Obituary of Robert Graham

B I O G R AP H Y GRAHAM: Robert Allan Graham passed away suddenly in Dewberry, Alberta on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at the age of 61 years. Robert is survived by: his loving wife Marty Graham of Kitscoty; one daughter Lana Graham also if Kitscoty; one Uncle Alex Johnstone of Kitscoty; two Aunts: Amy McGregor of Downsview, Ontario and Sally Currie of Etobicoke, Ontario as well as several other relatives. A celebration of life for Robert was conducted from the Kitscoty Community Hall on Monday, May 26, 2008 at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Bob Aldrich officiating. A eulogy was given by Bill Earl. Honorary pallbearers were: Stuart Jamison, Larry Walton, Dennis Chipeur, Bruce Weber, Eric Blacke, Don Chomiak, Bill Browne, Jack Tingley and Bob Duncan. The urn bearer was Ryan Earl. Interment followed in the Kitscoty Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Robert was born on January 13, 1947 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan to Ali and Eleanor Graham. Robert is survived by his wife Marty and daughter Lana, paternal aunts Sally Currie and Amy MacGregor from Ontario, and maternal uncle Alec Johnston as well as numerous other relatives. He was predeceased by his mother and father and two infant brothers. His early years were spent on the farm south of Kitscoty where he developed his love for animals. He attended school in Kitscoty, but the teachers had their work cut out for them. Never a willing learner, it is assured that he gave his teachers "fits". Mrs. Trask, and Miss Dusmore each must have given a sigh of relief when he quit school to work on the farm. Robert may have been an only child but he did have one blood brother. During a garter snake expanding mission - this entailed cutting one large snake into many little snakes, Bill Browne cut his finger so Robert decided to that they should become blood brothers. This may have had something to do with all the old movies they used to watch. Needless to say neither of their mothers were impressed. Ali was even less impressed with Robert when he would find him asleep beside the milk cow with his head resting on her flank. These mornings usually followed an all night, home at dawn party. Robert was not the bravest man when it came to unbroken or wild horses. Rather than try to ride them himself he would send them out to be broke. One of his favourite sayings for this was " why infringe on another man's income". So when Bill, Kayo Thor, and Robert entered the wild horse race in Lashburn it was only after the consumption of a couple dozen beer. However with Bill on the ear, and Kayo in the saddle, this left Robert with the safest job of the trio pulling the shank. Beginners luck was with them as they won the race that day. Their second foray into the wild horse race was in Onion Lake. With Eric Blake replacing Kayo. The trio finished their wild horse racing career with a last place finish. Another short-lived career for Eric, Bill, Robert, and Glen Johnston was curling, or maybe a more accurate description of it would be bonspieling. Be it plain dumb luck or actual skill at the game they were able to beat Bob Patterson and his team. This became the talk of Kitscoty for quite awhile. Robert's pride and joy was the birth of his daughter Lana. He always said "the only thing that could have been better was if there was two". This started a close bonding between father and daughter. She adored her dad and went with him everywhere. She even had a bed in the tractor cab where she could sleep if she got tired. As devoted as he was to her he still had a real weak stomach. One of Marty's favourite memories was when she came home from work to find Robert had held her under the tap of the bathtub. It seemed that she had dirtied her diaper and there was no one to change her, his mother was gone and the neighbour wasn't home to save him. Even if he had a weak stomach he could still fill in for Marty at a horse show. This could become quite involved if Lana was showing more than one horse. He passed with flying colors as the replacement "horse show mom" and he even managed to get in some visiting between classes. With the help of Rick and Randy Allen, Robert built an outdoor arena where many ropers came to team rope. Robert and his brother-in-law Tubby raised and broke in many longhorns for the 10-header in Lloydminster. Roping was always followed by a couple of cold ones to wash down the dust. This was how Lana became quite a beer connoisseur at an early age. If she saw a case of beer at home she'd say, "Oh good dad now we can rope" In more recent years horse sale excursions replaced the team roping. Many miles were travelled with his horse sale buddy Bob Duncan. They made quite a pair at the last sale they went to together, both resting on Bob's walker. However this excursion ended with a new horse in the trailer and the walker left in the middle of the empty parking lot. It all worked out in the end with Bob taking Robert's old walker back home to Cutknife. Robert was well known for his early morning, or late night phone calls. Many of you may have received one of these and will no longer know what is happening in the world. One of these calls may have been about his newest project in section seven. Robert enjoyed telling everyone how he got his first playhouse at the age of 61. Bruce Weber had just given him a 2-storey playhouse that he was converting into a hunting shack. With the help of Bruce, Dennis Chipeur and Don Chomiak they had just started to renovate the "Shack". Robert loved hunting, especially deer, moose, elk, antelope, and waterfowl, but never bear. He always said "I never lost one, so why would I go looking for one". Each year after the fall gather there would always be some great stories come out of the bush from up north. One of our favourites was the year that he slept in the old house up in Pierceland with Jack and Sharon Tingley. His snoring was so loud that Sharon knotted a pair of sweat pants and whipped him in a vain attempt to get him to stop. Sharon lost the battle. After hearing the story Marty sent up earplugs for everyone the next year. In Roberts opinion there were only two times of year that mattered, spring branding and fall hunting season. The rest of the year was just killing time. He got in one last branding Monday afternoon at Tingley's, roping and dragging calves to the fire. He enjoyed visiting with friends, eating the great food, and telling some of those good old stories. A good term that was used to describe him was that he "lived life on his own terms". He most certainly did that. Card of Thanks The Family of Robert Graham would like to thank the girls at the B & L Vet Clinic, the Dewberry First Responders, and the Lakeland Ambulance crew for their assistance. Thanks also to Bill Earl for reading the eulogy, Reverend Bob Aldrich for his comforting words, and the ladies who prepared the lunch. A special thanks to the honorary pallbearers and Ryan Earl for being the urn bearer. I would also like to thank Dale and Glenn McCaw and their staff for their compassion and assistance. I would also like to thank everyone who visited, brought food to the house, sent flowers and made donations in Robert's memory. In lieu of individual thank you's, I am making a donation to the Dewberry First Responders. Marty and Lana