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Hazel Beatrice Hopps
1938-2003
Hazel Beatrice Hopps passed away on July 10, 2003, at the age of 65 years.
She will be sadly missed by: her daughter, Cheryl Kachuk (John) of McLennan, daughter Susan Hopps (Andy) of Slave Lake, son James Hopps of High Prairie, and son Alan of Grande Cache, Alta; four grandchildren including Thea Kachuk, Zack Kachuk, Morgan Hopps and Adam Hopps; seven siblings including Mary Gervais (Richard) of Falher, Robert Ireland (Pearl) of High Prairie, Charlie Ireland (Elda) of High Prairie, Rose Williams (Gary) of Slave Lake, Harold Ireland (Cory) of High Prairie, Frank Ireland (Barb) of Vermilion, and Gloria Nelson of Grande Prairie; numerous nieces, nephews and friends who will miss her and will always think kindly of her.
Hazel was predeceased by her husband, Tom Hopps, mother Edith (Ireland) Wickwire and father James Ireland.
Philip Newman Heather
1925-2008
On the evening of September 27, 2008, and showing his characteristic strength and determination, Philip Newman Heather left this earth with his ‘Three Girls’ by his side. Forever missing him are: his loving wife of 58 years, Bernice; daughter Laurie Campbell; granddaughter Candace (Gabe) Sapergia; son Philip Earl; sisters Joan Stack and Evonne Jeal; his great-grandchildren Chase and Paige Sapergia as well as Bernice’s family and numerous nieces, nephews and friends. Waiting for him are his mother and father, Winnifred and Philip Heather and his sister Blanche. Philip was born in 1925. The family held an evening prayer service Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Nanton, Alta. The funeral mass was celebrated on Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Nanton. If desired, memorial donations may be made to the Nanton Community Emergency Fund.
Mary Hedrich
1922-2009
Mary Hedrich, affectionately known as Granny to many people, was born Oct. 8, 1922, in Marikova, Czechoslovakia, and passed away Nov. 29, 2009, at the age of 87 years.
Mary immigrated to Canada with her parents and brother in 1932. They homesteaded in the Gilwood area near High Prairie, where her three sisters were later born. After finishing Grade 8 in school, Mary got a job in Whitelaw, AB.
In 1941 she met her future husband, Edward, and on Feb. 2, 1942, they were married and settled on the Hedrich farm in Faust, where she lived for 66 years until her passing.
Together, Mary and Edward operated a mixed farm, supplying the local residents with fresh milk, cream, butter, eggs and garden produce. Mary is still referred to as the cream and/or egg lady.
Mary looked forward, with great joy, to the spring when the baby chicks arrived from the hatchery. She took great pleasure in sitting on a bag of chick starter for hours, watching the fluffy little chicks scratching and chirping in their new home.
Mary and Edward led an active social life. Dancing was their passion. This included walking to Kinuso for dancing and then hoboing the train back to the farm in time for the morning chores.
In 1946, their first daughter, Irene, was born. Two years later their son, Edwin, arrived and – oops – six years later their second daughter, Lauren, was born.
Mary had a full life including traveling to different parts of Canada, Reno and Sin City. In 1977, the highlight of her travels was returning to her birth place of Marikova, with her brother and sister-in-law and meeting relatives, some for the very first time.
Mary was a member of the Faust Royal Purple for 53 years. Her volunteering was endless: cooking, baking, bingos, perogy and cabbage roll making, participating in walk-a-thons in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and much more.
Although Mary’s life was busy on the farm, when she reached her senior years, there was no grass growing under her feet, as now she was floor curling, bowling, playing bocce ball and cards, and hanging out with her friends, which included stops at the occasional casino. Her love of gardening still continued and she always had a seed tucked in her pocket to fill am empty spot in her already overcrowded garden.
Mary’s greatest pride was her children, nine grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. She always knew what their favourite treat was, and made sure those treats were available whenever they were coming to visit.
When you came to Granny’s house you felt like a member of the family with her generosity and unconditional love. Most of you sitting here today have been recipients of that love and generosity. You all know you never left Granny’s place hungry. The counter was always loaded with baked goodies and her cookie jar was always full.
Mary is survived by: her three children, Irene, Edwin (Audrey) and Laureen (Colin); nine grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren; sisters Arne (Arne) and Margaret (Marshall); as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Surviving members of Irene’s family include: Stacey, Valmont, Michao and Shanelle; and Kelly, Jamie and Kelby.
