Obituary of Bill Thurlow

Thomas "Bill" Thurlow passed away at Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at the age of 85 years. Bill is survived by: daughter-in-law: Bev Thurlow, son: Wes (Kim) Thurlow; daughter: Diana (Hugh) MacGregor; grandchildren: Mark Thurlow, Kendra (Oral Boyd) Thurlow, Matthew (Melissa) Thurlow, Daniel (Rachel) Thurlow, Meaghan (Jason) Maskowitz, Caryn MacGregor; great-grandchildren: Alexander Maskowitz, Kendall & Chase Boyd, Zachary & Kai Thurlow; one sister: Anna Belle Middleton; two brothers: Myles (Lynne) Thurlow, George (Diane) Thurlow. Bill was predeceased by his wife Grace Thurlow and son Ken Thurlow. The Funeral Service will be conducted from the Neilburg Community Hall, Neilburg, Saskatchewan on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 11:00 AM with Reverend Hugh MacGregor officiating. Donations in memory of Bill may be made to the Neilburg United Church, Heart & Stroke Foundation or donor's charity of choice. EULOGY by Hugh I remember the day that I met Dad. It was 38 years and about one month ago. The story around the family is that Wes dragged me home from the Winter Sports Day. Wes didn’t just pick me out of the crowd as someone with possibilities. I had met him and Diana at camp cleanup at Starview Camp. I was the student minister in Unity and the rest of the story went that he felt sorry for the poor boy from Eastern Ontario. 38 years ago I met Mum and Dad. I remember Dad taking me around the farm. He talked about what crops he was growing and how they were looking. He showed me a couple of cows that he had in the corral. I don’t remember why they were there. All the rest of the cattle were out to pasture. I could tell how much he appreciated the cattle by the way he talked about them. And then we went inside and I was introduced to the most civilized custom of Western Canada…or maybe it was just a Thurlow custom. We had lunch. Nine o’clock at night…we had lunch. Mum brought out pie and ice cream. I thought…I could get used to this! I have known Dad for 38 years as a father-in-law, a friend, then a grandfather and now great-grandfather. Many of you have known him a lot longer and knew him in different ways. Some…like Kendall, Chase, Zachary, Kai, and Alex…have only recently met him. Dad’s story began 85 years ago. Thomas William Thurlow was born in the Lucky Lake/Beechy area of Southern Saskatchewan on March 6, 1931 to Thomas Henry Thurlow and Margaret Bell Livingstone. He was the oldest of four children and was followed by Anna, Myles, and George. Dad moved north from Gouldtown in August of 1949 to the East Manitou District. After arriving there, he worked for a number of area farmers. He spent about a year and a half working in the oilfield near Leduc, Alberta before returning to East Manitou and purchasing a half section of land east of Manitou Lake. On June 24, 1953 he married Ina Grace Ritchey. As a wedding gift, Dad and Mum received the start of their Aberdeen Angus herd. Dad always enjoyed his cattle…it was the part of farming that he loved the most. Dad and Mum spent long hours building up their farm, home, yard and large garden. Many of you remember the size of that garden that they put in every year. Two gardens really. Dad kept busy off the farm as well. He was involved with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool where he was secretary for many years. He was a member of Neilburg United Church. Over the years he was on Session and Stewards and was a member of and chaired the Ministry and Personnel Committee. He also played softball in his younger years. I asked what position he played. I got the shoulder shrug. He ran…he threw things…he hit things. Dad always loved baseball and softball. He enjoyed going to the Neilburg ball tournament and East Manitou Sports Day. In his later years, he enjoyed bowling here in Neilburg. Ken, Wes and Diana were born to Dad and Mum over the years. Dad and Mum always made time in the summer for the family to go on trips. They went north to the lakes…to the mountains…and even one trip down to Yellowstone. But before they could go on their summer trips, they had to cut and sharpen and blue stone trees to use as fence posts. That was a lot of work! And they could only be gone one week. I think that had something to do with the dog. Whether Lassie was only trustworthy for one week? Or she would get bored? The trip to Yellowstone was a fast one. It was in a sea foam green car…two adults, three kids, five sleeping bags, a tent and all the food they would need for the week. There was a trip to Nordegg where they met up with a bear that chased the three kids around the car. Ken managed to get in…they threw him the keys…and he started the car with a roar and that scared off the bear. Another trip, they arrived at a campground late at night in the mountains. They set up