Obituary of Jack Holtby

B I O G R A P H Y HOLTBY: John "Jack" Armstrong Holtby passed away in the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Center, Lloydminster, Alberta on Sunday, December 26, 2004 at the age of 91 years. Jack is survived by: his loving wife Hazel of Lloydminster; seven children: Harold Holtby and his wife Mary of Marshall; Des Holtby and his wife Inez of Lloydminster; Grant Holtby and his wife Bonnie of Marshall; Myrna and her husband Tom Fisher of Lloydminster; Iris and her husband Ken Krysta of Grande Prairie; Art Gainsforth and his wife Deanna of Wetaskiwin; Gordon Gainsforth and his wife Sherri of Lloydminster; twenty-four grandchildren; forty-five great grandchildren and one sister Olive and her husband Lou Mitchell of Lloydminster, as well as many nieces and nephews. The memorial service for Jack was conducted from the Grace United Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Thursday, December 30, 2004 at 1:00 P.M. with Reverend Harold Martin officiating. A eulogy was given by granddaughter Cheryl Walker. A solo "In The Quiet Curve of Evening," was sung by granddaughter Stacy Bainbridge. A solo "In The Bulb, There Is A Flower," was sung by niece Dawn Knowles. The Grace United Church Choir sang "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee." Hymns sung were "Come In, Come In and Sit Down," and "Make Me A Channel of Your Peace," accompanied by Irene Knowlson on the organ. Honorary pallbearers were all those in attendance, the Marshall Odd Fellows and the Royal Canadian Legion. A private family interment was held in the Marshall Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy by Cheryl Walker Today, we’re here to celebrate the life of a very kind, noble and honorable gentleman by the name of John (Jack) Armstrong Holtby. He was born May 15, 1913 and continued on his journey December 26, 2004 at the age of 91 years. He was predeceased by his wife Margaret in 1972. He is survived by his wife Hazel of 30 years, his three sons Harold (Mary) of Marshall, Des (Inez) of Lloydminster, Grant (Bonnie) of Lashburn one daughter Myrna (Tom Fisher) of Lloydminster, twenty-four grandchildren and forty-five great grandchildren. The amazing fact is that never a birthday or anniversary was missed with any of us. Jack was the third child of Robert and May Holtby. He was born in a log shack on his father’s Barr Colonist homestead. He was welcomed by his older sister (Mildred) Beamish and brother Robert (Bert) and was later joined by younger sister Olive (Mitchell). Jack’s early schooling was at Kempton School where he and his brother Bert were janitors at a very young age. They would walk to school and arrive to a cold school many a day. His affinity to working hard and putting in an honest day’s work began at a young age. It was while in his youth that Jack developed an interest in farming and horses. Both of these became a way of life for him. One of Jack’s nephews wrote that ‘I always remember that Jack had earned the ultimate compliment as a young man - he was an excellent horseman and always so kind to his animals. He made sure they had Sundays off, dry bedding, and that they were fed first before he fed himself.’ It’s no wonder his teams of horses were admired by many. Even years later he could describe each one and recall it by name. Jack married Margaret Jeffery in 1934 and they farmed NE of Marshall. They proceeded to raise their four children with lots of love, laughter, hard work and commitment to each other. They eventually moved two miles further south down the road so as to be close for the kids to go to school in Marshall. This is were “Grandpa’s” farm was known by all of us grandchildren. Jack both farmed and drove school bus for many years. He was also a 4-H leader, an original member of the Marshall Odd Fellows Lodge #189, a member and chairman of the Marshall United Church and a school board member. In 1974 he brought to us a new member of the family when he married Hazel Gainsforth. He was happy to have her family of three - Iris (Ken Krysta) currently of Grande Prairie, Art (Deanna) currently of Wetaskiwin and Gordon (Sherry) currently of Lloydminster and their families as part of his family too. My first memory of my “new” cousins was when at Grandpa and Grandma’s wedding, Randy gulped down a big glass of ‘really funny tasting water’ which turned out to be vodka. Jack and Hazel settled at ‘Grandpa’s farm’ and both worked very hard to make it a beautiful little acreage. They eventually moved to a house in Lloydminster then on to Fellowship Village. This was a great place for Grandpa as it was close to Zellers and coffee row every morning. If you ever needed to find Grandpa you could just go to Zellers at around 9 o’clock and find him surrounded by his many friends. He values each and every one of those friendships. While in Lloyd Jack sang with the Lloydminstrels, became an active member of the Lloydminster Barr Colony Museum and curled with the Lloydminster Seniors. Throughout his life he enjoyed a family trip to Banff, Jasper and Great Falls in addition to travelling to England, Yuma, the Maritimes, Western Canada, the cabin at Loon Lake and many travels with their truck and camper. Family was the most important element in Grandpa’s life. When he had