Obituary of Eric Robert Gozna

Eric Robert Gozna died on Monday, August 9, 2021 at his home in St Andrews-by-the-Sea, NB, with his daughters by his side. He passed peacefully at the time and place of his choosing after many years living with metastatic prostate cancer. Eric enjoyed his last golden summer on the Bay of Fundy in the company of family and friends. His kind, curious and positive nature was a gift he gave consistently to those around him throughout his life. Eric was predeceased by his wife of 46 years, Mary Ellen Gozna (nee MacDonald), and his parents Dorothy (nee Rice) and Eric Gozna. He is survived by daughters Alison (Dan Brazeau), Cate (Jordan Willett), sister Avril (Stephen Brayton), and brothers-in-law Bruce MacDonald and Ross MacDonald (Shelley). He is also survived by his three beloved grandsons, Joseph Brazeau, William Brazeau, and Elias Willett, to whom he was "Papa". Eric will continue to be loved and deeply missed by his family, but we hold close his favourite line from J.K. Rowling: "to a well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure". Born on September 20, 1945 in Bridgetown, NS, Eric was blessed with an idyllic childhood. He spent summers in Sandy Cove, a fishing village on the Digby neck of Nova Scotia where his family ran a summer guest lodge, and winters in West Palm Beach, Florida. Eric met Ellen during medical school at Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS. They were determined to raise their family in the Maritimes and settled in Fredericton where Eric practiced orthopeadic surgery at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital from 1978-2003. In his retirement, Eric split his time between Fredericton and his soul home in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, where he pursued his passions of painting the coast and gunkholing around Passamaquoddy Bay aboard Gaviotta. Eric and his family are grateful for the exceptional care that he received from Dr. Ghadeer Anan, Dr. Anand Irrinki of Fredericton, and Dr. Julia Wildish of Saint John who provided the comfort of end-of-life care. Our family would also like to thank many thoughtful friends for bringing laughter, support and love into our home throughout the years. A ceremony in celebration of Eric’s life will occur at 10 AM -11 AM on Aug 20th, 2021 at Wesley United Church, 77 William St in St Andrews. Masks are mandatory in the church. The family would like to invite close friends to an outdoor gathering following the service at Eric’s home in St. Andrews, from 11 AM -12 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations in memoriam may be made on-line to Sail St Andrews NB youth sailing program (http://www.sailstandrews.org).