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Alexander Lindsay (Bill) Laxton. 1916 - 2011. Alexander Lindsay (Bill) Laxton passed away peacefully on November 17, 2011 at Peace Arch Hospital following a stroke. He was a resident of the Crescent Gardens retirement community in South Surrey. Bill was born May 28, 1916 in Sutton, Surrey, UK, and was raised in Guernsey, Channel Isles, where his father was vicar at St. Matthew’s Church, Cobo. He enlisted in the British Royal Marines in 1934, and was deployed at the outbreak of World War II. Among other medals and decorations, he was awarded the Military Cross for extraordinary valour during the Battle of Crete in 1941. Bill retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 23 years in the Royal Marines and moved his family to Montreal in 1957. He served the Canadian Government working in Canada’s arctic defense systems and lived in Montreal for over twenty years working in the financial sector. He ended his career as a stock broker with the Vancouver-based firm of Richardson Greenshields. He was very active in Toastmaster’s International, both in Montreal and the Vancouver area. As well, he was an avid chess player, amateur painter, and enthusiastic choir member, among other activities. Bill is survived by his wife, Marjorie Joy Laxton and his daughter Verian Farnsworth and son-in law Richard Floyd; his son Christopher Laxton and daughter-in-law Annie Olson; as well as his grandchildren: Sarah Laxton of Eugene, Oregon and Jonathan Laxton of Chicago, Illinois; Jennifer (Jenny) De Castris, Jessica Farnsworth, Jeremy Farnsworth, and Katie Floyd, all of Vancouver; and Sarah Floyd of Chilliwack. He was to become a great-grandfather in December: Jenny is expected to give birth to her first child next month.