- British Columbia, Canada, Marriage Index, 1872-1935 -
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Jack Harms
1923-2003
Johann Harms, most commonly known as Jack Harms, longtime resident of Tupper, B.C. was living in Dawson Creek when he passed away on Monday, January 13, 2003 at the age of 79 years.
Jack was born in Nikapul in the Ukraine on February 2nd, 1923. The Harms family came to Canada and settled in Saskatchewan where they took up farming.
In 1943, Jack came North to the Peace Country logging in the winter and farming in the summer near Rolla.
Jack and Wilma Harms spent 48 years together at Swan Lake working and raising children."You don't have to be crazy to live here but it helps", was heard on many occasion at the Harms'. There were many good times at the lake, everyone was teased equally and given their fair share of "Horse Bites,” whether they wanted them or not.
Life at the lake was always interesting. Many a people passed through their home, some for a short time and others for a long time. The door was always open and as Jack would say, with a grin, “There's a crust of bread under the fridge, just leave your quarter on the counter on your way out.” Jack's sense of humor kept people entertained and those who met him, never forgot him. Do any of these phrases sound familiar:
"You'll get used to me - I did;"
"I made it this morning, before I got up;"
"A slap through the flap?"
"It's good for your pendapoopas!"
"Seven miles east and straight up!"
...said with a raised eyebrow.
Jack's free time was usually spent working. During his early years at Swan Lake, he worked for Imperial Lumber in the Monkman Pass area near Kinuseo Falls. In 1974 Jack began working for the Department of Highways, Pouce Coupe where he retired in 1988. Jack was not the kind of person to quit working however, he continued to enjoy welding and "learning" on his D4, as well as many hours spent in his shop designing and building a unique variety of items and equipment.
People would say to him, "Thought you had retired Jack?" His reply was consistently, "Retirement is for old people."
In January, 2001 Jack married Enola Laveck. Jack fit in quite naturally with the Laveck family, and spent much time happily babysitting their grandchildren.
Jack and Enola enjoyed many activities together, bowling and floor curling tournaments were regular events.
Jack was predeceased by his mother Mary, brother Henry, father John and wife Wilma.
Jack will be remembered fondly by many Peace River residents of all ages for his wit, his happiness and his willingness to help when needed. Jack was a wonderful man and he will be greatly missed.
Memorial arrangements were entrusted to Bergeron Funeral Services & Crematorium Ltd., Dawson Creek - Fort St. John, British Columbia
Margaret Cuthbert
Margaret (Peggy) Cuthbert,of Kelowna, BC, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, January 21, 2003, at the age of 80.
Survived by her Loving family:
One daughter, Janice (Brian) Bestward of Kelowna; one son, Jim (Clara) Cuthbert of Victoria.
Five Grandchildren: Jim Cuthbert, Deanna Cuthbert, both of Victoria, George (Lisa) Cuthbert, Surrey. Roberta (Reg) Swan, and Cheryl (Geoff) Coulter of Kelowna.
Eight Great Grandchildren: Evan and Carys Swan, Michael and Tyler Coulter, Jennine and Jason Yarmie, and Chloe and Hunter Cuthbert.
One sister, Janet McCallum, White Rock, two brothers, Dave (Hattie) Close, Fort St John, and Marshall (Aleatha) Close of Kelowna. Several niece's and nephews.
Sadly predeceased by her husband George in 1998, her parents, two sisters and 3 brothers.
Peggy was born to Tom and Mary Close, April 30th., 1922 in Kinross, Scotland. The family came to the Peace River District in 1929, settling at Willow Valley.
In 1939 she married George, they lived at Willow Valley and Dawson Creek, until they retired to Kelowna in 1982.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 25th., 2003 at 1:30 PM from Evangel Tabernacle- Heritage Room, 3261 Gordon Drive, Kelowna. Reverend Schmunk officiating. Internment to follow in Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made the Gideon Memorial Bible Plan: c/o 216-1329 KLO Road, Kelowna, BC, V1W 3N6 or PAOC c/o Evangel Tabernacle, 3261 Gordon Drive, Kelowna, BC V1W 3N4
Funeral arrangements by Springfield Funeral Home, Kelowna, (250) 860 7077
Joan Olson
Joan Olson of Leduc, Alberta passed away on January 19, 2003.
