Obituary of Frank Graham

BIOGRAPHY GRAHAM ~ Frank William Graham passed away peacefully at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Friday, June 8, 2007 at the age of 93 years. Frank will be sadly missed by his three daughters: Joan Cote of Lloydminster, Donna and her husband Dwight Berg of Sherwood Park, Judy and her husband Ron Tannas of Marwayne; ten grandchildren, eighteen great grandchildren, one great great grandchild; and two nephews: Roy Graham and his wife Colleen and Harvey Graham and his wife Judyith. Frank was predeceased by his wife Minnie in 1988, his daughter Sheila in 1982, his granddaughter Shannon in 1983, his parents Herb and Margaret, his brother Burnett and sister-in-law Mable. The funeral service for Frank was conducted from the Marwayne Community Hall, Marwayne, Alberta on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at 11:00 A.M. with Reverend Bob Aldrich officiating. A eulogy was given by Jack Tyner. Special music “Beyond The Sunset,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and “If You Could See Me Now,” was sung by Yvette Barnett and accompanied by organist Joanne Horton. Honorary pallbearers were the Legion and Legion Auxilary. Active pallbearers were his grandchildren: Lori & Gene Gendron, Dwayne McKinlay, Wayne Cote, Shelene Blackmer & friend Dennis, Jenna & John Castle, Carmel & Ryan Giese, Kayla Berg, Kim & Kelly Applegate, Tyler & Cheryl Tannas and Rob & Shyla Tannas. Interment was held at the Marwayne Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. We are here today to celebrate the life of Frank Graham. Frank was born on May 19, 1914 in Purves, Manitoba, to Herb and Margaret Graham. He passed away at the Lloydminster hospital, June 8, 2007 at the age of 93. He leaves to mourn 3 daughters. Joan Cote, Donna Berg & Dwight, Judy Tannas & Ron, 10 Grandchildren, 18 Great Grandchildren & 1 Great-Great Grandchild, 2 Nephews Harvie Graham & Judy, Roy Graham & Colleen plus 3 great nieces. He was predeceased by his wife Minnie in 1988, his daughter Sheila in 1982, his granddaughter Shannon in 1983 as well as his parents Herb & Margaret Graham, his brother Burnett Graham & sister-in-law Mabel Graham. The Graham Family moved from Manitoba to Birsay, Saskatchewan where Frank took all his schooling from grades 1 to 11. Farming wasn’t so great there so in 1933 they packed up and moved to the Willowlea area. Frank helped out on the farm until he enlisted in the army in 1942 at the age of 28. He took his basic training in Grand Prairie and advanced signals training in Kingston, Ontario. He was sent overseas in December of that year, from Halifax aboard the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth. Frank has told the story of being quite impressed of this ship. Of course the accommodations were not quite as luxurious during the war. Bunks were added to any space that they could find and it was not totally “your bunk” as you had to sleep in shifts. He was posted to 1st Division Signals Corps-Heavy Wireless. The following three years Frank served in England, Sicily, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. On December 23, 1945 Frank sailed from Southampton, England and the Queen Elisabeth brought him home as well. I’m not sure that the accommodations had improved much from his previous voyage but he did recall that somehow the staff managed to provide a fabulous Christmas dinner for everyone. Frank was discharged in February of 1946 in Calgary. He returned to help his dad on the farm which he then took over after Herb retired. More land was brushed and Frank and Burnett always helped each other out getting the crops in and taking them off. During the winter months Frank worked at the Marwayne Hotel and roomed and boarded at Sally Lear’s. Frank’s life definitely changed when he met Minnie Robbie. They fell in love and were married December 8, 1956. Minnie had lost her husband Stan in 1953 leaving her with 4 daughters to raise. Frank took on the role of a dad to 4 girls ages 4 to 15. Going from bachelorhood to a house with 5 females and only one bathroom was a bit of a change for Frank. There were probably many times when he was ready to pull his hair out but didn’t. Over the next few years he continued farming and as finances got a little easier Frank and Minnie did a bit of traveling with friends. After all the girls left home, Minnie retired from the Post Office and Frank sold his land. They were able to travel and do the things