A Memorial and a Reunion

Airdrie cemetary

My Dad died on June 20th. The obituary can be found here. The memorial was held in Calgary, our home town, on August 7th at our former church. This date was chosen so that my boys could attend and the church was available that day. My cousin Allan was the officiant. Dad had picked some hymns which was helpful. It was challenging planning an event from far away. The administrator at the church (Wendy O) is a gal that I've know since I was 12 so that was also nice. Mom wasn't able to make the trip.

My hubby drove to Calgary with my boys. I flew. We stayed in a rented house in northeast Calgary in a new neighbourhood (close to the airport) that is overwhelmingly Indian. The house was very comfortable. Three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and two living rooms. 

On Wednesday we went to Heritage Park for some family time. 

I enjoyed Heritage Park since it had been a long time since I had been there. I'll do a separate blog post with photos from there. I was wishing that Dad was with me as I walked around.

I wanted to get a steak while in Calgary. We ate at The Guild which is on 8th Avenue in the former Bay building. As we walked from the car, I pointed out the Plus 15 walkways to the boys. I had a delicious tenderloin 6 ounce steak.

On Thursday morning we had a graveside service at the Airdrie cemetary. It was a simple service. Allan read some scripture that I selected. I led the group in singing Abide With Me. My uncle John's children and their spouses attended this service. 

I wanted to keep it small. Allan brought some dirt from our former farm and he and I sprinkled it on top of Dad's remains. I appreciated that. Alexander videotaped the service to show to my mom. We found the graves of other Pole relatives including my grandparents Thomas and Charlotte. 

My cousin Julie pointed out the graves of the Hawkey family who assisted the Pole family when they arrived from Ontario. I still need to purchase a grave marker. We looked around for ideas.

I noticed that my first elementary school was near to the cemetary so we stopped to get a photo.

We met at Boston Pizza for an early lunch. 

The waitress stood on a table to take this photo!

We were having a good visit and then realized that time was getting late. We still needed to stop at the house before going to the church. 

Our former pastor Ron was supposed to help lead the service. We found out that he had to go to Urgent Care due to a heart issue. He's fine now. Another Brentview pastor (Pete with an Irish accent) filled in for him and lead the singing. 

I hugged lots of people who were arriving at the church. I tried to get lots of photos to help remember who was there. 

Lorne Dunn

Cecil Cowie - Berean Alumni rep

Sharon Bilben, Larry Bilben, me, Harold Evans, Linda Evans

Ruth and Brian Esau

The service went smoothly. The reception was held in the gym. I didn't have a receiving line or an open mike. There were three tables displaying photos and memorabilia. Here is the photo board that I created.

left side

middle

right side

I also displayed my dad's running jacket. The tablecloths were blue which was appropriate. There was plenty of food and drink. Sandwiches, fruit, veggies, squares (including Nanaimo bars) and cookies, tea, coffee and iced tea. 

My Creighton cousins

Susan

Enarsons

Lenora (Butt) Strand

Al and Millie Benson

Harold Evans, Linda Evans, Sharon and Larry Bilben,
Daniel Numez, Helen Olhauser, Terry Olhauser

Jordan Donna Bill Cameron, Val Carleton, Gunther Eichmann, Neil Carleton, Margaret and Dwayne Janke, Pat Tennant, Marjorie Moore

I wish we had more photos of the guests and name tags! I think there were 58 guests. I haven't seen some of these people in 45 years. My cousin Julie likes to take photos so some came from her.

Cameron Pole (Laurence's son), Jerry Nation, and Julie

The surprise guest was Eunice who I've known since I was 12! She came from Grande Prairie. 

After the reception, we drove out to find the location of the farm. We were told that there is development all around it but not on the actual spot. 

We think this is very close. If I come back, it would be nice to walk around this area. There are lots of bike/walking paths. 

Next was a trip to Peters Drive In. I had a lime shake in honour of Mom.

On Friday, J and A left in the car in the morning. C and I were without a car and we didn't need to be at the airport until 5 pm. The rental house had an 11 am check out time. My friend Kathy was so hospitable. She picked us up and spent the day with us. We had an early lunch, went to a used bookstore and a thrift store. After that she took us to her house. We hung out there for a few hours. We forgot to get photos of the three of us. The used bookstore had a large Canadian section. I bought these two books. 

The book on the right was written by my Mom's cousin Nancy Millar.

As the plane was taxing down the runway, I took this photo out the window of the Calgary skyline.

I love the big skies of Alberta. It is interesting how memorials can also be reunions. I would've enjoyed talking to more people. One man who had worked for my dad was choked up talking about him. That made all the effort of coming to Calgary worth it. 

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