Obituary of Alfred Bexfield

Alfred "Alf" Harold Bexfield passed away in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Sunday, December 15, 2013 at the age of 101 years. Alf leaves to mourn his passing: his son, Ron (Joan) Bexfield; his daughter, Linda (Doug) Abrosimoff; grandchildren, Haley (Sheldon) Hope, Brad (Sheri) Bexfield, Kristin (Chris) Hickman, Monica Abrosimoff (Mike Jubb), Leah (Morgan) Mann; great-grandchildren, Madison, Austin, Morgan, Lauren, Jacob, William, Liam, Alizay, Ruby, Lola, Freya, Alfred. Olivia, George; sister-in-law, Helen Wilson. He was predeceased by his wife, Doris; his parents, James and Elizabethe Bexfield; siblings, Thomas (Chris) Bexfield, Hector (Ruth) Bexfield, Hilda (Gordon) Atkinson, Evelyn Bexfield, Arthur (Betty) Bexfield. Donations in memory of Alf can be made to the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame, the Lashburn Curling Rink or to a Charity of the Donor's Choice. Dad's Eulogy 2013 Good morning everyone. I am Ron Bexfield and this is my sister Linda Abroismoff. We thank-you all so much for taking the time at this very busy season to come and help us celebrate the life of our Dad. Alfred Harold Bexfield was born on Nov 5th, 1912 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to James Scarlett and Elizabethe Bexfield. His parents and his four older siblings (Thomas, Hector, Hilda and Evelyn) had immigrated to Canada from England in April of 1911. Their family was complete when younger brother Arthur was born in 1919 in Moose Jaw as well. Grandpa Bexfield had operated a market garden in England and after pulling up stakes in Norfolk and arriving in Canada at St Johns on the SS Lake Manitoba they traveled west to Moose Jaw. Grandpa got work as a gardener, planted trees for the city and was the caretaker of a theatre. Grandpa's dream of owning his own land in Canada began when he took a homestead at Neidpath in the spring of 1914, by this time a lot of the better land had been taken and so when he began to break the new land he found it to be very stony. Grandpa built a small 3-room house. His first crop was pretty light but the next year 1915 had good growing conditions and the crops looked really good, but hopes of that good crop were wiped out by a raging prairie fire. They lost everything they owned except the clothes on their back. Dad and his 2 older sisters lives were spared because they were able to hide out in a neighbor's tin covered shack. Grandpa and Grandma lay down on a strip of new breaking and the fire burned right over them. They would have surely starved that winter had it not been for the Red Cross and kind neighbors. After several more crop failures and with much deliberation they decided to move north with stories of abundant wood for fuel, feed and wild game. Grandpa was 49 and Grandma was 46. After Grandpa had paid for their train fares and a box car to ship their horses, machinery and house hold effects he had $180.00 left to live on and start a new life; but after being burned out, rusted out and dried out for 7 years he was ready to take a chance on anything. In mid Oct. they loaded up all their worldly possessions and hauled them all to Rush Lake where they boarded the train to Lashburn. A Mr. Elmer Aldrich who Grandma had contacted through the Home Living Hearts of the Family Herald and Weekly Star met them the next morning. He kindly drove them out the 18 miles across the Battle River to the west end of the Battle valley to his parent's farm by Democrat. They offered them housing in an old log house on their property which hadn't been lived in for several years. A quote from Dad's book: " After having never known anything but life on the bald prairie this land of rivers, lakes and trees and all the prospects of hunting game was really thrilling. As Mother looked over the log cabin, which was to be our home, she was much less enthusiastic." Another quote from Bexfields of Norfolk: "Our first Christmas in the north country was a typical Saskatchewan winter day. With a heavy hoar frost on the trees and snow backed up to the white, frost covered windows; the little log cabin looked cozy nestled against the south side of the large bluff of poplars. At this time of year Mother and Dad's thought would go back to Christmas they had spent in Norfolk as they would tell us about going to church on Christmas day to the sounds of church bells and the sight of holly and mistletoe. As hard up as we were Santa always called on us. On Christmas morning, Elmer had made a very nice toboggan for Evelyn and I. Mother had the log cabin nicely decorated with green and red streamers and tinsel. We would have our Christmas dinner of turkey, plum pudding and mince pies. This was always tradition in the Bexfield home as were the nuts, candies and oranges on a quiet Christmas afternoon. As we had only been in the district about 2 months, we had not, as yet, met any of our neighbors. What a pleasant surprise it was when on Christmas night the four Stewart boys (Bill, Jack, Jim and Angus) came to pay us a visit and brighten up Christmas day for a new family in a strange land. It was an evening of fun and laughter as they played their musical instruments and showed us tricks and games. " The Bexfield's were always on the move over the next 9 years. They moved 4 more times before finally getting far enough ahead in the summer of 1932 to build a new house on the quarter they were buying. Over those years the kids took their schooling at Rereshill, then Beechwood and then Dad came back to Rereshill to write his Grade 8 departmental exams in June 1927. The school was a nice new building with the first indoor toilets I had ever seen. As we entered the school our teacher Mr. Gilesby met us. He was a little, old, grey-haired man with a face like a bulldog and a disposition to match. He would throw books and rulers the length