Obituary of Ralph Knott

BIOGRAPHY KNOTT ~ Ralph Edwin Knott passed away peacefully at his home in Turtleford, Saskatchewan on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at the age of 88 years. Ralph will be sadly missed by his sister Myrtle May Street (100 years old) of Duncan, BC; nephews and their families: Bob Knott of Peoria, Illinois, Ted, Gordy and Doug Knott of Lake Cowichan, BC, Ken Street of Victoria, BC, Donald Street of Lake Cowichan, BC, David Street of Vancouver, BC as well as numerous other relatives. The memorial service was conducted from the Livelong Community Hall, Livelong, Saskatchewan on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Dan Gies officiating. The eulogy was read by Bill Bannerman. A tribute on behalf of the family was read by Ken Street. The hymns sung were "Rock Of Ages", "Will Your Anchor Hold" and "Amazing Grace" accompanied on the organ by Judy Gies. The interment was held in the Livelong Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Turtleford, Saskatchewan administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY Ralph was born June 1st, 1923 in Craik, Saskatchewan. In 1931, the family moved to a farm in the Livelong area. He attended Patchgrove and Livelong schools. He assisted his father with the farming, and also ran a saw mill for a number of years. In 1972, after his parents had both passed away, he sold the farm and set up residence in Livelong. He eventually took a course in plumbing and for many years was kept very busy in the surrounding areas, and especially in the new developments that were springing up around Turtle Lake. In 1979, he along with Art Jorgenson and Clayton Tollefson, purchased what is now known as Evergreen Acres at Turtle Lake, and for years to come, the three of them - who had formed a company called RAC - could be found up there nearly everyday of the week clearing lots and constructing cabins. He thoroughly enjoyed watching this raw piece of land become a bustling lakeside community, complete with running water and sewer, a rarity at the lake at that time. Ralph had a large circle of friends, and was a jack of all trades. If you had a problem, chances were that Ralph would have the solution. He was also a very sociable person. There was nothing he enjoyed more than to host an evening of cards around his poker table, or to simply sit and have a good visit. And we will always remember his open house on his birthdays, where he always served his hot curried chicken - with emphasis on the hot. Pity the person who was unaware of this potent dish! Over the years he insisted he had cut the spices down by at least half, but none of us believed him. Ralph enjoyed cooking in general, and was indeed a very good cook - and no one enjoyed the results more than he did himself. Eventually his health forced him to sell his home and move into River Valley Lodge at Turtleford where he was well cared for, and where he lived out his years in contentment. I would like to thank the family for inviting me to say these few words. TRIBUTE Good afternoon. My name is Ken Street and Ralph was my uncle. Ralph Knott to everyone here today was simply Uncle Ralph to his 7 nephews, 6 of whom are here today along with second cousin Jim Lambie. We would have first encountered him on Grampa John and Velura's farm some 65-70 years ago when our parents, his siblings, Frank, Wally and sister Myrtle, came to visit their parents. Uncle Ralph was already in his twenties then, and at well over 6 ft tall, must have looked like a gentle giant to us kids. Quickly, he had us on the back of something with four legs walking around the barnyard or on a wagon or off swimming or fishing or getting ice for making ice cream. Understandably, Grampa out in the fields rarely had much free time for his grandkids but Gramma had us fetching chicken eggs when those screaming geese weren't chasing us round and round the house while we screamed for help. Yes, all these daily happenings were common events to everyone here today. But to us city or big town kids we found the Prairies, your "world", Uncle Ralph's world....full of adventure and risk and danger and real-life boys-type fun. Sadly perhaps, these visits were short and infrequent as parents hurried home to jobs. Bobby Knott, Frank's son and second cousin Jim Lambie, lived in Peoria Illinois, some 2500 kms away. The 3 Street boys, Ken, Don and Dave from Myrtle lived in Ottawa and later in Vancouver. Wally's 3 sons, Ted, Gord and Doug, all here today, have always lived in Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island. Despite the great distances, we continued to cherish our Knott family bonds. Hence with a multitude of happy memories and sadness in our hearts, we join with you to remember and to reminisce those 88 years lived by Ralph Knott. As we all grew up, and in