Obituary of William Stewart

William “Willie” Raymond Stewart passed away peacefully at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Saturday, June 27, 2009 at the age of 89 years. Willie will be sadly missed by his wife Kathleen of Lloydminster; his two children: Joan & Les Ellis of Lloydminster, Sonny & Peggy Stewart of Kitscoty; ten grandchildren as well as sixteen great grandchildren. The funeral service was conducted from the Kitscoty Community Church, Kitscoty, Alberta on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Bob Aldrich officiating. Kitscoty Community Church Choir was in attendance. The eulogy was given by Pat McGuigan and Robert Ellis. The hymns sung were “In The Garden” and “Amazing Grace” accompanied on the organ by John Scott. Honorary pallbearers were All Those Who Shared In Dad’s Life. Active pallbearers were Willie’s grandchildren: Wendy McGuigan, Pam Simpson, Pat McGuigan, Gale Galenza, Penny Moon, Robert Ellis, Donald Stewart, Tanis Miller, Carmen Bloomquist and Colleen Melchert. Interment took place in the Kitscoty Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy as given by Pat McGuigan & Robert Ellis Well….how are you doing today? Anyone who knew our Grandpa has probably been asked that question a thousand times. He asked because he cared and he cared because that’s who he was - a big strong man with a soft heart and a kind soul. William Raymond Stewart was born on November 2, 1919 in Cameron Municipality, Manitoba. He passed away in the early morning of June 27, 2009 at the Lloydminster Hospital. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Kathleen, his daughter Joan and husband Les Ellis, his son Malcolm and wife Peggy, his son-in-law Bill McGuigan, ten grandchildren and sixteen great grandchildren with two on the way. He was predeceased by his parents William and Millie Stewart, his siblings Edwin and John Stewart and Eileen Randall, his son Willard Stewart and his daughter Marilyn McGuigan. While still very young, he moved from Manitoba to Alberta with his parents and older brother Edwin. They farmed in the Early district before moving to the farm west of Kitscoty. He attended Lavada School with his brothers and sister. After finishing Grade 8 he took up farming with his father. In the fall of 1938 an attractive young teacher, Kathleen Gordon arrived at Beulah School and soon caught his eye. As a result, they were married in Lloydminster on June 8, 1939. This year was their 70th wedding anniversary. Their first home was a small 2-room house across the road from his parents. For almost forty years they lived there and raised their family. There was no power, telephone or running water, only kerosene lamps and wood and coal heating for many of those years. However a number of additions and many improvements were done to make the house a really comfortable home. Farming was intensive labour in those early days but there was also lots of fun times-country dances, card parties and visiting with neighbours such as Blairs, Bootsmans, Murrays and Hales or hockey tournaments in Lloydminster with Jack Miller. Harvest time meant getting together with Dick Caldecott and Charlie and Newman Browne to get the threshing done. In the 1960’s Sonny started farming with his dad. In 1976 Willie and Kathleen moved to Kitscoty but he still visited the farm most days to check on things. He also helped at seeding and harvest times. After retiring from farming, he became a very efficient housekeeper and cook and had one of the tidiest yards in Kitscoty. He even tried a short session as Mayor of Kitscoty. He also enjoyed coffee time at the hotel twice a day to catch up on the town news. He and Kathleen moved to the Hemstock Residence in Lloydminster in March 2002. After Kathleen broke her hip that December, she moved to the Dr. Cooke while he remained at the Hemstock. They phoned each other 3 or 4 times a day and visited 3 or 4 times a week. He was very loyal about phoning the family every day. As his Grandchildren, we are privileged and honoured to deliver our Grandpa’s eulogy today. We also know how fortunate we all are to have had him in our lives for as long as we have. We sat down last night and reminisced about Grandpa and put our thoughts together about what we remember best. Our first memories of our Grandpa would have to involve being on the farm. Grandpa loved every aspect of being a farmer - from seeding and harvesting to all the animals. He taught us about cows and calves, dogs and cats, pigs, horses, rabbits, coyotes and deer - he loved animals and his gentle side shone through when you watched him with any kind of animal. This trait was inherited by both his kids and his grandkids. We’ve all rescued wild animals or taken in strays, and we learned to love and respect animals by watching him. When you visited, he was insistent that you have something to eat and drink. It was useless to refuse - he wouldn’t give up until you agreed to have something. He was actually a pretty good cook - especially his fried potatoes, chilli and his Jell-O with fruit cocktail. We all remember the family gatherings at their tiny house on the farm. Grandpa would carve the turkey at Christmas time; he was also one of the few men to help out with dishes after the meal. We all remember his broad shoulders and big hands. Grandpa was a man of few words but the words he said to us were always from the heart. He taught us morals and values and right from wrong. If you ever did something wrong, he would chase you with a switch. Lucky for us we could always out run him; if we only knew then, Grandpa never had any intention of using it anyways, but he made sure we never did THAT again. We all remember him working in his garden in Kitscoty, whistling and humming while he worked. It was cute how Grandpa would always complain about Granny’s house plants but later on he sure did a great job of growing plants and his garden. Maybe he was the one with the green thumb all along. Grandpa enjoyed watching sports on TV, The Young and the Restless and the late news every night. After retiring to town, he spent many hours at the Kitscoty curling rink watching us curl, as well as working on the ice and helping wherever he could. The past few years have been difficult for us to see Grandpa’s health fail and watch him struggle with the loss of his independence. Through all of it Grandpa always had a smile on his face when he saw you and was so appreciative of our visits. Grandpa, we would like to thank-you for being the man that you were, and for teaching us the real meaning of family. Instead of saying good-bye, in your own words, we‘ll just say…. Take care….see you again Grandpa….because we know we will. We love you and we will miss you. CARD OF THANKS The family extends heartfelt thanks to Dr. Chan, Dr. Kostic, the staff of the Medical Ward at the Lloydminster Hospital and the staff of Home Care for their medical expertise and care. Special thanks to the staff and residents of the Dr. Hemstock Residence for their friendship and kindness over the past seven years and especially for all the extras that allowed our Dad to stay in his “home” these past six months. We thank Reverend Bob Aldrich for conducting the service and for his comforting ministry. Thank you to John Scott and the church choir for their music and to the church ladies for the delicious lunch. Thanks to the grandchildren for being pallbearers and presenting the eulogy. Grandpa would have been proud of all of you. Thanks to relatives and friends for expressions of sympathy – flowers, cards, donations, phone calls, visits and food. Our thanks and gratitude to Dale and the staff at McCaw Funeral Service for guiding us through this difficult time. Sincerely, Kathleen, Sonny & Peggy, Joan & Les and Families Donations in memory of Willie may be made to Kitscoty Community Church or to a charity of the donor's choice.