they loved. Every morning for many years you could find them on the Lloydminster Golf Course or out at Lea Park. Frank was involved with a number of organizations over the years. The Legion, the Elks (which he was secretary for 4 years), Marwayne Curling Club & Lea Park Golf Club. Curling was a very big part of Frank’s life. In his younger years he traveled to many bonspiels and brought home a lot of trophies. He also loved to go fishing whenever he had the chance. In 1962 Frank bought a cabin at Laurier Lake where they would go to spend hours fishing, playing cards, and just good old fashioned fun with many of their friends. The cabin was small, but it served the purpose and many great memories were made there by the whole family. To date a new cabin has been built to accommodate the growing family and friends. About a month ago, Frank spent the night at the cabin with Ron, Judy & Robbie playing cards and sharing old memories. Every Rodeo weekend for over forty years, you would find Frank working in the Legion booth. Two weeks ago he made the comment that he might not be able to go up to help out, but he’d see how he felt. After his wife Minnie passed away he managed to take very good care of himself and lived on his own until his passing. He did have a setback when he was 84, where he had a virus that put him in the hospital and a rehabilitation centre for five months. It took a while for him to get his strength back but every year afterwards a garden would go in, flowers would be planted, and he maintained his big yard with no problem. You could walk into his house and usually smell fresh baking. He always baked cakes, cookies, pies and made himself good meals. Many of you would see Frank walking downtown to pick up the mail, do banking, or get a few groceries. If asked by anyone “How are you feeling?” Frank would answer “OK, but at my age, I don’t buy green banana’s anymore.” Frank had a passion for golf which he gave up only a couple years ago because he no longer could walk the course and preferred not to take a motorized cart. He was predeceased by all of his golfing buddies so he thought it was time to put the clubs away. Frank was very healthy physically due to his active lifestyle. Whether it was working in the yard or walking downtown, he always got plenty of exercise. As a result of many years of reading, crossword puzzles, game shows like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, he was just as sharp mentally. He lived a long and healthy life that most of us can only dream of. -To his grandchildren- Each and every one of you will have your own special memories. You have been so blessed to have had a grandpa to golf with, play cards with, or just sit around and talk with. He was so proud of every one of you and all of your accomplishments. The greatest of these was giving him 19 great grandchildren. Sometimes he would get confused with their names commenting at times “Where do these kids come up with these names and how do you spell them?” He was quite content to just sit and watch all of them play. He often commented that he was very fortunate to have been able to share this time with his ever growing family. To each of you, cherish these memories of your grandpa. He will be dearly missed by everyone. CARD OF THANKS The family wishes to thank Dr. Van Vuuren, Dr. Rogers and the third floor nursing staff for the care Dad received while in the hospital. Thanks to Dale and the staff at McCaw’s funeral home for making things so much easier at such a hard time. We would like to give a special thank you to Jack Tyner for giving the eulogy for us, as well as all the grandchildren for being pallbearers for Grandpa. Yvette and Joanne – you did a wonderful job of the music for us. Thanks, Reverend Bob, for your comforting words and giving a beautiful and fitting service for Dad. The Legion Tribute and Last Post will never be forgotten – thank you. We would also like to thank the Royal Purple and the Legion Ladies for serving a beautiful lunch after the service. To all those who called, visited, sent food, flowers, cards and made donations in Dad’s memory – Thank you. In lieu of individual thank you cards, we have made a donation to the Lloydminster Hospital Palliative Care. Sincerely from Joan Cote & Family Donna & Dwight Berg & Family Judy & Ron Tannas & Family Donations in memory of Frank may be made to the Lloydminster Hospital Palliative Care or to the charity of the donor's choice.