Obituary of Carew O'Grady

O'GRADY ~ Carew John "C.J." O'Grady passed away in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan Saturday, April 13, 2013 at the age of ninety years. C.J. leaves to mourn: his loving wife, Doreen O'Grady; four children: Linden O'Grady, Don O'Grady (Doris Lang), Miles (Sharon) O'Grady and Caren (Dan) O'Grady-Blatchford; fourteen grandchildren; and thirteen great grandchildren. The funeral service for C.J. O'Grady was conducted from the Stockade Convention Centre, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan Monday, April 22, 2013 at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Fred Sirett officiating. The eulogy was give by Ron Noble. Fort Pitt Choir was in attendance. The honorary pallbearers were Wilf Davis, Ron Noble, Pat McMinnon, Jack Lewis, Earl Ballard, Hugh Fleming, Barry Labatte, Stan Walterhouse, Stan Garnier and Ervin Harland. The active pallbearers were Mike O'Grady, Rory O'Grady, Adair O'Grady, Ty O'Grady, Con O'Grady and Ryan Blatchford. Interment was held in the East Manitou Cemetery near Neilburg, Saskatchewan prior to the funeral service. Donations in memory of C.J. O'Grady may be made to the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation or the Canadian Cancer Society. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy by Ron Noble Everyone leaves a mark of some kind, Today we are here to honor a man who definitely left his imprint. What a guy! For all of us that have known C.J. over the years, lets go back to when he was a young man, 18 or 20! Can you imagine what was going on in his mind; I'm thinking it was big, big or bigger. I believe that he was a real example of what it means to be a true Canadian. Give us the freedom to make choices and choices we will make and live by them and C.J. did just that. When I got the call from Caren that he had passed away, the first thing that came to mind was the song "I Did It My Way" and C.J. definitely did that. In 1922, October 16, Carew John O'Grady was born at home, on the farm, in the district of Winter, Saskatchewan. In 1934 C.J. completed Grade 8 at Rosebrier School. In 1937 he attended the Old Agriculture College; the following year he furthered his education at the Three Hills Bible College, where he sang in the Quartet. Can't you just hear him? In 1939 he returned home to the farm to haul feed, milk cows and even took time to chase coyotes with greyhounds. (Do you think there might have been a dollar to be made in those coyotes?) I am sure it all helped. In 1945 C.J. purchased and operated the General Store in Luseland, Saskatchewan. He sold general goods, clothing, shoes and groceries. He eventually returned to the family ranch; hauled feed up to 25 miles with a horse team and rack. 1948 would have been one of the most exciting years in his life; he met Doreen Achen (love of his life) at the Freemont Store while purchasing gas. They started courting in April, were engaged in July, and then eloped to get married at the United Church in Saskatoon on November 17, 1948. They stayed in Saskatoon for the winter. C.J. worked for Canada Packers and Canadian Sprayer and Equipment, traveling throughout Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In the spring of 1949, C.J. moved Doreen back to the ranch. He then became Sales Manager for Skeenen Lumber out of Vancouver, setting up dealerships for prefabricated houses throughout Western Canada. The same year Carew became a broker with Nelson Motors in Wilkie. Linden was born on August 27 of that year. In 1950 they were on the move again to Uncle James' farm in East Manitou , living in a house 22' x 22'. In the winter of 1951 they lived in the basement of Doreen's parents' home in Saskatoon where C.J. worked for Early Seed & Feed. That involved selling chicks, feeding equipment and canola contracts. Donald was born February 27 of 1951. During the winters they had a man feeding cattle back home and in the spring Carew and his family would return to start seeding. Miles was born August 3, 1953. After 3 boys, Caren was born on April 6, 1955. This completed the O'Grady family. 1958 was decision time; they chose to farm and ranch full time. In 1960 they had their very first water well on their ranch. C.J. had a gift for dowsing, which is locating water underground. He dowsed many wells. By 1965 he got his pilot's license and was more than excited for Doreen to do likewise. They always kept a well groomed airstrip on the ranch. They started out with 3 quarters of land and expanded to 47 quarters of ranch land and seeded wheat, oats, canola, barley and registered brome grass seed. He had 60 miles of fence. C.J. used horse drawn equipment and advanced to today's large 400 HP tractors and combines. He had one of the first self-propelled combines in the area. His beef herd started with 12 head and expanded to 500 mother cows. In 1971 he imported Swiss and French Simmental Cattle; he was one of the first in the area to transplant embryos. As time went on C.J. was inducted into the Canadian Simmental Hall of Fame. When approaching the ranch the first thing noted would be the many miles of groomed trees -ash, elm, caragana and spruce. C.J. got great enjoyment out of planting trees. By this time C.J. was involved in judging cattle shows and attending sales. This is where I came into the picture. In 1971 I met C.J. at the Denver Stock Show. When I first noticed this well-dressed man, he was like a magnet drawing you into his space. Kind of demanding your attention and he surely got my attention! Over the next few years we traveled to many, many sales - 4 western provinces, northern USA and Berry, Ontario. In 1978 Carew and Doreen moved into Lloydminster and started C.J. O'Grady Livestock Services. There were cattle going every direction; who better to find a new home for those big full blood cows than C.J. Sometimes the same cows were handled 2 or 3 times going to new homes in Washington, Oregon, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and various locations throughout Canada. He also dipped into Australia and New Zealand with embryo and semen sales. Jonathon Fox and C.J. formed a company doing business in Australia as well. Carew was a salesman extra-ordinaire. He had a built in GPS long before they were put in vehicles. He was adamant that people give good directions since the trick to being on time was to know exactly where you were going. He was one that definitely didn't want to be late; usually he would be 15 minutes early. Back then he just had an old bag phone and occasionally the phone would ring with someone suggesting that so and so had some good heifers. When we got there, they weren't really for sale, but chances are by the time we left they were for sale! Over the years Carew created a large clientele for purchasing herd sires. When attending bull sales he had a favorite spot to sit and he certainly added value to the overall average of the sale. C.J. had a good eye for livestock and was able to encourage value for quality. He wasn't one to just drive the highways, he worked the back roads where a lot of people made their business out of livestock and farming. He knew the back roads so well! His life wasn't just all about livestock. Farming became a huge part of his lifestyle, enjoying the new modern equipment. He really looked forward to spring, getting into that big tractor and putting the seed in the ground. Then he couldn't wait for fall; it was like fast forwarding. He wanted to get into the combine and see what was there. Other interests that C.J. enjoyed were hunting, fishing, golf and traveling. He definitely knew where the best restaurants were and Prime Rib was at the top of the list. Just a few months ago, he organized his 90th birthday party, for those of us who were there; we noticed that the apples don't fall far from the tree as we observed the O'Grady families, consisting of 14 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. Praise be to God, from whom all blessings flow. I believe this party gave him the encouragement to carry on for a few more months. He often said, "Every day is a bonus!" We have missed that white Ford truck driving up and down our alley ways! Doreen, I know this day was all about C.J., but you were HIS ROCK. Over the past 65 years, it was you that helped mold and shape the family, the business and his life. You did this with confidence, beauty and eloquence. He was thankful for you and so very proud of you. C.J. thanks for the memories and encouragement over many years. You were able to do it your way! If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail, If you can't be the sun be a star, It isn't by size that you win or fail Be the best of whoever you are !!! Peace be with you my old friend!