of the room if you failed to understand what he was trying to teach and he seemed to delight in terrorizing the children. This made school life very unattractive to Evelyn and I. However, all our school chums were very nice and that made up for the shortcoming of the teacher. Dad's seemingly good fortune as he went through life didn't go unnoticed by his siblings. Uncle Tom jokingly always said, " Alf could fall down in a pool of muck and would come up smelling like a rose." Some highlights of Dad's youth: -Gordon Atkinson became Aunt Hilda's boy friend and during his visits he taught Dad how to trap and skin muskrats. Later he learned to trap weasels, rabbits, badgers and coyotes. Fur prices went up and down but it was a way of earning some spending money and Dad loved it. He also loved hunting ducks, geese, prairie chicken and bush partridge in the fall. All were welcome as meat on the table. - First trip back to Lashburn since arriving in Oct of 1921 was going to the Lashburn Fair with Mr. Irv Wilson in the spring of 1923. - First trip to Farm Boys camp with chum Mick Sheppard in summer of 1923 and first opportunity to play baseball. -First time on a threshing crew was with Wilson's in 1927 -First time listening to a radio (gift from Uncle Tom) they listened to KOA Denver and KSL Salt lake city. First land purchase in 1933. Grandpa had always advised him "You can never go wrong getting a hold of a ¼ section of land." He signed a lease option for NW1/4 22-46-26 W3rd for $1500.00. -Bexfield's first car in 1934. A 1927 Dodge Coupe. License $6.00/year. -Dad's first house in 1935 from Roy Wilson for 200 bushels of wheat (50 bushels/year for 4 years). -First time listening to Foster Hewitt and Hockey Night in Canada at Charlie Hall's on their Marconi radio in 1935. -Dad and Uncle Art's first tractor in 1940 - a Ford 9N from Lindsay Gibbons for $825.00. -Dad and Uncle Art's first combine in 1945 a new Massey Harris 6 foot clipper -Dad and Uncle Art's first truck in 1945 a new 2-ton Chev Dad received his first banjo as a gift from his brother Hector in 1928. Both his Dad and his Grandfather Bexfield played the piano. They all learned to play by ear. He loved music and with Hector playing the fiddle it wasn't long before they found some other musicians to make up a band. Soon they were playing for dances and from Nov 1933 - Dec 1934 he recorded having played for 60 dances. Quote from his book: "At age 20 I had hardly given the future a thought. At the moment my whole world revolved around music and playing for dances." Over the years he got endless pleasure playing his banjo with dozens of other talented musicians in various bands. He has been very fortunate to play his banjo up until about 3 yrs ago. The romantic history of how Mom and Dad met as quoted by the grandchildren led to a romance that lasted over 70 years of companionship. After completing Normal School and many applications later Mom got a job teaching at Strathmore in the fall of 1934. Their courtship blossomed and sometime in 1936 they were engaged. During Christmas holidays 1937 they decided to get married as soon as Mom finished teaching in June and they set their wedding date for July 8th at the Hall farm. It was a beautiful day and everything went well except the minister and his driver got lost coming out from Lashburn and so the ceremony was 2 hrs late. Grandpa Bexfield played a few selections on the piano at the reception, and then Grandpa Hall took them to Lashburn to catch the midnight train for Edmonton and the beginning of their wonderful honeymoon at Jasper. Neither of them had ever been west of Lloydminster so the honeymoon was indeed a big adventure for them. Their light housekeeping room at Jasper was $5.00/week. They returned from their honeymoon to set up housekeeping and begin their married life together. The war began in 1939 and Uncle Art joined the RCAF in early winter of 1941. Mom was offered a teaching job at Rereshill to begin in January, which she accepted. Before joining the RCAF Uncle Art had joined the Masonic Lodge in Lashburn. Uncle Hector and Dad joined the Lodge as well in 1943. Dad took Grandma and Aunt Evelyn to Neilburg on Dec 8th, 1943 to sell their crop of turkeys. When they returned Grandpa told Dad "You have a son and an heir who was born last night." So goes the story of Ron's coming into this world and so he was named after his three uncles who were in the Armed Forces, Uncle Art, Uncle Geoff and Uncle Rex. Just following the war Dad and Uncle Art had an opportunity to purchase a section of land from Mrs. Blaike and start their own farming partnership. So in 1946 Mom and Dad moved to the Tyrone district onto the Blaike farm. They lived in a granary that Dad had moved onto his ½ section until Mrs. Blaike moved out of the house. Dad has often mentioned over the years of what a wonderful district we lived in with just the best neighbors caring and supporting one another. The rural schools were often the hub of all the social events such as church services, Saturday night dances, card gatherings, Christmas concerts and summer picnics. In 1947 Lashburn built their first curling rink and Mom and Dad soon got hooked. They would spend their winters traveling to bonspiels and even winning a few trophies. In December of 1950 just following a curling game as Dad was enjoying a visit at the café in walked Dr Beardsworth with the announcement "Alf you have a baby daughter", hence Linda arrived. It was around this same time Dad recalls hearing rumors of the possibilities of power being brought to the farms and by 1951 Mom and Dad had power. There have to be some families here that recall the famous blizzard of 1955. Dad was stuck in town for 3 days, Ron was blown in at Tyrone school so all the kids stayed at Uncle Jack and Auntie Helen's leaving Mom and Linda home alone. Dad remembers walking home