Joan was born in London, England in 1920. She met and married Canadian soldier Andy Olson and emigrated to Saskatchewan in 1946. Joan and Andy had two children and moved to Dawson Creek in 1957, where Joan worked for many years as a school secretary.
Joan will be deeply missed by Andy, her husband of 57 years; her daughter, Corliss and special friends Mario and Valerie DeRocco. She is survived by three sisters: Freda Harman, Edna Heery and Bunny Curran. She was predeceased by her son, Ray, and brother, Norman Tranter. A memorial service is planned for the spring. In preference to flowers, Joan would have liked donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation or charity of choice.
Muriel Kathleen Wilson
1920-2003
Muriel Kathleen Wilson, fondly known as Grandma Wilson to all, a resident of Dawson Creek and a long time resident of the Rolla District, passed away on January 3, 2003 at the age of 82.
A funeral service was held at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, January 8, 2003 at the Apostolic Lighthouse, Dawson Creek. Reverend James Bridges officiated. Interment followed in the Rolla Cemetery.
Eulogy read by: Dan Wilson
Mom was born at Chester, Nova Scotia on December 10, 1920, the second of three children born to Claude and Millicent Mills. She grew up in Chester and attended school there. She married Dad (Harry Wilson) on June 3, 1943 and one month later, he was sent to England. Their first home was at the farm in West Pouce Coupe. The house was built from a prefab building bought from the army stationed in Dawson Creek. The house later burned down.
Mom was a very kind person with a tremendous amount of patience. She did have one weak spot: she never got in a hurry. You could be sitting in a vehicle with the horn blaring and she would still be meandering around the house getting ready to go. One particular time Mom and Dad were going to town for groceries. Dad waited and waited for Mom until he finally left. You think that solved the problem? No.
The last few years even when crippling arthritis had deteriorated her body, she never complained. If you asked her how she was doing, her standard response was, “I have nothing to complain about, there are others that are a lot worse off than me.”
Mom liked to be around people and enjoyed playing games and putting puzzles together.
Mom loved to go shopping, especially the blue light specials at K-Mart or the thrift shops in Vancouver. She was very active in the 4-H Club. She enjoyed doing crafts and knit right up until her hands became too crippled. When we lived on the farm, the coffee pot was always on and there would usually be time to play a game of canasta. For recreation, there was always curling.
One particular memory that Judy shared with us was a story of Mother’s driving (apparently she was not the world’s greatest driver). David was just a baby and Mom wanted Bruce and Judy to stay with David while she took coffee out to the field for Dad. Bruce and Judy did not want to stay at the house with David and they pleaded for Mom to take them all with her. Mom finally gave in and we piled into the car, sitting as far from Mom as we could because she was not happy with us. When she backed up the car, the door came open and Bruce fell out. Mother got out of the car to find the front tire was right on top of Bruce. Needless to say, by then I was quite willing to stay home with David. Mother got the car off of Bruce and went flying across the field to get Dad.
Mother loved to read, and she must have belonged to every book club she could find. When she was at a gathering, she always had her camera in her hand and enjoyed taking pictures.
Mom loved her family and was a proud Mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother. She loved getting all the updated photos of her family.
She loved going to church and loved her church family. She was baptized in June of 1975 and received the Holy Ghost shortly after. Going to church on Sundays was the highlight of her week. She enjoyed the singing, the worship and the fellowship. She not only professed her faith, she practiced it. Not a day would go by that she did not pray for her family and others. If someone was sick or injured, it was not uncommon to find out later on that Mom had been praying right about that same time.
Mom was predeceased by her mother and father, her brother, Richard, and her husband, Harry Wilson.
She leaves to mourn her loss: her children, Bruce (Judy) Wilson, Judy (Dan) Pandachuck, David (Darlene) Wilson, Jack (June) Wilson, Dan (Norma) Wilson and Mark (Luana) Wilson, 13 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
One of Mother’s care givers recently made the comment that Mother was dealt lemons but always made lemonade with it.
She will be missed.