Surviving members of Edwin’s family include: Lorin, Lyanne, Morgan and Sydney; Edward, Nadine and Irelynn; Lori, Glen, Mitchell, Ash, Lucas and Ally; Joe and Kim; Milan and Marlo.
Surviving members of Laureen’s include: Leslie and Neal; and Nickolas and Crystal.
She was predeceased by: her husband, Edward; parents John and Eva Supolik; brother Joe; and sister Emily.
Now the cookie jar is empty. Mary will be sadly missed by all who knew her.
Lawrence Jaycox
1931-2010
Lawrence “Larry” Jaycox was born to Robert and Alma Jaycox of Carcass Brook in the picturesque hills of the Catskill Mountains of New York state Jan. 29, 1931, and passed away Oct. 14, 2010, at the age of 79 years.
Bernice Schratwieser became his bride and life partner June 3, 1950.
In 1967 Larry and family moved to the isolated communities north of High Prairie and Slave Lake. He served with his practical handyman skills and love of the Lord among First Nations people.
Larry is survived by: Bernice, his loving wife of 60 years; his siblings; Lena, Clarence, Irma, Fern, and Thelma; his children, Dennis (Rose), Ann, Mathew (Ruth), and Bonnie (Jim), 14 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his son, Richard.
Viewing occurred Oct. 22 at Oliver’s Grande Prairie Funeral Chapel.
A memorial service was held Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. at Oliver’s Grande Prairie Funeral Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: Key-Way-Tin Bible Institute at Site 633, Comp 8, RR 1, Lac La Biche, Alta., T0A 2C1.
Andrew Kasinec
1930-2010
Andrew Kasinec passed away at the age of 80 years on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010, after a courageous battle with cancer.
Andrew was born on March 30, 1930 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. His family moved to the High Prairie area when Andrew was around three years old. He married Shirley Nelson Sept. 29, 1955 and they had four daughters. He farmed outside the High Prairie area until moving to Stony Plain, Alta. in 2004.
Andrew will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by: his wife of 55 years, Shirley; his four daughters, Arlene (Owen Ingram), Regina (Curtis Baraniuk), Shari, and Wendy (Michael Polushin); five grandsons, Shawn, Michael, Adam, Christopher and Dylan; and two great-granddaughters, Taylor and Anessa as well as his honorary son, Terry Tritthardt (Diane). He also leaves to mourn his sister Emma (Ed Dupuis) and brother, John (Rose) and their families as well as numerous relatives and close family friends.
He was predeceased by his parents, Andrew and Regina, and his sister, Mary.
Andrew was a kind and loving husband/father who always brought a smile to our faces with his great sense of humour and gentle demeanor.
A memorial service was held at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 52515 R.R. #15, Stony Plain, Dec. 18, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.
A luncheon followed at the Blueberry Community Hall in Stony Plain.
Robert L'Heureux
1926-2010
Robert L’Heureux was born Oct. 18, 1926 in North Battleford, Sask., and passed away April 11, 2010 in Edmonton at the age of 83 years.
He came to Driftpile with his parents, Paul and Beatrice L’Heureux, where his father was named Indian agent replacing Mr. Liard from Grouard.
Robert was schooled by his mother, then attended the Jesuits College in Edmonton. In 1943 he moved to Joussard where he attended school. In 1944 he drove the first school bus to High Prairie, a 1929 Whippet owned by his father. He bused the high school pupils to Prairie River School taught by E.W. Pratt. Pupils included Ruth Brassard (Caudron), Molly Wiggins (Caudron), Ephrem L’Heureux, Robert L’Heureux and Marjorie Courtereille.
After finishing school, Robert was employed by Northern Utilities and worked in McLennan and High Prairie. He also worked with Russel Poppel. He moved to Edmonton with his wife and was employed by Edmonton Telephones until he retired.
He leaves to mourn his family of six children: Lionel (Betty), Bernie (Sue), Denise, Bob (Melanie) Pitts, Joseph (Cathy) and Nicki Drinkell (Garry Seidel); grandchildren Micheal (Shannon), Robin, Kylie, Jesse, Dominique, Ben, Jak, A.J., Rikki, Hayden, Jared, Kassi and Devlin; great-grandchildren Felicia and Paul; sisters Yvonnette Comeau and Frances Dimma; brother Roger and his wife Edna L’Heureux; and many relatives.
He was predeceased by: his wife of 50 years, Jeanne; brother Ephrem L’Heureux (Yvette); and brother-in-law Lucien Comeau.