the eyes of Uncle Ralph, became men at age 10 or so, some of us have memories of pretty exciting adventures. Don at age 9 had to drive the truck while picking up fence posts with Uncle Ralph.... talk about building his confidence. Gordy visited when he was 15 and soon was out driving everything that had wheels and even one without, a stonebolt while piling on hay and off loading it at the barn. Talk about needing seat belts. A stonebolt ! Was Uncle Ralph trying to get even for some trick that had been played on him? I think any instruction was simply handing over the reins or keys and pointing in the direction of intended travel. His own driving skills were legendary though as Jim was with him once when he had to renew his driver's licence. To do so, after a phone call, he pulled up in front of the issuing office, beeped the horn, and someone came running out with the new licence in hand. And Uncle Ralph wasn't even a politician. Jim tried the same trick back in Peoria but it didn't work. Uncle Ralph loved to chew tobacco but funny enough he never offered us any. Suspicious we say.....what was in that stuff anyway. And naturally, being a Knott, he knew all about fashion. Dave recalls during one visit when Gramma asked him to get dressed for a formal outing, he came down stairs wearing a pair of brand new engineers coveralls. Then came a period in our lives when we were all working, paying mortgages and trying to keep our kids alive and healthy. Uncle Ralph received many postcards, Christmas cards, photos and letters but not many visits. However, he made up for it by travelling himself to the West Coast to spend time with Wally and sister Myrtle. So we were able to renew jokes and pokes but it was nowhere near as much fun as when we were kids visiting his farm. In the last 15 or so years, we began to pay him visits more often as adults and he hosted us all like royalty, Picking us up at airports if necessary, driving us everywhere to meet everyone, out to revisit the old farm, play golf on his new par 3 golf course and even tried to sell us lots in Evergreen Acres for $5000. Being shrewd city business people, we couldn't see the value in such an investment ! At Ralph's 80th party, Jim came close to buying his cabin which would have been nice for us all if Jim gave us family vacation rights. Bobby in Peoria Illinois probably felt a little isolated from the rest of his cousins as his dad Frank had been killed in the 2nd WW when Bob was about 1 year old. His mom Theresa never remarried and travel west must have been difficult and infrequent. About 20 years ago, there was a big Knott family get together on Vancouver Island and apparently Ralph alone persuaded Bobby and his wife to come to it in order to ensure that they both got to better know their relatives. Uncle Ralph....never let family values get too far out of sight. So when his sister Myrtle at age 93 walked into his house (thanks to Dave and Ane) on his 80th birthday, his jaw dropped almost to the floor. But hey, she's a Knott and loves to party like them all; she is still going strong today at 101 years old. Its impossible to remember Uncle Ralph without the smells of his cooking creeping in. Never mind Dinah, his song was "someone's in the kitchen with Ralph" because he was there alot. From his mouth watering baking to his ultra-hot curried chicken to his pork dishes for 5 days in row, he dazzled us all but god forbid if we were late for supper! Perhaps, just perhaps, that's why he never married----he didn't want to have to give up his own cooking. When Uncle Ralph was 24 years old, a fellow called W O Mitchell wrote in 1947 an acclaimed book on his own life as a boy growing up in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, just down the road from here. He called it "Who Has Seen the Wind" and it was beautifully highlighted in the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver BC by a young aerialist/acrobatist from the Cirque de Soleil in Montreal who soared above video-produced waving wheat fields. Donald Sutherland read some lines from the book. I'm sure we saw it and remember it for its spell binding images of a boy on the Canadian Prairies. I would like to leave everyone with the thought that the soaring boy/young man is also symbolic of the spirit of Ralph Edwin Knott as he too grew up and enchanted his nephews and his many friends throughout all of his life. And so for myself, Don and Dave, Ted, Gordy and Doug, Bob and Jim, our much loved Uncle Ralph will always be soaring high above the wheat fields in our memories of him. His tombstone, to be placed beside John and Velura in Livelong, will read " A Loving Son, Cherished Brother, Uncle and Friend " May god bless all who knew him. Myrtle sends her love. Ken Donations in memory of Ralph may be made to the charity of the donors choice.