the tent but by morning, they were all freezing. They looked over the side of the campsite and there was a glacier right below them. Dad enjoyed reading…especially westerns. He read everything written by Louis L’Amour. He also loved watching westerns. Dad and Mum played a lot of crib over the years and they kept a running tally to see who was currently the champion crib player. After Mum’s passing, Dad was fortunate to meet Elaine Sperle on a bus trip. They became traveling companions and over the years they enjoyed many trips through Canada, to the States, and to Europe. Dad and Mum took a lot of pride in the Grandchildren…Mark and Kendra…Matthew and Daniel…Meaghan and Caryn. There are a few stories and memories from the grandkids. My personal favourite is grandpa teaching one of my daughters how to drink milk from a saucer like a cat. I can’t wait to pass that one along to my grandkids! After Dad moved into Hearthstone, Daniel would spend a night a week with him at supper time and for a game of crib. It was always a great game. According to Daniel, they were probably fairly even on wins and losses. I expect Grandpa kept track of those as well! Grandpa would always ask about what Daniel was working on and he was genuinely interested in it. Every so often Grandpa got a field trip to one of Daniel’s work sites. He enjoyed that. Daniel would get to hear stories of when Dad was growing up or about the farm or the community. There were always picture viewing sessions to see pictures from Grandpa’s and Elaine’s latest trip. This past year, Grandpa would light up whenever Daniel and Rachel would come over with Zachary. Sometimes he would get down on the floor to play. He loved seeing grandkids and great grandkids. And he also liked going over to their house and getting DQ ice cream. Both Daniel and Matthew remembered a chocolate milk episode from quite a few years ago. After Grandpa's heart issues, the boys were over and they and Grandma were having chocolate milk. Grandpa was feeling left out as he wasn't supposed to have milk, so he decided he was going to put the chocolate sauce or powder in his water instead. He did end up drinking it all, but it wasn't hard to tell by his face it didn't taste good, no matter how much he said it was good. Chocolate water is NOT good! Grandpa wasn’t great at keeping secrets. After Kai was born Matthew called Grandpa Thurlow to let him know and told him a few times to not tell anyone as he still had to tell Grandpa Maylor. He found out later that by the time he had told Grandpa Maylor most of the Hemstock residents knew because of Grandpa Thurlow. Grandpa was a good role model. On the farm Grandpa stayed busy and was an excellent example of a hard worker. But he would take time to make the grandkids feel important, whether it was spending time with them watching a movie, or having them tag along in the yard. And he always put up with Matthew trying to help fix equipment, and help out with farming...even if he wasn't always such a help. Meaghan’s memories are from quite a while back. They include driving cattle and going out in the field with Grandma and a picnic lunch to where Grandpa was working. There was one time when Meaghan was freaked out about fire they could see from the yard. Grandpa took her out to show her that it was Ron Smith control burning a field and, of course, Meaghan gave him heck for it. And both Meaghan and Caryn had driving lessons from Grandpa. Meaghan’s was in a field. She asked for any advice and Grandpa said…”don’t hit the bales.” Caryn’s driving lesson was on the road…without a license…with her sister following her on a bike. I am sure that one turned out well. There are other memories as Grandpa got older and hearing and eyesight started to go. Melissa worked at Hemstock/Hearthstone and one day there was a fire drill. She was on Grandpa’s floor working to get all the seniors out of their rooms. She knocked on Grandpa’s door. No answer. She tried it and it was unlocked so she went in. She called out Grandpa’s name. No answer. She walked into his bedroom and there he was sitting on the side of his bed. She had to tell him to get his pants and shoes on…and marched him out. Another time Matthew and Melissa were waiting at the front desk at Hemstock waiting for Grandpa to come out of the chapel. He came strolling out rocking his walker and looked right at them. They waved. He just kept right on trucking…he didn’t see them. We all have memories of Dad. Some from recently as we were showing him the new additions to the family…and as age was catching up as it does with all of us. Some memories are from years back. I will remember the day that I met him. How he walked me around and showed me parts of the farm and times we talked about farming over the years. We give thanks for Dad and entrust him to God’s gentle and loving care.