Obituary of Duncan Geall

Duncan will be sadly missed by his children: Earl Geall, Jim and Helen Geall, Sharon Geall, Linda and Ross Graham, Norma and Gordon L'Heureux, Ruby and Byron Carr, Miles Geall, Sandra and Mick Salzl, Neil and Terry Geall, Helen and Brian Patmore; eighteen grandchildren: Valerie, Debbie, Rhonda, Ryan, Dana, Michael, Donovan, Tammy, Tanya, Joan, Bryan, Nicole, Melissa, Brendan, Aime, Bonnie, Michelle, Robert; twenty two great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. Eulogy for Duncan Geall On behalf of the family, I would like to extend their sincere thanks to all of you for your taking the time to be here today to celebrate the life of Duncan Geall - husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, neighbour and friend. Duncan was known to all of his friends and neighbours as Dunc and so it is by that name I will refer to him as that is what I have known him by all my life. In order to prepare for this eulogy written by the family, Nolda and I spent an evening with the family and Don Retzlaff and his wife Dale telling stories and sharing memories by children and grandchildren. There was much laughter and tears as we all remembered a much loved father, grandfather and friend. We come to remember Dunc today - All that made him who he was, calling to mind his story And the many lives he touched along the way. We come to honour Dunc today, His outlook, his inner strength, and the things that he believed in, Recognizing his goodness - his uniqueness, his own special gifts shared generously with the rest of the world. We celebrate Dunc's life today and his connections with family, friends and all who loved him, feeling enriched for having known him and so grateful too, for our time with him. Dunc celebrated his 95th birthday on July 6th of this year. Nolda and I were pleased to be able to join him, his family and some of the old Hillmond & Marshall friends to celebrate this milestone year. He was born in Edmonton, then the family moved to the Red Cross area and finally to the Hillmond district. He married Vera Heselwood in 1937 and together they raised 10 children. Except for a couple of years working in BC on a dairy farm and for service in World War 2, Dunc lived on his farm at Hillmond with his wife Vera and his family. In May of 2008, he moved to Points West Assisted Living until his hospital admission at the end of August. Dunc always said that all he ever wanted to do was farm and he did so from a very early age. He worked for farmers in the Broughton district, near Lloydminster and in the Marshall area as well as the couple of years in BC. One of the reasons that he went to serve in the Army was the Veterans Land Act - he said he knew that it was the only way that he would ever get to own his own farm, so he joined up in 1943 and served in Britain, France, Holland and Belgium, returning in 1946. Dunc & Vera started their farming life on what is known as the Chamberlain place, and then moved south to a quarter that they bought from Stern & Helen Sharrot who were good neighbours and friends. Dunc was a quiet, gentle man with a great sense of humour. He was able to laugh as much at himself as anything. His laugh was big and seemed to come from deep inside - some of the children have inherited that laugh - so that will live on! The family chose the Farmer's Creed as that is how Dunc seemed to have lived his life and captures his belief in the vocation of farming. He was a nature lover and loved animals - particularly horses. He had many over the years and he still fed his cattle in the winter with horses even into his eighties. Indeed it was an encounter with a protective cow that convinced Dunc that he had to quit active farming at age 87, although he remained at home with the help of Rosemarie Grant and his family until 2008. Neil has rented the land and has cattle and horses too. Dunc always enjoyed looking out the windows and seeing the cattle and horses grazing or seeing the land green up in the spring and ripen in the fall. In the last year he was able to enjoy many drives to do crop and cattle checks. Just a month ago, Linda & Rosemarie took him out to the farm for berry picking. They drove pretty much everywhere that wasn't planted with crop then went to the house and enjoyed the homemade pie and tea that Rosemarie had prepared. Dunc was a kind and generous person and always willing to help his neighbours, friends and family in whatever way he could. If a neighbour needed help he would often drop what he was doing to go help. Ross & Linda asked him to help shingle their house many years ago so he and Neil came to help. It was many years later that Linda learned that he wasn't very fond of heights but he never let that or anything else get in the way of lending a hand to family or friends. There is Mountain Standard Time, Daylight Saving Time, but for many years on the Geall farm, there was "Duncan Time." Dunc never got in a hurry over much and that trait would often raise Vera's blood pressure when Dunc was late for meals or when it was time to go somewhere. The older children remember that going on a social outing with Dad was filled with activity. Dad would be out in the field or doing whatever it was that needed done, while in the house one kid would be ironing his shirt, another would be heating up water to bath in, another would be shining his shoes, another would get clean underwear and socks and so on. Years later, the grandchildren learned to wait while Granddad cleaned up and changed into his going to town underwear and clothes which seemed to take a very long time! However, after he gave up his driving a couple of years ago and had to depend on others, his punctuality improved and indeed he was generally waiting by the door ready to go. Dunc had many expressions that were truly unique. The kids and I have never heard him swear because he had a deep belief in not taking the Lord's name in vain. He used to say: Golly! Golly! Great Scott! It would stop a clock! By Jingles or just Jingles! You knew he was truly amazed or concerned if he tacked two of these together as in "By Jingles that would stop a clock." One day years ago, his cows got out into my crop and he told me that he would "charge right over there and get those cows out for you George." We all agreed that was a neat way to put it, but it was funny knowing that Dunc never really charged anywhere! Even though Dunc was generous, he liked to get good value for his money and lots of times was pretty amazed at what things cost. Years