The funeral was held April 16 at St. Edmund’s Catholic Parish in Edmonton with Rev. Leo Cordeau officiating. Eulogists were Dominique L’Heureux, Hayden L’Heureux and Bernie L’Heureux. Pallbearers were Bernie L’Heureux, Joseph L’Heureux, Micheal L’Heureux, Jesse L’Heureux, Robin L’Heureux and Bob L’Heureux. Honourary pallbeares were Lionel L’Heureux, Garry Seidel and Ben Pitts. Interment was at Joussard Cemetery April 17.
The family extends thanks to Father Marianna Sathuluri for the burial service, Sharon Brassard and Mrs. Deuchar for the lunch, and to the Joussard Homesteaders for use of the hall.
Dannyl Melodi (Chewy) Lang-Okemow
1990-2010
Dannyl Melodi Lang-Okemow was born July 2, 1990 to Karen Lang and Darrell Okemow, and passed away Oct. 17, 2010, at the age of 20 years.
Dannyl was called Chewy the first day she was born. Yes, Chewy was chew. Chewy lived with her Grandma Pauline and Grandpa Fred from one month old until she was seven months old in Prince George, B.C., because her parents were living in an old house with no running water.
Chewy had lots of fun with her sister, Lenae, as they grew up together. As the years went by, her brother Nathan was born. Now these were some of the best years of Chewy’s life. She had a big sister and a little brother. Chewy was always following Lenae around everywhere. Then Nathan would follow Lenae and chewy all over. All three of them would do everything together from playing, watching TV and even driving their mother crazy... in a good way.
As a few more years passed, Dannyl experienced something that would change her life forever. On March 31, 2000 her baby brother Keygon was born. Chewy was so excited when he finally arrived. It lit up her whole life. Chewy treated him like he was her own, always there for him, helping out and doing whatever she could to help raise him. Chewy loved Keygon so much; he was the apple of her eye.
Chewy lived in Clairmont, Edmonton and Sucker Creek. She was such a happy girl, with a beautiful smile on her face. Dannyl would hide her beautiful smile until she got her braces off. After a year of having them on she was very excited to have her train tracks taken off! What a beautiful smile she had! She smiled at everyone and warmed everyone’s heart.
Dannyl loved to hang out with her friends and take off for a good week, but she always came back to take care of her family. She was a very loving girl, who loved to attend school regularly with high achievements. She graduated with E.W. Pratt’s 2008 class.
Dannyl loved children and made every effort to let them know she cared and loved them. She was the “Mother Hen” of all her family and friends.
Chewy was also very protective of all her family, always making sure everyone was happy, especially her brother Nathan on those nights he was out partying.
Birthday parties were some of the best times for the family: hotdogs, cakes and decorations. Chewy was always there to help.
Dannyl was so proud the day she got her learner’s to drive. When Dannyl would drive Lenae would get mad she didn’t know how to park, back up and, of course, was too scared to pass a vehicle.
This past spring Chewy broke her ankle on a patch of ice. She was laughing with her friends until she started to walk and realized she was hurt. She called her father at 7 a.m. and as soon as she heard his voice she started to cry. Her friends laughed but Chewy was always a baby when she heard her father’s voice. No matter what time of day it was, morning or night, when Chewy called, mother or father would go get her, whether it was Driftpile, Sturgeon Lake or in town.
Chewy was always on the go, playing sports like hockey, soccer, volleyball and baseball, but playing hockey as a goalie was her favourite. She loved her down time too, watching TV. She had lots of favourite shows, sometimes we couldn’t keep up.
Dannyl left home the day she passed away and hugged, kissed and told her nephew Denali that she loved him before leaving.
Dannyl will be sadly missed by: her parents, Karen and Darrell, her sister Lenae, her brothers Nathan and Keygon, her nephew Denali, and all her extended family and everyone who was blessed to know her.
She was predeceased by: Henry George Okemow, her Moosom; Pauline Gladue, her grandma; Shayleah Yang-Okemow, her sister; Edith Okemow, her aunt, and her uncles John and Elmer Okemow.
Anthony Lazaroff
1948-2010
Anthony (Tony) Lazaroff of High Prairie passed away April 27, 2010 at the age of 61 after a long battle with several ailments.
Anthony was born in Toronto in 1948. He lived a good part of his life there until his father passed away at which time Tony came to live in High Prairie with his mother, Anna Evanaulf, and stepfather Marshall Evanaulf.