with Alan Harbin and Vernon Marlatt, looking down on the telephone poles. In 1958 all the country schools closed down and for the next 10 years Dad drove our school bus. Dad was very instrumental in starting both Ron and Linda in their team sports. He coached Ron in Little League baseball with teams winning in 1956, 57, 58 and 59. A highlight for the boys was when Tommy Douglas came to the banquet to present the trophy. Dad was manager and Stan Dunn coached the boys to two provincial hockey championships. After several years of coaching the boys, Dad formed a girl's team and Linda started playing ball. Those are some of our best memories of playing sports as kids. The Bluebirds put Lashburn on the map and became a very successful ladies softball team. As a result of Dad's coaching years he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame, once as a player/builder in 2004 and once as a member of the boys 4 successful provincial baseball championships in 2011. Dad loved his years of farming and never lost interest in his land. As well as a grain farmer he had a herd of cattle that kept him busy all winter. His partnership with Uncle Art ended when Ron showed an interest in farming too. He was very pleased to help Ron get started in the business and they farmed together until Dad retired in the 70's. As Ron retires his son Brad has taken up farming which made Dad so very proud. Up until this point Mom and Dad had always taken us on a summer holiday, usually tenting in the mountains or holidaying at Loon Lake. They both loved to travel and Dad always had a keen interest in seeing where his family came from in the "Old Country", as it was called. In 1970 was the first of 5 great trips they enjoyed to England making many family connections and learning loads of family history. Then in the winter they decided to try a warmer climate and headed down to Yuma. With their trips down south, they soon realized they could pretty much golf winter and summer. Over the next 30 years they golfed on some 260 plus golf courses around the world and enjoyed 5 big golfing trips to Scotland (golfing on St Andrew's), Ireland, England, Australia and New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hilton Head Island and many Canadian and US courses. They prided themselves in walking the golf course and along with missing our winters this kept them both very healthy. Oh yes and Dad did get his "hole-in-one" at Arroyo Dunes in Yuma in 2000. This era also brought back Dad's interest in music. He would take his banjo down each winter and played in several bands in the various trailer parks. During the late 80's Dad started writing a book about the Bexfields from Norfolk. This book is compiled of so much history of Dad's family and so many interesting stories that we've eluded to several times today. It's a great keepsake and our family really treasures it. A proud moment for Dad was just this past November when he was recognized for his 70-year membership to the Mason's. He joined in 1943 and was very faithful member, often finding fellowship wherever he traveled. In 2001 the trip to Arizona became too difficult and they decided to move into a condo in Lloydminster. Living close to both the golf course and curling rink they were once again set for their activities. Taking family to Tim Horton's became a daily event that they both enjoyed. They enjoyed their condo living until it got too difficult for Mom so in 2005 they moved to the Dr Hemstock. Mom always enjoyed the music and so during this time Dad started playing his banjo again with various groups in town. We can't thank the staff at the Dr Hemstock enough for all they did for Dad to help him stay in his home. We are also very grateful for the special care given to Dad by his caregivers over the past 6 weeks. Everyone was so supportive, kind and caring to Dad's needs. How do you cover 100 years of change in one person's life? Oxen, horses, buggies, cutters, livery stables, farm machinery, running water, telephone, electricity, heating and the list goes on. Dad remembered each new stage as it came along. He especially remembers seeing his first airplane in 1920 when the teacher made arrangements with the pilot to fly over their school. He was always amazed by the fact you could talk to England in the middle of a golf course on a cell phone, how is that possible? Dad often commented on the new farming equipment and how much crop they could take off in a day that would have taken them a week to thresh. Dad was always very even tempered, always found the best in ever situation, (just ask anybody that ever golfed with him), was always kind, loving, caring and a true gentleman. He loved his family very much. We will miss him dearly and will always have so many special memories to share. We will keep him in our hearts forever. Card of Thanks The Family of the late Alf Bexfield would like to thank Dr K Govender and Dr. M Chapelski for their dedicated care to Dad. Thank-you to the staff, at the Dr. Hemstock, for such outstanding care given to Dad, especially from Jamie and her nursing staff during these last few months. Thank-you to Romeyln, Marie, Lorie and Cherry for giving Dad such compassionate care these last few weeks. Special thank-you to Rev Michael Stonhouse for his beautiful service and to Jo Klassen for her gift of music. Thank-you to Terry and Sam Lundell for their wonderful musical tribute. Thank-you to the Grandchildren as acting pallbearers and the Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren for their meaningful tribute. To Coolidge Catering for a delicious lunch. Special thank-you to all those who attended, sent cards, donations, flowers, phone calls, brought food and visited our homes. To Joel McCaw and McCaw Funeral Service Ltd. for their quality care. Ron and Joan Bexfield and Family. Linda and Doug Abrosimoff and Family.