Funeral Arrangements were entrusted to Bergeron Funeral Services & Crematorium Ltd., Dawson Creek, British Columbia.
Larry Cecil Loge
1930-2003
Larry Loge was born to Tygve and Vera Loge, in Pouce Coupe, B.C. on April 3rd, 1930.
He was the oldest of four children, followed by his brothers Norman, Clifford and his sister Judy.
Larry started his first job at the age of Fifteen. He worked for Wilson Freightways in Dawson Creek. In 1954, Larry worked at Stewart Lake for the Fort St. John Lumber Company. Larry had numerous other jobs up until 1973, when he moved to the Yukon and found the job that he loved the most, mining for gold. He spent the next twenty years looking for his pot of gold, which he never found but instead he found friendship that lasted him a lifetime. In 1983, when Larry retired from mining, he started working for the Salvation Army. There he found another family that became a big part of his life. He was so pleased to have his new career and so proud of the uniform that came with it.
Larry inherited his love of gardening from his mother. Larry was always growing plants or making flower gardens with the help of his friends. He was always pleased when guests would arrive so he could show off a new plant or a new bloom. In 2001, his garden was included in the city’s garden tour.
Larry loved to travel, he made many trips to Boston Mass, to visit his relatives. He travelled many times to Arizona. He had planed to retire there. He took a couple of trips with his brother Clifford to the states and to the islands of Hawaii. They also enjoyed a free cruise which Larry had won. He travelled overseas to New Zealand, Fiji, Norfolk Island and Australia. Larry had lots of pictures to share of his travels and the flowers that he had seen.
His biggest passion was playing cards. He was always up to playing a good hand of bridge, whist, or canasta, depending on which card party he was at. He travelled with the Seniors Games and won numerous medals.
In Larry’s later years, his health started to fail. He took great comfort in knowing he had a very special care-giver that lived next door. He was very appreciative of all the unconditional help that came from someone who was like a sister to him. Many other friends would also come by daily and give him a hand. They were a constant source of comfort to him.
Many people have fond memories of Larry brining them gifts of fruit and vegetables. His nieces and nephews especially remember the time that he brought up a case of cantaloupes to Charlie Lake and told them they could help themselves. His sister Judy put the case of fruit in the garage.
Unbeknown to her, the McKenzie kids had sneaked out of the garage, found an old knife and started having the time of their lives, having a fruit picnic. It was a memory that is often talked about, because for many years those same kids had an aversion to cantaloupe.
Larry will be fondly remembered by his nieces and nephews;
Norman McKenzie (Christine Rogers), Melody Carleton (Doug Prodeahl), Lorelei McKenzie (Terry Pillion), Shawn McKenzie (Sam), numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.
He was predeceased by his father Trygve Loge, his mother Vera Loge, his brother Norman Loge, and brother Clifford Loge, and his sister Judy McKenzie.
A funeral service was held on Monday January 13th, 2003 from Reynars Funeral Chapel. Captains, Barry and Gail Haggett officiated, interment followed in the Briar Ridge Cemetery.
Funeral arrangements were under the care of Reynars Funeral Home and Crematorium Dawson Creek, B.C.
William Ralph Watson
1914-2002
William Ralph Watson, resident of Dawson Creek, British Columbia, passed away on Dec. 28, 2002 at 88 years of age. A memorial service was held at 2:00 pm on January 6, 2003 at the Bergeron Funeral Chapel, Dawson Creek. Reverend Brent Neumann officiated.
Eulogy read by Brian Gudmundson:
William Ralph Watson was born to Dr. and Mrs. Archibald Watson on March 8th, 1914 in Edson, AB.
He lost his mother, Mabel, in April 1915 and together with his sister Elizabeth, brother Bob and father went to Wainwright AB to live with his Grandmother Watson. While there, his father opened a maternity hospital, the first hospital in Wainwright.
When his father returned from Overseas where he had served with the Medical Corps in WWI, he brought with him his new bride, Rosa, and her daughter, Daphne Phillips. Taking the two boys with them, they settled on a farm at Rolla. His father then opened a Red Cross Hospital at Pouce Coupe. Their home was mainly in Pouce Coupe, later moving to Dawson Creek where they finally settled.
