Farewell to a legend: Fans attend visitation of Gordon Lightfoot in Orillia, Ont.

Music lovers arrived in the City of Orillia, Ont., to bid farewell and pay tribute to legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot Sunday at his childhood church.

Fans lined up early to get the opportunity to enter St. Paul's United Church and pass by the closed casket of "Orillia's favourite son."

"He [Lightfoot] is the one that wanted it to be here, in this church that he grew up in," said St. Paul's choir director Blair Bailey.

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Lightfoot passed away in a Toronto hospital on Monday of natural causes at age 84, and tributes have been pouring in from around the world since.

The folk musician was born in Orillia in 1938 and spent much of his childhood in the small city north of Toronto, singing at St. Paul's church as a young choir boy and taking lessons from the church organist.

"Quite a number of our choir members here are senior members in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s, and they remember seeing Gordon here when he was a young fella, and even into his teens," noted Katrina Hunt, St. Paul's facilities administrator.Gordon Lightfoot sang in the choir at St. Paul's United Church in Orillia, Ont., as a boy and teenager. (Supplied)

Despite his international successes, the Canadian troubadour never forgot his roots, often returning home to perform at benefit concerts for the local hospital and opera house and making countless appearances at the Mariposa Folk Festival.

Some of his most famous songs, including "If You Could Read My Mind," "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," and "Sundown," were performed at the festival.

"On stage at Mariposa with the sun setting on Tudhope Park is magic, always has been, always will be," Lightfoot said after being inducted into the Mariposa Hall of Fame in 2022.

He often spoke about the importance of his hometown and the impact small-town living had on his music.The City of Orillia pays tribute to Gordon Lightfoot on May 2, 2023. (CTV News/Ian Duffy)Since his passing, fans have placed flowers and messages at the foot of two monuments, his bronze bust in front of the Orillia Opera House, and the Lightfoot statue at Tudhope Park.Flowers and messages are placed at the foot of Gordon Lightfoot's statue at Tudhope Park in Orillia, Ont., on Sun., May 7, 2023. (CTV News/Christian D'Avino)

Flowers and notes are placed at the foot of the Gordon Lightfoot statue at Tudhope Park in Orillia, Ont., on Sun., May 7, 2023. (CTV News/Christian D'Avino)The musician left an indelible mark on Canadian culture and in the hearts of many, including those in his hometown who knew Lightfoot as a soft-spoken, generous man with an infectious laugh.Flower adorn the foot of the Gordon Lightfoot bust outside the Orillia Opera House in Orillia, Ont., on Sun., May 7, 2023. (CTV News/Christian D'Avino)The visitation runs from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, with organizers planning to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to create one last memory with a friend and idol before he is laid to rest alongside his parents at Saint Andrew's-Saint James' Cemetery on Coldwater Road.

A private service for his family will be held at a later date.