Category Archives: Imperial

Imperial, Obituary

Obituary: Burgess, William “Bill”

Burgess, William “Bill”

William James “Bill” Burgess passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 23rd at the Pasqua Hospital in Regina, surrounded and supported by his wife and family members.

He is survived by his loving wife Kay; six children, Mark, Greg, Marie, Joan, Peter, Anne and their spouses, along with nine grandchildren, Kyle, Cara, Maddisen, Shane, Reanne, Malorie, Taryn, Kirsten, Shanna and their spouses; 12 great-grandchildren, Blaine, Lily, Nolan, Lyla, Evan, Adeline, Malakai, Ethan, Arianne, Danika, Aiden and Justin.

He is also survived by his sister Cleone; his brother-in-law Norman and his sisters-in-law, Ann, Cecile, Val and Eileen and numerous nieces and nephews.

He is predeceased by members of his immediate family: his parents Jim and Hester Burgess; his granddaughter Anita; his brother Russell and sister Joyce; and several sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.

He was born west of Imperial, on the family farm on September 28, 1928, the third of four children, to Jim and Hester Burgess. In 1951 he married Kay Krpan, the love of his life and they enjoyed 65 wonderful years of marriage. Bill was a gentle man who loved to tell stories, dance, play his banjo, play rummy, listen to music, hunt and of course his life’s work, carpentry. His passions are almost too numerous to mention. He will be sadly missed by his family.

For online condolences, tributes or to make a donation to Long Lake Valley Health Foundation in his memory, please visit fotheringham-mcdougall.com.

featured, Imperial

World Juniors were a family affair for Ingrams

Brent and Joni Ingram, parents of Team Canada goalie Connor Ingram, wear their jerseys at their home in Imperial.
Brent and Joni Ingram, parents of Team Canada goalie Connor Ingram, wear their jerseys at their home in Imperial.

By Joel van der Veen

IMPERIAL — For the Ingram family, Christmas dinner is coming a little later than usual this year.

Brent and Joni, their four sons and significant others were gathering in Imperial this past weekend for a belated holiday meal.

Normal traditions were put on hold in December as the family travelled east to watch their youngest son on the world stage.

Connor Ingram, 19, was one of two goalies for Team Canada during the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship, helping the team to a silver medal.

His proud mother and father spoke to the Leader last week from the kitchen of their Royal Street home.

Coffee and baked goods were on the table, and playing in the background was a radio station from Humboldt.

Connor was on the air, answering questions of all sorts — like what makes goalies different, or what his favourite meal is. (“My mom’s homemade soup.”)

In recent weeks he has given a string of interviews to radio, TV and print media, and his parents also spoke to multiple reporters.

“We talked to a lot of people,” said Brent. “It was a way to get the message back home . . . When you live in a small town, you don’t do that very often.”

The tournament brought an unprecedented level of attention to the town of 350 residents, with two of its native sons taking part.

Kris Knoblauch, 39, was assistant coach for Team Canada, working with head coach Dominique Ducharme and assistant Tim Hunter.

Following a successful career as a forward on multiple WHL teams, Knoblauch spent two seasons coaching the Kootenay Ice. He currently coaches the Erie Otters, one of three U.S.-based teams in the Ontario Hockey League.

“We had two from a town this size there at the same time,” said Brent Ingram. “It was good for Imperial.”

“Imperial doesn’t usually get a lot of love,” said Connor, who spoke to the Leader last week by phone. “I think they liked it.”

For the full story, please see the Jan. 16 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.

Imperial, Obituary

Obituary: Vance, Lillian Judith

 

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Vance, Lillian Judith

Lillian Judith Vance (Judy) 80, of Imperial passed away December 18, 2016 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

A celebration of life was held at the Imperial Community Complex on December 27, 2016 at 2 p.m. A private family burial will be held at a later date.

Judy was born in Saskatoon to Alice and Harry Holt on October 18, 1936. She was the youngest of two girls. Judy went to school at Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon and graduated in 1954. During her high school years, Judy played basketball. She went on to play for Saskatoon’s Adilman Aces. They won the Canadian Championship and Judy was the only Ace’s player to be named to the All-Star Team. She was part of the team that played at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago. The team was inducted into the Saskatoon Hall of Fame in 1987. Judy also worked for the Red Cross from 1955 until 1963 and travelled all over the province with them.