My sister, Nina, and I enjoyed holidays with Grannie and Uncle Bill on the farm at Rolla and also at their cottage on Moberly Lake. Holidays at Moberly Lake were also enjoyed by our younger sister, Annette who has fond memories of her holidays with Uncle Bill & Grannie. Later on, Uncle Bill joined us for several summers at the Gudmundson family cottage at Lac La Nonne. Great fun especially watching Bill sitting in a chair busy whirling his hair and enjoying the activities around him.
Bill brought his motorboat and later his canoe for everyone's enjoyment. Oh, by the way, it is still being used by my grandchildren ...great gifts just keep on giving. Uncle Bill took great pride motoring all visiting relatives and friends around the Dawson Creek area, showing the great country he lived in and loved so dearly. He loved to show us the farm at Rolla, the hillside where his father is buried, the cabin on Moberly Lake, and the Bennett Dam which he referred to as the “Wacky Bennett Dam.”
Bill was always willing to help others and enjoyed chauffeuring Grannie and her friends to their bridge games, Church meetings and on various errands.
On moving to the Rotary Manor, Bill enjoyed providing assistance wherever and whenever possible and both staff and residents appreciated his help. Bill was the longest resident, living there for 24 years.
In 1994, Bill met Heather at the Rotary Manor and it soon blossomed into a romance. They were married in May 1995. They enjoyed bus holidays and a cruise. Days were spent reminiscing about their families and enjoying pictures taken on various excursions, listening to classical music, as well as many walks, until Bill had to use a wheelchair.
Bill was predeceased by his mother, Mabel Watson in April 1915, his father Archibald Watson in October 1936, his brother, Robert, in 1972, sister, Elizabeth in 2000, step-mother, Rosa Watson, and step-sister, Daphne Phillips.
Bill is survived by his loving wife, Heather; his nieces, Jonina Holtsbaum and Annette Johnston and by myself, Brian Gudmundson, his nephew. Bill was the last of the Watson family line. He will be missed by the many people whose lives were touched by his kind heart, willingness to lend a hand and positive outlook.
Memorial arrangements were entrusted to Bergeron Funeral Services & Crematorium Ltd., Dawson Creek Fort St. John, British Columbia.
Roy George McRann
Roy George McRann was born Sept. 14th, 1918 on Sec 34 Tp 20 Rge 5 near Grayson Saskatchewan. He moved to the Peace Country with his parents and 8 siblings in the spring of 1928. The first years were busy getting land cleared and helping with chores on dad’s homestead located on the east side of the Pouce Coupe river.
In the early 1940’s Roy started on his own half section along Henderson Creek in Alberta bordering the home farm. This land had been had been previously owned by his older brother who had moved on. As Roy was a stockman at heart and his land being half in the creek believed it to be an ideal place to star this herd of Pretty View Shorthorns.
For many years he showed them at fairs and sold bulls at local sales expanding to Kamloops, Williams Lake, Edmonton and Calgary where he sold his last bulls after which Roy just grew grain and started to travel. 1981, was a big year for Roy he got married, bought a motor-home and sold his farm. The next 17 years were spent at Rotary Harbour and traveling to such places as Mexico, Australia, Alaska and Hawaii. He spent time visiting family and such until Marj passed away suddenly in September 16th, 1998. Roy then spent most of his time at home, visiting family and carpet bowling. Roy was predeceased by his parents, George and Bell, as well as his brothers Jim and Alf and sisters Alice Smothers, Beatrice Clark and Sadie Lilico. He is survived by sister Mabel Stone of Pouce Coupe care home and brothers Gordon and Ken (Bula) of Dawson Creek, 30 nieces and nephews and numerous extended family.
On the lighter side of younger days Roy was always out at picnics, dances, ball games, curling and such other activities. He willingly donated his time and financial help and later to the senior citizens hall. Many good times were had Christmas Dinners with family, fishing and hunting trips and trips to Kinuseo falls and other places with mother.
Farewell Roy.
Cremation by Bergeron Funeral Services and Crematorium. Service at 4 p.m. January 8, 2003
