Obituary of Otto Brost

BROST ~ Otto Herman Brost passed away peacefully at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta on Friday, April 3, 2009 at the age of 77 years. Otto will be sadly missed by his sisters Betty & Collin McGugan of Edmonton, Grace & Dean Lawson of Lloydminster; his brother Matt & Leola Brost of Lloydminster as well as numerous nieces and nephews. The Prayer Service was conducted from McCaw Funeral Chapel , Lloydminster, Alberta on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. with Deacon Lynn Pion officiating. Music provided by Melanie Pellerin. The Mass of Christian Burial was conducted from the St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Wednesday April 8, 2009 at 1:30 P.M. with Father Jan Sobkowicz officiating. The Organist was Linda Quilichini. Honorary pallbearers were Desmond Beynon, Milton Kay, Kenneth King, Gerald Graham, Marcel Courchesne, Jim Davidson, Owen Noble, Wade Enger and Larry Masterman. Active pallbearers were Danny Gervais, Roland Gervais, Scott Kennedy, Larry Sauer, Al Popoff and Bill Armstrong. Interment was held at Lloydminster City Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY - As given by Matt Brost Otto was born July 11, 1931 near Major, Saskatchewan. In 1934 our family moved to south of Macklin to what it now the Pius Brost family farm. After our dad passed away in 1938, our family moved from this farm to Primate, Saskatchewan. Otto started school in Primate hardly knowing any English, as German was always spoken at home. Even at a very young age Otto always obeyed all the rules and regulations, however, at the time there was a lot of competition between the girls and boys school grades. In an upcoming math exam the boys got together to plan how to beat the girls. Otto befriended the school teacher's son, who somehow got the answers to the exam and gave them to the boys. The results were far too obvious because the boys weren't very good at math. This is the only time, as far as I can remember, that Otto got into any trouble at school. When we were young Otto, Bert and I spent a lot of time at our grandpa and grandma Schonheiter's farm south of Primate. Since there was no firewood on the bald prairie, one of our jobs was collecting dried cow patties with an old horse and stoneboat. Sometimes these patties would burn but at times they just smoked and smelled. Otto's first job was working for older widows doing domestic chores that included carrying water by pail from the town well, chopping wood, shovelling snow and cutting grass. It was a good job paying 25 cents per week. Otto did these jobs precisely on time every day. When these jobs were passed down to me, I didn't show up at the same time each day, therefore the small talk of the village was the young Brost wasn't doing as good a job as Otto did when he was doing these same chores. Otto never smoked, never drank alcohol and never had any girl friends. He was a true bachelor. At age 17 Otto started working as a railway section man in the summer and looked after the local outdoor skating rink in the winter. He worked very hard all day then stayed in bunkhouses with no running water or electricity at night. He worked in very small towns such as Marsden, Lone Rock and North Unity which only had an elevator and section bunkhouse. During this time he signed his cheques and gave them to mom to buy food and clothing for the rest of us. Social benefits at the time were very little In the winter he looked after the local rink for a few dollars per month. He shovelled snow by the hour on many days. He didn't have time to play hockey because he was too busy with the rink upkeep. In the early 60's he got a job with the City of Lloydminster to help out at the old rink on 50th Street. In 1967 he moved to the present Civic Centre where he drove the Zamboni, among other duties. In 31 years with the City he never booked off a sick day and I would be very surprised if he was ever late for work. It is estimated that he drove the Zamboni 20, 000 miles and applied 54, 000 floods during the 31 years. During this time he became an avid Border King fan. He felt that the best hockey ever played in the Civic Centre was in 1986 with Powell River playing the Border Kings on the road to the Hardy Cup. During his retirement he continued to attend every Bobcat, Bandit and Border King game. He even watched most of the Border King practices. Otto was also a Toronto Maple Leaf fan. Although mom never attended any games, she also became a Toronto Maple Leaf and Border King fan. If either team lost it was a good time NOT to visit for a few days because both were saddened. Otto lived with mom for many years. Otto was very good to mom. He would take her wherever she wanted to go. When she spent time in the hospital he would visit her every day and look after all her needs. He was a true brother and friend and we will miss him very much. CARD OF THANKS Our thanks to Dr. A.R. Sayeed, nurses and ambulance staff, Father Jan Sobkowicz and Deacon Lynn Pion for officiating the funeral mass and prayer service, pallbearers and honorary pallbearers, Linda Quilichini for singing and playing the piano at mass and Melanie Pellerin for providing music at the prayer service, C.W.L. for serving a delicious lunch, everyone who gave charity donations and sent flowers, city employees who donated a plaque to hang in the Civic Centre, McCaw family for the professional and caring manner handling the funeral arrangements. Betty and Colin McGugan Grace and Dean Lawson Matt and Leola Brost Donations in memory of Otto may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation.