Obituary of Robert Fleming

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Robert "Henry" Fleming on April 11, 2010, at the age of 73 years. Henry passed away at the University of Alberta Hospital with his loving family by his side. A Memorial Service was conducted from the Stockade Convention Centre, Lloydminster Saskatchewan, on Thursday, April 15, 2010. The eulogy for Robert "Henry" Fleming, was presented by son-in-law, Harvey Neufeld. Henry was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan to Joseph and Emma Fleming on April 23, 1936. His love of farming likely took root very early in his life as when he came home from the hospital, to the Kinistino area, he had to live in the grainery since the farmstead house was not yet built. Henry completed his grade eight education, but then his mom felt it was time to work. From that day on, work is what he did. Henry lived by the motto "an honest day's work for an honest day's pay". One of his earliest ventures was picking saskatoons in a 3 gallon milk pail and then taking them to Kinistino to sell for $1. Henry continued to like to pick berries throughout his life and looked for them whenever he went out to check his crops. Family members were always willing to help him pick as they thought it would be a relaxing task. However, as with everything Henry did, he did it intensely and with passion. He wanted to make sure no berries were missed. Last summer, Linda remembers going out with him and while he was picking rapidly with both hands he was instructing her where to find the best berries. "There's a good patch there Linda, and some over there, and get the ones from that branch." Henry began his construction career working for the Department of Highways building roads in Saskatchewan, and then various construction companies in Alberta and BC. During this time, he gained experience working with all types of heavy equipment. While working for Arnett and Burgess in the pipeline industry around Lloydminster, he decided to venture out on his own. He and his brother Bill started out with two rotary ploughs. Henry wanted to take advantage of what he felt would be a lot of potential work in the Lloydminster area. Henry moved to the Lloydminster area in 1965, with his first wife, Jo Anne, and their 3 children, Ken, Carol and Kelly. In 1970, Henry married Donna and had 3 more children, Terry, Lisa and Linda. Donna and Henry raised all of the children on their farm 12 miles south of Lloydminster. Henry received most of his education in the school of hard knocks. Utilizing his amazing work ethic and intelligence he built a successful business in the oil patch. Henry proved he was as tough and shrewd as anyone! His success in the oil patch allowed him to return to his first love, farming. He built a farming operation starting with two quarters in the early 1970s. Over the years, Henry expanded his farm and has been farming with two of his sons, Terry and Kelly for about 30 years. Kelly and Terry are definitely going to miss his guidance; however, there should be less equipment repair to deal with. Since Henry lost his right eye, his depth perception has been somewhat lacking. Henry was confident that the boys will continue to successfully manage the farm. Although Henry returned to farming he continued in the construction business. At times Henry had up to 80 employees and undoubtedly they would have many interesting stories to tell. Wilf, his mechanic and shop foreman, recalled an occasion when he first started working for Henry. They went out to make a repair on a piece of machinery. Henry was the first to crawl under the machine. Wilf, thinking that the Boss wouldn't want to get dirty, recalls saying to another employee "watch, this won't last long". He was wrong. Henry wouldn't expect anyone else to do something he wouldn't do himself. Henry's work ethic was something few people could match, but he did feel that everyone should try. Kathy, his secretary of 30 years, remembers that every time she would ask for vacation days he would say "aren't the weekends enough?" Perhaps if she had asked for time off to go to Los Vegas, it would not have been an issue. All who knew him were amazed with Henry's capacity to retain information. He knew when and where he bought each piece of equipment, along with their serial numbers, when the repairs were made, and for the most part, where each piece was working. A few years ago one of Henry's cats was stolen from a job site. He contacted the RCMP and continued to pester them to see if they had located it. Being in a hurry he failed to explain to them that he was looking for a piece of equipment, not a feline. Eventually, an officer called and spoke to Donna. He was likely tired of the harassment and informed her that they had found an orange cat dead in the ditch. Donna set the officer straight and advised him that the cat was yellow and not the family pet. Henry rarely missed a Ritchie Brothers' Auctioneers sale in Edmonton. Even if Donna told him he didn't need any more equipment, if Henry thought it was a bargain it would somehow appear in the yard. Every once in a while, Henry would sell some equipment, but it would fairly quickly be replaced. We have heard many stories of people who were intimidated by Henry and his gruff exterior. However, behind this was a soft, kind-hearted man. Al Alm, one of Henry's first business associates in the Lloydminster area, described Henry as "a generous man of serious proportions". Henry was not a man concerned with appearances. Suits were for weddings and funerals. Work clothes with suspenders completed his wardrobe. He was direct and honest. He was generous, but didn't expect to be praised for it. Family was also important to Henry. He was a busy man, not much for sitting and visiting, but we all knew that he was happy just to have family around him. The grandchildren will miss coming in to find Grandpa in "his chair". Once Donna became sick, he would have taken her anywhere in the world to receive treatment. His farming and construction could wait if he had to take Donna to Edmonton for treatments or appointments Both Donna and Henry strove to instil a strong work ethic in their children. He would seldom reveal to his children how proud he was of