She met Stanley Vance in 1959 and they were married on July 2, 1960. They moved down to the family farm in Imperial in 1964 and later bought their own farm in 1968, where they lived and raised their children. Judy was very involved in all the farming activities as well as many different organizations within the community. She and Stanley had many great friends. Once the children were grown, Judy and Stanley spent their winters at Trails End Trailer Park in Weslaco, Texas, where they made many great and lasting friendships. Judy enjoyed gardening, her flowers, hunting, ice fishing, curling, golfing, shuffling, puzzles, painting, crosswords, old western movies, CSI, game shows, reading, playing poker, cribbage, farming, and most of all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Judy is predeceased by both her parents Alice and Harry, and her husband Stanley.

Judy is survived by her sister Bea (Larry) Rose; her children, Becky (Norman) Lucas, Jody Vance, Penny (Dean) McCallum, Sheldon (Lisa) Vance; her grandchildren, Joslin (Denny) Freeman, Jessica Lucas, Stephanie McCallum, Kelsey (Ryan) Unruh, Jenessa Vance, Hailey McCallum, Cooper Vance, Sydney Vance; great-grandchildren, Kayden, Rylan, Paityn and Kylee. Memorial donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society. For online condolences, tributes or to make a donation in her memory please visit fotheringham-mcdougall.com.

featured, Imperial, Sports

Ingram named to Team Canada for world juniors

IMPERIAL — One of Imperial’s own will be part of the Canadian team at this year’s World Junior Championship.

Connor Ingram is one of two goaltenders for Canada’s National Junior Team, one of 22 players named to the roster.

The list of players was announced Wednesday following a four-day selection camp.

Connor, 19, is the son of Brent and Joni Ingram of Imperial, and is currently in his third season with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

As of early December, he held a 14-9-1 record in 24 appearances, with a goals-against average of 2.12, a 93.5 save percentage and two shutouts.

He is ranked second in the WHL in terms of both his goals-against average and save percentage.

Prior to his WHL career, he played Midget AAA hockey with the Prince Albert Mintos, helping lead the team to a Telus Cup win in 2014.

Kris Knoblauch, also a native of Imperial, is serving as the junior team’s assistant coach.

The tournament is split between Toronto and Montreal, with Canada playing its first tournament game against Russia on Boxing Day.

featured, Imperial

Imperial impresses with “Peter Pan”

Wendy (Lexi Lewis) and Peter Pan (Jenna Joa) survey the sights as they fly through the night sky in Imperial School's production of "Peter Pan."
Wendy (Lexi Lewis) and Peter Pan (Jenna Joa) survey the sights as they fly through the night sky in Imperial School’s production of “Peter Pan.”

By Joel van der Veen

IMPERIAL — In between performances of Imperial School’s annual dessert theatre last week, a student asked director Carol Baade what show they were going to do next year.

“I said, ‘We haven’t got through these shows yet,'” Baade recalled with a laugh.

Such was the enthusiasm shown by students and staff alike as the school presented Peter Pan in three performances at the Imperial Community Centre between Wednesday and Friday.

Every one of Imperial’s 46 high school students was involved as part of the cast or crew, while many teachers, parents and others contributed to the show’s success.

“Probably the main goal is to do it as a team and a school project,” said Baade, the school’s principal. “There’s been lots of hours and lots of adventures.”

The play was based on the 1904 J. M. Barrie play and the 1953 Disney cartoon, using songs from the latter.

The shows incorporated singing and dancing by the actors, as well as a couple of performances by the Imperial School “A” Band under the direction of Vlad Osatiuk.

Celina Remlinger played the part of Tinker Bell and also served as student dance captain. Pat Joa and Holly Yanoshewski were the voice coaches while Wynter Batke and Lexi Lewis served as masters of ceremonies.

This fall marked 20 years since Imperial School’s high school students made it an annual tradition to mount a full musical production.

For the full story and more photos, please see the Dec. 5 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.