Obituary of Fred Novak

Friedrich “Fred” Novak passed away peacefully on January 18, 2020 at Brentwood Intercare Long Term Care Facility in Calgary, Alberta. Fred will be missed by: his only child, Ann and husband Stewart Schneider of Calgary; and their 2 sons, Evan and Bryson Schneider also of Calgary; his family in Austria: brother, Hans and wife Ilse; brother, Otto and wife Loni; and sister, Maria (Reidi) and husband Franz; Also his treasured nieces, nephews and cousins. Fred was predeceased by: his wife of 50 years, Agnes; his sister, Herta and his parents, Joseph and Maria Novak. Dad was born July 10, 1932 in Goetzing, Austria. He was the second oldest of five children born to Joseph and Maria Novak. Dad had one older sister Herta, one younger sister Reidi, and 2 younger brothers Hans and Otto. Dad was raised on the family farm and learned the meaning of hard work from an early age. In 1952, at the age of 20, dad decided to move half way around the world to Canada. He came over with a friend and they worked on dad’s uncle’s farm in Endiang Alberta. Although dad was shy and mostly worked and stayed on the farm, he worked hard to teach himself to speak and read English. My mom, Agnes, was born September 5, 1937 and was the first child for Frank and Evelyn Ottenbreit. Her brother George quickly followed along with a sister Elizabeth whose nickname was Betty. Betty passed away as a toddler and then mom’s youngest brother Robert was born a couple of years later. Mom too learned to work at an early age and as a young woman decided to move to Calgary to pursue studies as a nurse’s aide. When she graduated she started working in the hospital in Castor, Alberta. My dad had a sore throat and a cold so his uncle sent him to the hospital in Castor and to dad’s surprise they decided to keep him overnight. He shared a hospital room with 3 older gentlemen that teased him about meeting this nice little night nurse. As the gentlemen were telling jokes and laughing loudly, nurse’s aide Agnes was sent in to settle them down. That was their first meeting! The next day dad was discharged and Agnes, the little nurse’s aide, was off shift so he did not have a chance to talk to her further so he left for home. He could not forget about Agnes, so he got up the courage to go back to the hospital to see if he could find her and ask her for a date. Mom was not about to go out with a stranger but dad was unusually persuasive and she agreed to the date if they could go with another couple. About a year later, on June 9, 1958 they were married and in April of 1960 I was born. Dad and mom had saved some money and decided to buy their own farm and they found one for sale north of Alcurve. They worked hard on that farm but the land was very hilly and the drive to school for me was very long so they decided to look for another farm. They found one 8 miles from Paradise Hill Saskatchewan close to Frenchman’s Butte. It was a real treat to have indoor plumbing and nice flat land to work! Mom and Dad worked very hard all those years ….mom milked 12 cows by hand for many years until we got a milking machine and we sold the cream for grocery money. We had range cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and always plenty of work. There was never any time for vacations as there was always a barn to muck out, animals to feed or crops to either put in or take off. I will always remember how in the spring dad would get up in the middle of the night to check on the range cows that were about to give birth and if the cow was having trouble then he would have to help her or even load her up in the truck to take her to the vet in Lloyd. Then when it was morning it was off to the fields for seeding. No time for lying in bed and being sick either. It didn’t matter if you were dizzy and vomiting, the cows still needed to be milked and the animals fed. Always chores to do… When I got older I helped out on the farm as much as I could, milking cows or driving tractor and cultivator for seeding or summer fallow or the combine for harvest. At 18, I moved to Saskatoon where I attended University, got married to my darling husband Stewart and after many years and a move to Ottawa, we had our 2 sons, Evan and Bryson. After 3 years in Ottawa, we decided to move back to the prairies to be closer to family and we settled in Calgary. Regardless of the work, mom and dad always worked as a team and made decisions together about expanding the farm or the purchase of new machinery… Dad a lot of back and shoulder problems throughout the years and as he got older his back got worse so mom and dad made the hard decision to sell the farm and retire. Dad was 60 when they retired into Lloydminster for a new life of city living. Dad and mom had wonderful neighbors in Lloyd that helped ease their transition and soon they settled into their new life. Unfortunately mom was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2003 and passed five years later in 2008. Dad was devastated and heartbroken and I believe that he never truly got over her passing. Seven years later dad suffered a stroke and we moved him to Calgary to be closer to us. We were happy to have dad close so that we could visit often but dad never really felt at home in Calgary. That was understandable though under the circumstances of his move. Now the team is back together again. I can only imagine the joy that dad must be feeling to be with mom again and I wish them love and peace. We miss you both so much but know that your love surrounds us daily. A private family celebration of life was held in Calgary, Alberta and McCaw Funeral Service Ltd is handling arrangements. Graveside service is May 23, 2020 at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alberta Heart and Stroke Foundation.