Tony was well-known to most people of High Prairie and area. He was always out and about walking around and stopping to visit with many acquaintances and friends. He loved to socialize and always had incredible stories and many were actually based on what had happened in his life. Tony had a great memory and he could tell you about all sorts of events and their date of occurrence and greet many, many people and all of their family members by name.
As a young man he was able to play the violin and had a career as an accountant. Tony was a man with many personalities and the circle of people he knew reflected that. He was a gentle man who was willing to help others. He also had a good sense of humour.
Tony was predeceased by his father Carol Lazaroff, his mother Anko Draganoff (Anna Evanaulf) and his stepfather Marshall Evanaulf.
Tony will be sadly missed by his numerous friends.
William Marx
1947-2010
Eulogy by Denis Peyre
Few people in our world have touched so many in such a positive and friendly way. Will was a special friend and support to many of us here today; to others, a citizen of the community who represented honesty, integrity, friendliness and a focus on the betterment of all.
I’ve always been fascinated by the extremes of his personality, bravely doing things that most would consider asinine for an adult without any experience or training: white water rafting on the most treacherous course, canoeing down the Peace River from Dunvegan to Peace River town - this guy couldn’t swim! Mountain trail horseback riding with no previous riding experience; riding a ski chair lift, skis and all, not realizing that in order to be securely held in, there was a safety bar that should be locked down.
Another part of his personality could be timid and “freaked out”. At some time, reading became difficult and could only be helped with glasses. A family member somehow made him feel that in order to have an exam, the eye had to be frozen via a needle. For Will, that just wasn’t an option! He tried to convince good friend Wayne Stafford to let him have his glasses and Wayne could buy another pair. Of course, Will would pay for them but no exam!
I don’t know where to start outlining Will’s community involvement: the Ag Service Board, High Prairie Seed Plant, High Prairie School Division trustee, M.D. councillor, St. Vladimir’s Cemetery board, High Prairie and District Museum, High Prairie History Book, and I know some have been missed. Involvement in these organizations were always given his conscientious best.
Local history and love of nature were fortes of Will’s. He spent major time as leader in developing the local section of the Trans Canada Trail, which is the old Peace River Trail. I understand he actually walked the Peace River Trail before the clearing took place. Another difficult walk he made was with Wayne Stafford from Slave Lake to Hilliard’s Bay on the north side of Lesser Slave Lake. Will knew every square foot of the local Jackpine area and spent many hours in this most favourite area with family and friends.
In winter, if conditions were right, he would be skating for miles on Horse Lakes. The clear, crisp outdoors - no indoor ice surface and warm rooms for Will.
Agriculture was also a major interest. Will took particular pride in the family farm, appreciating the sacrifices and hard work of his parents in developing it. He honoured their memories by maintaining it as they had, and was gratified to have been recognized the agriculture community’s presentation of the Farm Family Award in 1998. The farmyard and garden were where Will spent what I considered onerous hours in keeping immaculate. I’m sure his parents would be very pleased with the maintenance of their old farm yard.
Travel was another love of Will’s. Each year until he became ill, he would take a three-week hiking trip usually in Europe. This generally meant not going to the tourist traps or 5-Star hotels, but taking the back roads of history.
Cheryl, once retired, would join him for a less arduous visit with Nicole in Germany. Countries Will visited were Egypt, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, England, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Mexico, and I’ve probably missed a few.
You have to realize that Will’s travel caused stress for his male friends’ wives. It was somewhat of a coffee shop topic on how Will took off on a European six-week holiday and his wife stayed home and made the money! I’m sure some of his friends took this home for some interesting debates.
Politics is something that I never like to discuss in public but this leads to a little story. As Will’s friends know, he was a diehard Liberal. We all came to realize after losing a few political debates with Will, politics was a subject you stayed away from.
A few years ago I was having a Saturday coffee break at A&W. The restaurant was quite full. I was at one side and I noticed Will visiting friends on the other side. Super sales lady, Mabel Goulet, was in that day selling Conservative memberships. Some of us could see the direction this might be going and kept an eye on what was developing. Mabel finally got to Will’s table. We couldn’t hear the discussion but strained our eyes watching - sure enough, Will dug out $5.
Mabel handed him a card. A few of us never let him forget that he was now a card-carrying Conservative.
Will Marx was the fourth child of Fred and Maria Marx, the youngest sibling to join sister Cindy and brothers Lennart and Erwyn. Both of Will’s parents were from early High Prairie pioneering families.
Will took most of his schooling in High Prairie, completing high school at Mount Royal in Calgary. He met Cheryl Widdifield in September 1966 when both were enrolled in the Grande Prairie Junior College. The original college was an old two-storey brick schoolhouse, not today’s modem sprawl.
