Gerald Fredrick George, August 8, 1942 – May 11, 2011
Celebrating a life well lived, the family of Gerry George wishes to announce his passing at the Davidson Health Centre.
Cherishing his memory are: his wife of 46 years, Bev; children Cory and Colin Ouellette, Jody and Tara George and Carla and Cory Chomyshen; grandchildren include Ellen, Jesse and John Ouellette, Chloe and Levi George and Bailey, Amy and Samantha Chomyshen; sister Lorraine (Edgar) Little and brother Tom George; sisters-in-law Margaret George (Wayne), Connie Schwab and Colleen Sekulich; aunts Phyllis George, Elizabeth Schwab and uncle Adam (Madeline) Schwab, many dear relatives and friends including special family friends Norman and Lynda Pillipow and family.
Gerry was predeceased by his parents Carl (1978) and Dennie (2008) George; brother Lloyd George (2000); father- and mother-in-law Tony (1993) and Kay (2009) Sekulich and brother-in-law Dale Schwab (1997).
It would take a book to record all the adventures, hardships, joys, illnesses, friends, accidents and mishaps and hilarious moments that Gerry experienced.
The following tribute was compiled by his wife and children. It was read by his daughters, Cory Ouellette and Carla Chomyshen, at his funeral on May 14, at St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church in Kenaston.
(as read by Cory)
On behalf of mom and our family, I would like to thank you for being with us today. Your presence here is a welcomed gift and we are so grateful for your support. We are extending an open invitation to all to join us at the interment after the service. Or if you prefer, feel free to wait at Kenaston Place. Following that we’ll have a special video presentation and then lunch and visiting.
Sixty-eight years ago, Carl and Dennie George welcomed their son Gerald Fredrick into the world. He was the oldest sibling to Lloyd, Lorraine and Tom. As a youngster Dad was taught the importance of hard work, friends, family and fun. Grandma and Grandpa must have been great teachers as Dad lived these life lessons to the fullest.
Listening to Dad, we learned that he was pretty amazing; milking cows when he was three, harnessing horses and plowing fields when he was four all while teaching younger brother Lloyd how to do it right. You get the picture.
Truth be told, Dad did do what most farm kids of his generation did, he just added some flair to his stories.
In his youth Dad enjoyed skating on the dugout, tobogganing, riding horses, 4H beef club, baseball and hunting.
Dad attended Zid country school from grades 1-8. The friendships he made there with friends and cousins lasted a lifetime. After Zid, he attended Kenaston High School. Dad was a bright student but he and the principal had different philosophies. So one day Dad thought that the sidewalk outside the school doors would make a great pad for laying rubber. This led to an early graduation.
With all the education he needed under his belt, Dad entered the work force. Over the years his work portfolio included: custom baling, hog, cattle and grain farming, sand blasting foreman on the construction of the Diefenbaker Dam, roughneck, construction worker, CAT operator, trucker, bus driver, pipeliner, welder and fabricator.
One of Dad’s favourite mottos was a man is only as good as his word. He lived by this and as a result was a neighbor and a friend who could be depended on.
I’m going to guess that many of you here today have heard a “Gerry adventure” or may have even been an accomplice to one. I have one that I’d like to share with you – I didn’t even have to sensor this one to make it “church friendly”.
Some years back, Sid and Blanche Howells caught a skunk in a trap in their yard. They called on Dad to see if he could get rid of it for them. Dad gladly accepted the job and instantly became Kenaston’s “pest control guy” . He went over on his three wheeler equipped with determination and a softener salt bag. When he got to the skunk, he lifted it up by the tail, lowered it into the salt bag, squeezed it shut, hopped on his trike, and headed down the old highway to release his prey. Along the way he looked down to see that the skunk had chewed a hole in the bag and had it’s head poked out. Dad panicked and threw the bag, cranking the handle bars at the same time, causing the trike to roll. When the dust cleared, Dad was laying in the ditch with the skunk laying right beside him. He traded in his trike and bought a quad.
Dad was a high spirited instigator when it came to having a good time. His love of life and spontaneity enabled him to enjoy: hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, gymkhana, camping, playing ball with the Kenaston Blues, golfing, photography, archery, RV’ing, trail rides, woodworking, being a member of the Lion’s, cook-outs and the Big Valley Jamboree. He wholeheartedly enjoyed these times with his family and many special friends.
You’d never know by the number of animals Dad hunted, that he actually was an animal lover. He broke horses, trained dogs, and loved surprising us with new additions to the barnyard.
Mom said that her first opinion of Dad was that he was a bit of a spoiled brat as he was driving his very own car at the age of 16. He certainly wasn’t the tall, dark and handsome beau she had envisioned for herself. To top it all off, he nearly ran her over while galloping his horse down the icy streets of Kenaston. Somehow, against her early judgments, he stole her heart and became her partner for the next 50 years. These two contrasting personalities complimented each other well. Mom added the stability and Dad added the spark.
