Obituary of Adolph Johnson

JOHNSON: Adolph Oliver Johnson of North Battleford, Saskatchewan passed away in The Battlefords District Care Centre on Saturday, October 23, 2004 at the age of 89 years. Adolph was born on March 26, 1915 in Alticane, Saskatchewan. Left to cherish his memory are his five sons: Larry (Dee); Edward (Indra); Norman (Gloria), Lloyd (Jeanine) and Jim (Bea); 18 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren and 1 great great grandson. He was predeceased by his first wife Helen, daughter Agnes McCaw and son Albert Johnson. The funeral service was held on Friday, October 29, 2004 at 1:00 P.M. from The Notre Dame de Lordes Roman Catholic Church, North Battleford, Saskatchewan. The officiant was Father Andrew Cyruk. The eulogy was written by the family and given by Dave McCaw. Memories of Grandpa were given by his grandson Shaun Johnson. The organist was Doreen Gilles with the choir in attendance. The pallbearers were Reg McCaw, Shaun Johnson, Glenn McCaw, Ed Johnson, Lloyd Johnson and Jim Johnson. Interment followed in The North Battleford City Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd. of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy - Adolph Johnson Adolph Oliver Johnson was born on March 26, 1915 in Alticane, Saskatchewan. He spent his childhood and adolescent years in and around the Alticane district. He married Helen Koroll on January 26, 1936 and settled on a quarter section farm which was approximately three miles northwest of the town of Junor, Saskatchewan. While performing the arduous and time consuming activities of mixed farming, he found time to father and raise seven children (Agnes, Albert, Larry, Ed, Norm, Lloyd and Jim). After approximately twenty-five years of farming, all assets were sold in 1956 and the Johnson family moved off the farm, leaving the land to be rented by other farmers in the area. Today, the town of Junor no longer exists but the farm still remains in the family. While living in North Battleford, one of the mischievous things he used to do was tie shell peanuts to the tree branches with wire and watch as the Bluejays tugged and became frustrated. On a more humane note, he was famous for always feeding the neighbours dogs. Adolph had a love for playing cards. It didn’t matter if it was Kaiser, Crib, Hola or Crazy Eights. As soon as visitors entered the house, the cards came out and all visiting (talking) was done while playing cards. Card playing was his love right to the end. Along with playing cards was the usual request if a person wanted an “eye opener”. It didn’t matter if the “eye-opener” was whiskey, vodka or wine. He also loved playing bingo. This was where most of his social life was spent. From a culinary standpoint, Adolph made the best Studinetz (that’s Head Cheese for you non-Ukrainians). He also had a knack for making various wines which were known to be very potent. His best appeared to be Chokecherry wine. Adolph was always a welcomed invite to a meal. When the meal was over he gladly offered to do the dishes, leaving the hosts to relax and visit with any of their other company. During his time in Saskatoon and North Battleford, the love of the farm never left him. During the weekends, mostly during the non-winter months, you would find Adolph at the farm fighting with the beavers and breaking down the dams to keep his farm land from being flooded. While at the farm he loved picking up sticks and stones at the edge of the fields or just clearing branches from the many roadways. One day he got a bit carried away with cleaning up. He was planning to burn the grass around the house but it got away from him and the house was burnt to the ground. After that, he was constantly kidded that his next project would be to burn down the barn. During his years in North Battleford, he loved to go fishing and spent many hours at Cochin on Murray Lake with friends and family. He took great pride in coming in off the lake with a good catch of jack fish. Cleaning them and then frying up some for a tasty meal that was complimented with an “eye-opener”. Adolph was a very caring man. He openly welcomed all visitors and was known for slipping candies and small change to children. Adolph had few demands on life. He loved his food and was especially akin to sweets. One of his favourites was white almond cookies. He also loved candies, werthers and especially suckers. In 1997 Adolph had a stroke which left his left side partially paralysed. However, this didn’t stop him from making braided coat hangers, which he happily gave away to family and friends that paid him a visit. Adolph’s last couple of years were spent in the Battleford District Care Centre. He appeared to be very content there mainly due to the special treatment he received from the Nursing Staff. He had a nickname of “blue eyes” and was allowed up after all other patients were in bed to watch TV with the Nurses and, occasionally, play Kaiser with them. Adolph was a wonderful father, grandfather and a favourite uncle. He will be greatly missed by all his family and friends. Card of Thanks The family of Adolph Johnson wish to send a special thanks to The Battleford’s District Care Centre for the loving and compassionate care of our dad. Thank you to Father Andrew for conducting the service, to Doreen Gilles for providing the music and to Dave McCaw for giving the eulogy. Thank you to everyone for phone calls, cards, donations, food brought to our homes and for your attendance at the funeral service. Thank you to the ladies who prepared and served lunch following the service. Your thoughtfulness at this time will always be remembered. The Adolph Johnson Family