A lawyer from Steinbach has very good memories of Judge Gordon Barkman who passed away last week.

Judge Gordon BarkmanJustice Barkman served on the County Court of Manitoba from 1972 to 1984 at which time he was appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench where he served until his retirement in 2001.

Marcel Jodoin of Smith, Neufeld, Jodoin says the most notable thing about Justice Barkman was that he was always fair.

"I had the pleasure of appearing before Justice Barkman on a number of occasions, firstly as a judge of the County Court and then as a Queen's Bench Justice. Justice Barkman presided over some significant civil litigation trials that I did. Whenever I was advised that Justice Barkman would be the judge presiding over a hearing on a particular day, there was always this sense of competence I immediately had, that my clients would believe, regardless of the outcome, that they had received a fair hearing."

Jodoin adds that Justice Barkman was always well-prepared for a hearing. Furthermore,

"In a reserved manner, (he) would control his courtroom on the one hand and yet do so with a high degree of patience. Mr. Justice Barkman was always polite to court staff in my presence, he was polite to legal counsel and the parties to the litigation. He was an exceptional Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench and I was always proud to remind my colleagues that he was from Steinbach."

Justice Barkman passed away last week at the age of 92. The funeral service took place Tuesday (this) morning at St. Paul's Lutheran Church.