Obituary of Charles Edwards

Charles Donald (Don) Edwards of Lloydminster, Alberta, passed away at the Lloydminster Hospital on Sunday, December 31, 2006 at the age of 93 year. Don is survived by his loving wife Erma; his children: Carole & Elmer Schneider of Edmonton, Dorothy & Ken Fennig of Lloydminster, and Jim & Audrey Edwards of Nanton, Alberta; his six grandchildren: Daphne Jones of Edmonton, Dawn & Brian Heppell of Surrey, Wade Fennig of Vancouver, Nadine & Chris Hubick of Edmonton, Jennifer & Chad Whaley of Nebraska and Ryan Edwards of Texas; his six great grandchildren: Brennan & Carson Jones, Brooklynn Heppell, Dilyn Hubick, Haleigh and Shay White; his brother-in-law Hilton (June) Hughes of Lockwood, SK, his sister-in-law Hilda (Forrest) Pederson of Wynyard, SK; and his brother-in-law Barclay (Becky) Jones of Illinois, two cousins and many nieces and nephews. The funeral service for Don Edwards was conducted from the Grace United Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Anne Laird officiating. They hymns were "Softly & Tenderly," "In The Garden," and "Beyond The Sunset," with Irene Knowlson as the organist. The pallbearers were: Daphne Jones, Brian & Dawn Heppell, Wade Fennig, Nadine & Chris Hubick. The eulogy was given by Wade Fennig. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy Thank you all for coming today to pay tribute to my Grandpa. I am humbled and honored to speak on behalf of my family as we honor his passing and celebrate his life. I though of how Grandpa would have wanted this to be, so I looked at a few things in life and how he approached them. Like any phone call with him, he's want me to be short and to the point. But, like any house he built, he'd hope I had the right tools, quality materials and a solid crew to support me. If we were golfing, he'd tell me to keep my head down, watch the ball and do my best to hit it right down the middle. Well Grandpa, I've already gone way past the length of any phone conversation you ever had, but I have the finest of crews to support me here today. At any point should this tribute fly off like my first golf shot, that sideways seven iron that nearly hit you and smoked the machine shed beside us at Sandy Beach golf course. Well, if that happens, I'll follow your advice, which you gave me before my second shot, "Wade, just keep hitting it till it goes in the hole." And we begin, Don Edwards was born on July 6, 1913, at Earl Grey, Saskatchewan, of English/Scottish parents, who came out from Ottawa to homestead in 1907. His mother passed away when he was only 6. He left home at 14 to work in the Regina area. In 1934, at the age of 21, he came by train to Spruce Lake and walked the remaining 26 miles to Frenchman Butte as no more trains were running to Frenchman Butte that week. Coming from the prairies, Grandpa loved the rolling hills, trees and wildlife in the area. He appreciated nature in every form. His first job was in a sawmill. Then in 1936, he went to work for Art Bullen. In the winter, he worked in bush camps cutting logs in Ontario, Big River and Nipawin. He also fished commercially at Primrose Lake. In 1938 Grandpa bought his first land and farmed it while still working at Bullens. On April 23, 1940, he married my Grandmother, Erma Hughes, of Cupar, SK and they celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary in 2006. Their first home on their own farm was a one room shack. Later Grandpa built the family home where they raised their three children: Carole, Dorothy and Jim. Grandpa was very good with animals. He raised Hereford cattle and did a lot of the farm work with horses, especially in the early years. He always had a good saddle horse. To supplement the farm income, Grandpa did carpenter work building houses and other buildings in the Fort Pitt, Frenchman Butte and Paradise Hill areas. On most of his building jobs he shared meals with the family he was working for. He had many stories and fond memories of those days and spoke often of the fine people he met along the way. As a family, we were fortunate enough to have our own private carpenter and Mr. Fix-it. He always had a certain board or piece of plywood saved that would just do the trick. Grandma and Grandpa built a new house in Frenchman Butte when Grandma took over the Post Office in 1967. They were involved in community events and were founding members of the Frenchman Butte Museum. In 1984, after nearly 50 years at Frenchman Butte, they moved to Lloydminster. Retirement fit Grandma like a glove. Golfing became his passion for the next 16 years. He was also active in bowling, curling and lawn bowling. Grandpa and Grandma traveled on many bus trips and also to Maui, Honolulu, Arizona, a Caribbean cruise and on Grandpa’s favorite trip, cruising through the Panama Canal. They made many new friends in their retirement years but Frenchman Butte and the people there were always special to them. Grandpa and Grandma moved into the Hemstock when it opened in October 2001. Grandpa accepted every phase of his life with optimism and no complaints. His attitude and determination carried him through when many would have given up. Grandpa started his day by reading the Edmonton Journal and was always up to date on current events, even when his eyesight was failing and he had to use a magnifying glass. We fondly remember Grandpa for his great sense of humor - how he loved to laugh and joke. He was not an outwardly affectionate person but on the inside he had a kind and caring heart and was a man of his word. This holiday season, I was blessed to spend some time with most of my immediate family on both side. One moment, among all the catching up and visiting, rose to the top. That moment when my niece, Dilyn, who, just a shade under six months ago had entered this world, and Grandpa, who was just leaving it, were looking at each other eye to eye. That is the last time I heard Grandpa laugh. The message that it sent to me was that those of us here today reside somewhere in between those two in that moment. We didn't just enter this world and hopefully we're not about to leave. But without the guarantee of 93 fantastic years, we should make the time to live whatever moments we have left with the same zeal as my Grandpa. I'd like to close today with a quote that I thought was befitting of this day. "Live your life so that your children's children knew that you not only stood for something great, you acted on it." Grandpa, I know you did. Take Care. Card of Thanks The family of Don Edwards would like to express their appreciation for the flowers, cards, phone calls , food and memorial donations. Thanks to Dr. Chan, Dr. Kostic and the 3rd floor nursing staff for their care and kindness and to Dr. Paul Naude for his care over the years. Thank you to Pastor Anne Laird for her words of comfort, to Irene Knowlson for playing the organ at the service, to McCaw Funeral Service for their guidance and compassion and to the Grace United Church Ladies for serving the lovely lunch. Thank you to the residents and staff of the Hemstock for your friendship and care over the last five years. Erma Edwards Carole & Elmer Schneider Dorothy & Ken Fennig Jim & Audrey Edwards and Families Donations in memory of Don may be made to the Frenchman Butte Museum or to Lloydminster Home Care.