them, but could often be heard telling others. Family gatherings were numerous and centred around a great meal. Not long ago he told Linda, "I don't know why you can't get a man when you can cook like that!" Henry always praised the cooks. Henry's oldest son, Ken, recently came back to Lloydminster and Henry was proud to have his three sons all working closely with him. Henry would be pleased to know that his family have been able to come together to celebrate his life. He is survived by his loving wife of 39 years, Donna; son, Ken Fleming; daughter, Carol and her husband Harvey Neufeld; son Kelly Fleming; son, Terry and his wife Rachelle Fleming, daughter, Lisa and her husband Manny Fuoco, and daughter, Linda Fleming; granddaughter, Megan and her husband Adrian Dirk; granddaughters, Erin Fleming, Janelle Clark, Renee and Claire Neufeld, and grandsons, Cole and Zach Fleming; two great-grandchildren, Karson and Makena Dirk; and brother, Bill and his wife Marion Fleming and their family. Over the years, Henry was also involved in many other activities. For several years, he sponsored Bob Beggs' chuckwagon. His children have fond memories of following the chuckwagon circuit, particularly parking the motorhome on the grounds for the 10 days of the Calgary Stampede. He was also involved with local sports, sponsoring Terry's hockey team and coaching his ball team. Since the late 70's Henry was an Oiler's season ticket holder. Those whoever attended a game or ever sat in the same section as him would have observed a fierce and vocal fan. Henry's son-in-law, Manny, attended a game with him last year when the Oilers were being demolished by Buffalo. Throughout the game Henry and a Buffalo fan seated nearby were bantering back and forth. Manny had difficulty enjoying himself as he expected a fight to break out at any minute. It wasn't until the third period that Henry informed Manny that Henry knew the fan and was friends with his family. Things were much the same at home when the Oilers were on tv. It was usually a good idea to keep the younger grandchildren out of the room as Henry never hesitated to express himself freely. Having said that he did tolerate having a Maple Leaf's fan in the house, although that was likely only because the Leafs usually played even worse than the Oilers. Henry also loved playing cards, whether it was a Sunday crib tournament with Donna or playing blackjack. Henry could often be found sitting at the dining room table playing solitaire to distract himself from a tense hockey game, or to pass time when he couldn't sleep. He was known to often sleep in his lazy-boy, as according to him , "There is no room in the bed because it is full of Mom's cats." If he ever took a day to actually sleep in and it was brought to his attention, he would be quick to deny what he would think might be seen as laziness. Henry would have some reply like, "No, I was up at 5". His family all knew he may have been up at 5, but only momentarily to check the thermometer. Henry lived a full life right until the end. He was excited about the work he had lined up for his construction business and he had been out harrowing in the field already this spring. The only thing he wasn't excited about was the NHL playoffs as his team did not finish well to put it mildly. It is with great sadness that we gather here today to say good-bye to a dear husband, father, grandfather, friend, boss and business associate. You have left us with lasting memories and provided a good example to live by. You will be greatly missed! Son, Terry Fleming, read the following poem on behalf of Henry's children. How do we let a father go? How do we say 'We're ready now to go on without you'? How can we ever have a clue of what that really means? And all of a sudden The moment is upon us, and there's no turning back. And then we know what grief is, and guilt and love and things undone. Try to prepare and we will fail in some way, be it subtle or looming. But there is peace too. Peace and acceptance and overwhelming love that we maybe weren't aware of. Waves and waves of conflicting emotion, And laughter too, and memories we hadn't bothered lately to recall come flooding back in shared company. and it's all about you, Dad And there's gratitude… so much of that, that we had you, such a wonderful father, hard worker, nobody's fool, Independent, and stubborn, But smart, and kind, and loving too. A part of you has passed away, but much is carried everyday within us, and will as long as we are here. This may be a final tribute, A day to celebrate your life and say goodbyes; But it's not final. Everyday we'll celebrate in some way, just by the virtue of how you shaped our lives, The absolute and incredible fortune that we knew you, As a father, a friend, and a man. CARD OF THANKS Thank you to Reverend Allan Young for his meaningful service, and to Yvette Barnett for her vocals, and Ruth Knispel for her accompaniment. A special thanks to Harvey Neufeld for the heartfelt eulogy, to Renee Neufeld for the violin tribute, to Janelle Clark for the power point photo memories, and to Terry Fleming for his reading. Thank you to the pallbearers: Dave Unger, Wilf Johnson, Glen Beggs, Jim Burke, Jim Walsh, and Duane Young, and to the honorary pallbearers, Ernie Smith and Al Alm. To Glen McCaw and the staff of McCaw Funeral Service, thank you for your guidance. The family appreciated the use of the Stockade Convention Center for the memorial service, and would like to thank the ladies for the bountiful lunch which followed. For the many kindnesses shown our family during this difficult time, we would like to thank family, friends, neighbours, and business associates for their support. Also, thanks for the food, beautiful floral tributes, cards, visits, phone calls and charitable donations. Your thoughtfulness and generosity is greatly appreciated. Donna Fleming; Ken Fleming, Meghan and Adrian Dirk, Erin Fleming; Carol and Harvey Neufeld, Janelle Clark, Renee and Claire Neufeld; Kelly Fleming; Terry and Rachelle Fleming, Cole and Zach Fleming; Lisa and Manny Fuoco; and Linda Fleming. Donations in memory of Henry may be made to the Lloydminster Region Hospital Foundation, Paradise Valley Ag Society or to a charity of the donors choice.