I’ve been told that Dad was so proud when I was born. One of his favourite stories about my birth was that he was bragging me up to his good friend Sandy about how beautiful he thought I was. Sandy having had kids already, replied, “Scabby little beggars aren’t they?”
When Jody came along, Dad thought life couldn’t get any better but it did with the addition of his little girl Carla.
Life with Dad was just like Dad: lots of work mixed with lots of friends and fun. Any time he could find an opportunity to teach us a life lesson, he would. Here’s an example as told by Jody, “Whenever I would say, ‘I can’t’ or ‘I can’t do that.’ Dad would say, ‘There’s no such word as can’t’.” For instance when I was 12 or 13 a seal in the hydraulics of our 2470 Case tractor would go and the pump would have to come apart to replace it. Well there was one bolt that you almost had to split the tractor to get at. But my arm could just squeeze through to get at it. I could get an open wrench end on it and move it a 12th of a turn. Then I’d have to pull my arm out, flip the wrench and go back in to get another 12th of a turn. It would take me a couple of hours to get the bolt out, and a couple of hours to get it back in each time. This was one time that dad told me there was no such word as can’t. And I guess he was right because I managed to complete the task. But looking back Dad, I have to ask myself, if there’s no such word as can’t, why did I have to do it?
(as read by Carla)
Dad gave me some special gifts. He took me over to the neighbour’s one time because he had to pick something up but when we got there, the something to be picked up was a pony for me. On my 13th birthday he gave me a pair of pearl earrings. The gift he gave me at birth is a condition that I like to call “Gerryisms”. The symptoms of this condition include: the inability to think before speaking, acting on impulse, not necessarily appropriately, and the inability to focus on anyone thing too long. Yes, this may sound like I’m being negative but it is what has allowed me to get the same kick out of life as dad did.
Dad and I used to lay on the couch together while watching shows like “Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”, “Lorne Green’s New Wilderness” and “Walt Disney”. One day, I felt the Gerryisms take over. I reached down and lit up one of his player’s light cigarettes. “Bev”, he hollered, “the little bleep is smoking – and she knows what she’s doing!” He was right. I did. The first time I got caught was in grade 4 – another example of Gerryism.
Dad provided us with many opportunities to have fun and enjoy life. For many years our family belonged to the Allan gymkhana club. We spent many summer Saturdays riding in small town sports days. As a family we loved being up north boating and camping. Dad made sure we all learned how to water ski and unhook our own fish. Ski-dooing, trail rides and toboggan parties at Zid were other family favourites.
Dad truly loved Colin and Perogie, his sons-in-law, and Tara, his daughter-in-law. Colin was first, so he kinda broke Dad in for Perogie and Tara. Thank goodness Dad calmed down a bit by the time Perogie came along. What a blessing to have beautiful Tara as his next door neighbour. He shared many special and memorable times with them. They loved him like a father, and he loved them like they were his own.
As each grandchild came, they filled Papa’s life with pride, joy and love. He was so fortunate to have all of his grand kids grow up so close by. He thoroughly enjoyed sharing in their endeavors, whether it was sports, the arts, school activities, and/or receiving their sacraments.
Dad faced many obstacles with determination and strength. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 45, suffering kidney cancer two years later, and over the next few years, seven major surgeries. Two involved deep brain implants for Parkinson’s and an aortic aneurism repair. There were also several health related complications. He rarely complained, but he would say that if he knew he was going to live this long, he would have taken better care of himself. I used to tease him that he was the million dollar man. The government had invested so much money in him, they couldn’t afford to turn back!
Dad empathized with others because he knew what it was like to live with challenges. His declining health left him with the difficult decision of having to require long term care at the Davidson Health Centre. Although a huge adjustment for all of us, Dad made the best of the situation by making new friendships with the staff and residents. He made it his job to look after our grandma who was a resident of the home until her passing. She used to call him, “My Geraldo”. He had a tolerance and patience for all the residents and had a genuine connection for those who looked after him. I’m going to use this time to let all of you know, how much we saw the staff give of themselves to look after Dad. We witnessed them going above and beyond with acts of true compassion and respect.
The same can be said for Mom. The complications that affected Dad’s health caused he and Mom, each, to make painful and frequent sacrifices. Mom was a shining example of loyalty and love. We saw her stand by him through all the years. I don’t think any of us will ever truly understand how amazing she is.
Twelve days before he died, Dad announced he felt he had seven to ten days left. He wasn’t afraid to die. His tears were a sign of concern for us. He was assured that we would take care of Mom. When I told Mom this, she said that he had her promise to watch over us! Even from his hospital bed, he was taking care of his family. True to Dad’s nature he made the best of those last 12 days. One day he had a beer for breakfast. He said that he had never appreciated a beer so much. That must have been one heck of a beer! He even had ice cream for dinner and took time to practice his whistling. He said he was never very good at it, but thought he’d give it a go one more time! Visits from friends and family were dear to him, especially during this time.
We savored this time with Dad too. We reminisced, listened to old country music, laughed, cried and prayed and then at 7 p.m. on May 11, we rejoiced when his soul was set free.
