired, RCAF), announces his passing on February 22nd, 2024, following, in his own words, a “just wonderful” stay at Fredericton’s Hospice House.

 

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Theresa (née Mazerolle); three daughters, Kimberly (Mark Blakely) of Waasis, Deborah (Michel Sarrouy) of Dartmouth, NS, and Catherine (Simon Haynes), of Calgary; granddaughters Sarah (Nathan Alexander) and Lauren Blakely of Waasis; sister, Rose Towle of Hanna, AB, and many beloved nieces and nephews. Floyd was predeceased by his parents, John and Mary (née Lopawchuk) Skilliter; brothers Philip, Reuben, William, Robert, James, and Albert, and sisters Dorothy, Margaret, and Alice.

 

Floyd was born on March 26th, 1943, in Big River, Saskatchewan, a place that he always carried in his heart and identified as home. In the days of The Original Six in the NHL, he played Junior A hockey with the Prince Albert Mintos, the farm team for the New York Rangers. After joining the RCAF in 1962, he continued to play, and was a member of CFB Chatham’s Golden Hawks when they won the National Armed Forces Championship. He also served the military community as a volunteer in many capacities. For years, he spent evenings and weekends as an electronics repairman. He was always involved with his daughters’ activities and, despite his fear of water, would judge rowing events, and control the music at synchronized swimming competitions. He stood for hours with a garden hose on many frigid nights so that his girls could have an outdoor rink. He loved to garden and to install beautiful holiday decorations. At Easter, he was excited to show them the bunny’s footprints in the yard. As an avionics technician, he was stationed in CFB Chatham, NB; CFB Baden-Soellingen and NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen, Germany; on assignment to develop the CP-140 Aurora with Lockheed-Martin in Burbank, California, and CFB Greenwood, NS. Following his retirement from the military, he worked for many years as a Senior Planner with Industrial Marine Products (IMP) in Hammond Plains, N.S.

 

When friends and family learned of his diagnosis, they reached out to share memories. In his final days, Floyd’s family had the great privilege of reading these messages to him. People wrote about his acts of kindness and generosity, and his quirky sense of humour. He was proud of his daughters and granddaughters and never missed a chance to talk about them. As the ambulance attendants were taking him to hospice, he asked that they grab his “Dalhousie Grandfather” hat on the way out. He was looking forward to Lauren’s graduation from UNB in May. He taught his girls not only all the practical skills they would need in life- “if your car breaks down, it’s probably the hemalator, right next to the kaboobelator”-but also to believe in themselves and to expect the very best from their own life partners.

 

As per Floyd’s wishes, there will be no visitation or funeral service. Cremation has taken place, and interment will be in the Field of Honour at Oromocto’s Pioneer Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations to Fredericton’s Hospice House, a truly magical place filled with the best people on Earth, would be appreciated by the family.