BRIAN DAVID CORDINGLEY

With heavy hearts, we announce that Brian passed away on December 21, with his wife Carol at his side, at the age of 74. 

He is survived by his wife of 50 years Carol Cordingley, his children Chrissy Cordingley – Yurt (Huseyin), Keith Cordingley, Kenneth Cordingley (Katie); grandchildren Wybie and Mason Novak; Brian’s sister Jo-Anne Ball (Blair); and predeceased by his parents Les and Claire Cordingley.

Brian grew up in sunny St. James and had a love for the outdoors and sports. Summers were devoted to camping with his family at their seasonal campsite in Falcon Lake. He loved to fish and explore the trails. Both he and his sister Jo-Anne loved to swim and spent many days on the beach and in the water.

The Cordingley family always had an open door for anyone looking for a cup of coffee or a good chat, and Brian’s childhood was filled with people who loved him like he was their own brother, nephew, uncle, or son. Blood wasn’t a requirement to be family. Brian continued this tradition in his own life, making many people in his world feel like they were family to him whether they were kids he coached on the rink or friends of the family. To this day he still receives “Happy Birthday, Coach” messages on his phone from his old hockey days. Brian left a lifelong impression. Though sometimes that impression was simply, “Wow, that man really loves his ketchup.”

A man who never turned down a party in his younger years, he met the love of his life at an MTS work social event, they both happened to work there. Brian and Carol had a whirlwind of a romance and were married and pregnant with Chrissy soon after. Their early marriage was filled with memories of camping together, parties with loud music and dancing, random road trips with no destination in mind, or playing and watching sports together. Brian had a giggle and a set of dimples that always kept Carol charmed and by his side.

Brian had a long career with the telephone company as a field service technician and was adept at electrical work. When he retired, he turned to one of his other passions, driving. He drove school bus for King Transportation for several years and with all the stories he shared about his driving school kids, he never had a dull day.

Brian loved sports, especially hockey and was a coach with the St. Vital Vics with a dear friend Gerry for many years before moving to Dakota Community Centre to coach with another close friend Jack Novotny . His job at MTS gave him the opportunity to work on the telecoms at the stadium for Blue Bomber games where he could be on the sidelines and meet great athletes, coaches and famous owners. Brian played hockey, football and baseball until he suffered a knee injury, but always remained a great spectator. He loved hockey so much he joined an MTS recreation hockey team that could only get ice time at midnight, and he never missed a game.

His love of play and sport made his parenting a bit of an adventure. Brian connected with his children and grandchildren with play, sport and cinema. Chrissy naturally shared his love of movies and popcorn, and they would spend many afternoons at the movie theatre eating treats and either laughing at comedy or being grossed out at horror movies. Dad’s interpretation of movie ratings such as PG or R was unique to him, and Chrissy grew up with a healthy appreciation for dark humor that both delighted and mildly horrified her mother. The whole family would climb into the car to watch movies at the drive-in theatre on Portage Avenue.

When Keith was born, Brian learned he had a mini-me comedian with dimples that loved video games, just like him. Brian and Keith would bond for hours playing games, well mostly Brian played, and Keith watched. Kenneth was Brian’s athlete he could run, skate and hit a puck or a ball. Ken inherited Dad’s quick wit but put his own dry spin on humor where Brian had to pause to figure out if Ken was serious or pulling his leg. Dad always gave up the joke because he couldn’t stop his giggle. Ken also followed Dad’s footsteps into the trades and worked with Brian’s sister Jo-Anne’s in-laws in Edmonton for several years before returning to Winnipeg during the pandemic to be closer to family.

Brian, “Papa”, loved his grandchildren a lot. Wybie shared his deep love for music, especially Queen and other classic rock bands, some of their last days together Wybie would sing to Brian as he slept and play a playlist they made for him. Mason shared his love of sports as an avid basketball player and fan, occasionally he would join us at the movies too. Papa loved to buy them Christmas presents. He would make sure they opened them one at a time so he could see their happy reactions. He also made sure we all had our annual chocolate Easter bunny. When the kids and grandchildren started to get too old for fun gifts, Brian decided to turn his attention to Boo Boo. their cat. Amazon knows two things for sure: 1) Brian’s address and 2) Brian loved his cat.

Unfortunately, Brian developed diabetes in midlife which was manageable at first. The last few years resulted in several complications which took a toll on his ability to enjoy life and relationships. Our family respected his need for quiet, private time and tried to do the best to honour this stage of his life, while still having dimple-filled giggles together when he could.

The one gift we all received in the final stage of his illness this December was that for a window of time, his spirit returned to us for a bit of time. We were able to share a few small chuckles, and Brian was able to say I love you a couple of time. We saw a glimpse of the heart of the younger man we knew. Our family was able to share time with each other, reminisce on many memories we thought we had forgotten, and lay him to rest with peace and dignity. 

The family would love for you to share your memories and photos of Brian with us or on his tribute page. People have been sharing so many great moments he had out in the world with you all, and some are new to us. These thoughts and memories keep our hearts warm and our giggles going. 

We would love to say thank you to the teams at Victoria General Hospital, the ICMS at St. Boniface Hospital and the MICU at HSC, especially those involved in Brian’s care.

In Accordance with their wishes, cremation has taken place, and no formal service will be held. The family will hold a celebration gathering in the spring/summer of 2026.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Diabetes Canada would be greatly appreciated.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

1833 Portage Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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