Gilbert Culloden Tassie was born to a merchant family in Dresden, Ontario in 1883. He came west to Calgary in 1908 and was engaged by William Pearce in surveys for irrigation works. He was articled to Mr. Pearce in 1910 and was commissioned as a land surveyor in 1913. He obtained his Dominion Land Surveyor certification in 1917. After serving in France in 1918, he went to Vancouver and obtained a position with the B.C. Dept. of Public Works as Assistant District Engineer at Golden, working on the Golden to Field highway through Kicking Horse Canyon. He was registered as a professional engineer in 1920. In 1923, he married Adolphina Thornton Pearce, daughter of William Pearce. In 1925, he was transferred to Vernon as Assistant District Engineer and remained in that position until 1929 when he resigned to enter private practice as a consulting engineer and surveyor. In 1935, he was appointed general manager of the Vernon Irrigation District, remaining in that position until 1948. That year he resigned as manager in order to establish an engineering and surveying practice in Vernon which he maintained until 1968. During this time his son Peter was associated with him professionally. Gilbert and his firm surveyed many of the subdivisions developed in this period of rapid expansion in the Okanagan. He sold the business in 1968 and retired while still maintaining his connections to Rotary Club, Canadian Power Squadron, and the North Okanagan Naturalists. He died in 1973 just after his ninetieth birthday, leaving two sons..