Gordon Cornelius Boutilier

Gordon Cornelius Boutilier, 78, passed away December 24, 2025 peacefully at home. He was better known as Neil to most, Boots to friends and family, and Grumpa to his grandkids. He was born April 27, 1947 in Gardiner Mines, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the son of Alexander “Bear” Boutilier and Rita Evangeline “Van” Boutilier (Farrow). Neil joined the Canadian Armed Forces at the age of seventeen, which took a huge amount of bravery as he had never been outside of Cape Breton before this. He retired a Warrant Officer after serving in the Air Force for over thirty years as an Avionics Technician. Being in the military allowed him to see parts of the world he never thought he would see including parts of Europe and many parts of Canada and the United States. Neil was very proud that he was able to support his family well and provide his children experiences that he had not had as a child. Neil is survived by his wife of fifty years, Stephanie, who was the love of his life. Neil enjoyed telling stories of the early days, how they met on base in North Bay, Ontario, him a young man who had just bought himself a brand-new Trans Am, white with racing stripes, and Stephanie, the girl who caught his eye that he knew pretty quickly he would marry one day. Neil is also survived by his four children, Jenn Spencer (Mitchell), David Boutilier, Elizabeth Burns (Jason), and Steven Boutilier (Suzy), ten grandchildren Josh, Jo, Jorja, Madelyn, Ryan, Alexander, Dylan, Isaac, Jacob, and Anna, and his great granddaughter, Isabella. Neil was extremely proud of his children and grandchildren and all of their accomplishments and made sure each of them knew that, especially as he got older. Neil is survived by his sisters Marjorie Doyle (Aubrey) and Carol-ann MacPherson (Donnie), brothers Keith Boutilier (Crystal) and Ronnie Boutilier (Donna), and many nieces and nephews. Neil was predeceased by his parents and sister Sharon Marchand (Roy). Neil and Stephanie raised four children together and when their children were younger, Neil was very involved in coaching their hockey, soccer and baseball teams. If he wasn’t coaching, you could find him in the bleachers cheering on any combination of his kids in swimming, figure skating, lacrosse and many other sports. Neil’s children have fond memories of him making time to take them fishing, canoeing, camping and on other adventures. Neil without question was one of the brightest and most worldly people his family knew. He loved sharing fun facts or challenging his grandkids with a question. If he didn’t have the answer, he asked his trusted “Google Nest”. He was a fan of almost everything written by Stephen King, enjoyed watching hockey, and in his later years humoured his wife Stephanie by watching her favourite TV show, “Blue Bloods” with her. Almost every day you could find Neil at the Superstore looking for pink 50% off stickers, buying stuff he didn’t know he needed. Anyone who really knew Neil, knew that he appeared tough on the outside but was really a softie on the inside, especially in his later years. Neil will be greatly missed by his family. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Gordon Cornelius Boutilier

April 27, 1947 - December 24, 2025