to take his older brother Bert to the train for duty in World War II and say ‘goodbye to him’ it had a lasting effect on him as it was the last time he ever saw him. This is probably why Grandpa always tried to see the best in every situation and felt blessed for all of the little things that life brings you. He was always there to lend a helping hand. Whether he was helping to take the crops off, installing a pool or simply fixing a broken bike he always did it with a smile on his face. It was his honor to be able to do it. He never expected anything in return. As his children and grandchildren we always knew that Grandpa loved us. We certainly kept him busy spectating all of our many activities. He saw a lot of cold hockey seats, hot ball bleachers and listened to some truly terrible off key notes at many a music concert. Whether you won or list, did your best or fell short, Grandpa applauded with equal enthusiasm. It was always special to have him there with us. I can honestly say that in my entire life I have never, every heard anyone say a bad work about Grandpa. Words that were used to describe him were ‘a real gentleman,’ ‘a nice man,’ ‘a sharp dresser,’ ‘a very strong man,’ and ‘honest as the day is long.’ This is quite the compliment to someone who lived for so long. He will be sadly missed by many. Another phrase that I would like to add about Grandpa is ‘life of the party.’ He absolutely loved to dance, sing, visit and socialize. Everyone looked forward to his arrival. If there was laughter, Grandpa was laughing the loudest. If it was quiet he’d get something going. His ability to tell stories always amazed us kids. As good as the story was it was always as much fun watching Grandpa’s hands and feet move. The better the story, the faster the fingers flew and the feet shuffled. He had better foot motion than Mohammed Ali!!! In his younger years he loved curling ans especially loved BONSPIELING. Getting Grandpa and Gordie Nielson together was like adding gas to fire. What good times they had. I remember going to watch him curl in Marshall where your attendance was always rewarded with a slice of homemade pie after the game. Grandpa loved a good joke. I’ll never forget when we had a family gathering at Grandpa’s in town. Several of my boy cousins and I had been out rather late the night before and were paying for it rather heavily the next morning when we arrived. He recognized the signs immediately and took the greatest delight in getting us a stiff Christmas drink. He practically pranced to and from the kitchen serving us. He absolutely giggled at the various shades of green that we turned. Grandpa had the utmost patience with us. As Anne put it so aptly - “as we got older and were able to drive the little red truck or skidoo and of course, ultimately got stuck, we just had to walk back to the farm and Grandpa would come pull us out - never once getting mad. When Grandpa turned 87 all of us grandchildren made a memory jar for him. We simply wrote down all of our fondest memories of him. He was absolutely amazed that we remembered so many special times with him. Here is a sampling of but a few: - Spending hours on Grandpa’s knee in the combine as he answered our endless questions. - Playing in the bunkhouse and serving up our best mud cakes and cookies for him, complete with grass and leaf sparkles of course - Filling his pipe - Burying a special dog - Riding in his boat - Clicking his heels together when he got his first pension cheque - A pocketful of humbugs - And last but not least, the big strong arms and hands that would reach down to lift you for a hug We will greatly miss our Dad, Grandpa and friend but I feel from the bottom of my heart that we are all better people for having known him. When you think of him do so with a smile on your face because that’s how he’d want it. Try to learn a little from his gentleness, his patience, his love of family and his zest for life. Take care Grandpa, Thanks for everything and we’ll see you soon. We love you very much. Card of Thanks We wish to thank the nurses and staff of the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre for their untiring and devoted care given to Jack. We wish to thank Dr. Chapelski, Dr. Crossley, Dr. Nattress, nurses and hospital staff, also Jubilee Home and staff, the ambulance attendants and Home Care nurses. To Reverend Harold Martin for his comforting and understanding service, Irene Knowlson for the music, Grace United Church Choir, soloists Stacy Bainbridge and Dawn Knowles, Cheryl Walker for giving the eulogy. For the attendance of the Odd Fellows of Marshall who conducted their memorial service for Jack and formed their honorguard, and to the Marshall Legion, to Annie Fisher, Kim York and Greg Holtby for taking part in the burial service. A special thank you to the Marshall Rebakahs for serving the delicious lunch. For the many cards, flowers, phone calls, food to our homes, donations and visits. Thank you to McCaw’s for their professional guidance, care and concern. Last but not least a special thank you to all our families, relatives and friends for their caring and continued support. The Holtby & Gainsforth Families Donations in memory of Jack may be made to The Dr. Cooke Patient Comfort Fund or The Marshall Cemetery.