They seemed to accidentally meet on the staircase each morning - that’s their story.
“Good morning, Karl!” Cheryl would say. What other name would she ever previously have associated with the name Marx?
The ever pleasant Will would reply, “Good morning. I’m Willie.”
Cheryl’s story is that Will finally married her in March 1971 in order to solve the name problem.
Will and Cheryl moved to High Level in August 1971 where both taught school. The school staff was comprised of several young couples like themselves. They made lasting friendships there and have kept in touch to this day with several of these couples, some of whom are here today.
After spending seven years in High Level, during which time daughter Nicole was born, they moved back to the family farm in 1978. Will had always planned to teach for a few years and then farm full time with his father. This he did after teaching another four years for the High Prairie School Division. He cherished the next 10 years of working with his father. The two of them worked well together and he really missed the connection when his father passed away in 1992.
Will and brother Erwyn farmed together for the next 17 years and then son Rod, born in 1980, began to farm in partnership with him this past season. The circle of life continued - when Will and his family moved to the farm, he was the son alongside his father, and now he was the father working alongside his son; he derived much joy from the situation.
There is profound sadness here today. Time heals these feelings but the memories will be with us forever.
Note: William Marx was born May 21, 1947, and passed away Nov. 21, 2010 at the age of 63 years.
James Lionel McLeod
1930-2010
James Lionel McLeod was born Oct. 21, 1930 in Lloydminster, AB. He was the third child born to Archie and Ethel McLeod. At a young age he moved to the High Prairie area with his parents. His father purchased land along the East Prairie River where his father farmed until his death. At that time James and his brothers continued farming. As time went on, his brothers went elsewhere to work and make their homes. James continued to live on and farm the land. He took winter employment at several lumber mills in the area to supplement the farm income.
In 1979, his mother moved from her home in Enilda to live with him on the farm until her death in 1986. During this time, they made many trips to Triangle and High Prairie for cribbage games, which provided them with the good companionship of friends and many hours of enjoyment. When there were no crib games, they made many trips north of High Prairie to pick saskatoons - many, many pails of saskatoons. They enjoyed picking many other kinds of local fruit which were then turned into preserves or jams to be enjoyed throughout the year.
James took pride in the cattle that were raised on the farm and the horses that were used on the farm to pull the machinery and do various other jobs. As times changed, the horses were replaced by tractors and other equipment and the cattle were sold. James continued to farm and raise pigs and, later on, even entrusted two small piglets to his niece and nephew to raise. He truly enjoyed the planting, cultivating and harvesting that took place year after year.
Along with the routine farm work of planting and harvesting, James also enjoyed gardening, both vegetables and flowers, and cultivating a rather large patch of raspberries. He liked his yard neat and tidy, so consequently, he mowed what seemed like several acres of grass, even the half a mile driveway out to the main road.
He always had the constant companionship of a dog throughout his years on the farm. In his later years on the farm, his dog ‘Toots’ was joined by a rather large cat, which was given the name of ‘Big Guy’. These two faithful companions followed wherever he went, even on them round-trip mile long jaunts out to the end of the driveway.
When poor health required him to move to the Pleasantview Lodge in High Prairie, he continued to cultivate his love of gardening. He planted flowers next to the building and in planters. One year, he planted a few tomato plants that produced so abundantly they filled boxes. This cultivation gave him much enjoyment and satisfaction.
While in his new home, he made many good friends whom he enjoyed spending time with. He took pleasure in just sitting and drinking tea and conversing with the ladies and other residents. Occasionally, there were spirited discussions with regards to some topics, but mostly it was talking about family, friends, activities enjoyed, trips taken and reminiscing about times past. Crib and card games were still enjoyed and enriched by these friends. Outings included bowling games in Enilda, shopping trips to Grande Prairie and Slave Lake, and excursions to various parts of Alberta.
Even thought he was no longer on his beloved farm, he continued to enjoy a rich and active life at the lodge. During the last year, his health began to deteriorate until the point where he was hospitalized in McLennan, where he stayed for the last two weeks of his life.
James is survived by: brother Robert in Evansburg; sister Ethel Mae in High Prairie; brother Stanley (Erline) in Hinton; brother Leslie in Carvel; sister Katherine June (Thomas); in High Prairie and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased: by his parents, Archie in 1955 and Ethel in 1986; his brothers Richard (Pat) in 1970, and Donald (Bonnie) in 1978.