ago, Vera got a new mattress probably ordered from Eaton's for $40.00. When Dunc was asked what he thought about it he said that he probably would sleep a lot better if it had only cost $15.00! However, when it came to his grandchildren, there was no limits or thought of cost when it came to buying them treats. They all remember the pop, candy and chocolate bars that were always on hand when they came to visit. They remember him doing a little jig and song for them, giving them horseback rides, rides on the tractor and having fun with them. As the youngest child, Helen remembers her Dad doing the fun things like going swimming with them in the lake on the Hudson Bay quarter, getting the horses and sleigh ready to take them on a sleigh ride. Dunc had a way of making each of the kids feel special, like his nickname for Ruby. He always called her Rusty. We all remember going along on fence fixing or some other little chore where we had some one on one time with him. Dunc had a deep and abiding faith in God. He and Vera were baptized into the Baptist Church when they lived in BC many years ago. The words of John 14 vs 6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" spoke to him about the saving power of Jesus Christ. Dunc spent his life trying to follow the teachings of Jesus. Dunc's children talked about how they were all taught the Lord's Prayer and that their Dad prayed that prayer every day. Linda remembers a talk she had with her Dad as she was helping him sharpen a mower blade when she was very young. As he sharpened, he told her that if ever there was a time of trouble in her life that she should take it to the Lord - there wasn't anything that He couldn't handle. She also remembers a quiet talk about nice young ladies not swearing. There was a time a couple of years ago that she was looking after him at the farm because a fall had caused back problems, so that he was bedridden. One evening she noticed that her Dad had struggled out of bed, but could only get down on one knee to say his prayers. Linda assured him that for the next little while, God would probably understand if he said his prayers lying in bed. He was grateful that Sharon was able to take him back to BC several years ago, so that he could marvel at the grandeur of the mountains and note the many changes in the landscape in the years since he lived there. In their recent talks, both Dunc and Linda wondered how you could do anything but believe in God when you experienced on a daily basis what God created. Dunc always considered himself very blessed to live and work in God's creation each and every day of his life. Add George's story here Family and especially the grandchildren were very important to Dunc. His granddaughter Dana summed it up pretty well on behalf of all the grandchildren in an email that she wrote: There are too many wonderful and happy memories of Grandpa for me to pick just one or two. My childhood memories revolve around time spent on the farm with Grandpa, Grandma and our large extended family. It has been very comforting throughout my life to have the consistency of knowing that Grandpa was on the farm. No matter where we moved or even later as an adult, it was a comforting constant. Grandpa was a rare human being, a great man, hardworking, honest, polite, loving and many more things too numerous to mention. To quote the words of Allen Jackson "His greatest contribution is the ones he left behind." There are so many stories that we could tell about Dunc like his love of music. The music you have heard before during and after this service were only some of his favorites! We could talk about his love of baseball and hockey and how Vera endured the hockey game on Saturday nights because after the game she could watch Juliette!, but later in life would choose to watch the game with him. I am sure that most of us here could add more too as Dunc touched many lives. Two years ago after their mother's funeral, Linda promised that when the eulogy was written for their Dad that she would not "make him out to be the Saint that we know he ain't". He also requested that we keep it short and simple. Sorry Dad, we failed to keep it short, but all agree that Dunc would be the first person to tell you that he wasn't perfect, that there were things he should have done or that he could have done things differently. That is part of the human condition. However, if the measure of a man is to leave God's vineyard in a little better shape than it was when he came into it, then he has been very successful in doing that. He will indeed live on in the hearts of so many people and we were truly blessed to have had him in our lives for this long. We will all miss him, but rest assured that we will see him again. Farewell Dunc and rest in peace. CARD OF THANKS The family of the late Duncan Geall would like to thank everyone who came to the Celebration of Life service for their father and grandfather. Thank you to all who sent food, flowers and messages of sympathy to us. Thanks to those who sent donations to the various charities. Thank you to Doug Baynton for helping us with some of Dad's favourite Country and Gospel music. Thank you to Irene Knowlson, Gladys Jack and the United Church Choir for your wonderful gift of music. Thank you to his 22 favourite grandchildren for being pallbearers, especially the 8 who carried him to his resting place. Thank you to Ryan for reading Footprints. He was so proud of all of you. A very special Thank You to Rev. Don Retzlaff for weaving scripture and your inspired words into a message of comfort and hope. Thanks to George Wood for reading the eulogy. The Geall family were very blessed to live near neighbours like George and Nolda who were always ready, willing and able to lend us a helping hand whenever we asked. Thank You to the Marshall Rebekah Lodge for the delicious lunch after the service. We'd like to say a very special Thank You to Rosemarie Grant. You came into Dad's life as a care giver, but quickly became a trusted friend to him and his pets. Your care and friendship enabled Dad to stay on the farm for much longer. You added so much to his quality of life even after he was admitted to Points West. We will always be grateful for your caring support for Dad and for us as well. Thanks to Glenn, Dave & Staff of McCaw's for your very kind and professional assistance in helping us with all the arrangements and for keeping us mostly on time! God Bless you all! Donations in memory of Duncan may be made to the charity of the donors choice.