Obituary of John Weston

WESTON– John Oscar Magnus, age 93, passed away on Thursday, March 31st, at the Swift Current Care Center where he was a resident since 2012. He was born September 25, 1922 at Antelope, Saskatchewan, the sixth of ten children born to Eric Hilding and Anna Brita Weston. Growing up in a large family during difficult economic times there were challenges, but none so great that hard work, a close connection to family and friends, and a little mischief couldn’t resolve. In his history presented in the Webb history book, Prairie Memories, he tells of walking and riding horses to school. At home, Grandma Weston, or Ma as she was known to her children, always managed to make filling meals, and knit and sew to meet the clothing demands. And his Dad, Pa, was “handy with a saw and hammer” always working to provide for his family. John had the same work ethic as his parents, and if he could fix, build, or repurpose, he did, and in so doing, he was a capable farmer. Farming became his occupation, first at home and later completing custom work and eventually renting and later purchasing his own land in the Stone Cliff School District where Clint Weston now lives and farms. In addition to farming he trapped and hunted; however, in his history he acknowledges that “we gave more thought to our own existence than we did to conservation. It was in the animal’s favor that we had poor hunting equipment and no fast-moving vehicles to travel out of our own areas. We also had no pesticides or herbicides to interfere with the balance of nature. I rarely hunt any more as it is a greater thrill to take pot-shots of the antelope or deer with the camera”. While the 1920’s and 30’s meant sometimes going without material items, there was never any shortage of mischief. The horses that took them to school, would occasionally be raced in the school yard. One of John’s greatest misdemeanours that he shared was when he attended Stone Cliff School and Woodrow Lloyd had left his red soled, storm front rubbers on the doorstep of the school. John, his school chum, and brother “all possessed with the devil” as he put it, took Mr. Lloyd’s overshoes and mutilated them with an axe. He had no idea why they did it, “but little did they know that they were the property of the future Premier of Saskatchewan, the man who knew how to improve school conditions, and make medical services available to everyone”. As a member of a family of twelve, John knew what family meant, but in 1966 his personal definition of family would change. In Pearl’s history she wrote that when she first met John she felt her lucky star “seemed to be shining a mite brighter in a southwesterly direction.” She wrote, “There I was, 300 miles from home (near Antelope) with car trouble. My fate was to be my fortune for Johnny-on-the-spot took over. As he likes to tease, ‘If you’d had a decent fuel pump on that old Ford all this would never have happened’. Shortly after that John began coming north – for fence posts, he told his brothers, who believed him the first time or two. Only cupid could force a sensible foot-loose farmer to make a marriage proposal that included Ken, a seven year old energetic boy, and his dog.” John and Pearl were married on July 5, 1966, and within two years, Sharon and Nora were born, his family now complete. John taught his children his work ethic, for Ken recalls that whether it was picking rocks, bales, or fixing fence, if he complained he would be told “If you are tired of walking, you can always run”. Any job started was to be finished, and if additional manpower was required, John’s brothers and brothers-in-law would be there, and each knew that such favours would always be repaid. Like so many farmers, he worked long hours, so Nora and Sharon treasured breakfast time, for it was time to spend with him before he went to the field. They would both crawl onto his lap and dunk their toast into his morning hot chocolate. From this same lap they would sit and listen to him “read” stories from the Sears catalogue or the Western Producer; his stories were always about an old codger who lived by the creek. John possessed the quiet strength of Nature. He was always in tune to the weather, and his family knew that a weather change was about to happen when he would come in and tap the barometer. He had incredible eyesight, and it always seemed so easy for him to spot an arrowhead in the field or a fox peeking from its den. His careful observations of nature were expressed through his carvings and photography. In 1987 John and Pearl retired to Swift Current, and it was then that he was able to spend hours in his workshop carving little birds that he would give to anyone he’d meet. It was a way for him to study nature, connect to others, and continue to give in a way that always put a smile on someone’s face, either young or old. It was at this time that Pearl was actively researching her genealogy and John was a willing participant in her travels to cemeteries and communities all over Saskatchewan. These trips provided opportunities for photography of landscapes, barns, elevators, flowers, and nature. On their return home he would craft picture frames for his photos and then happily gift them to others. He also collected and read over a hundred history books from all over the province. When Pearl became a resident at the Swift Current Care Center in 2001, he visited daily, always there to care for her needs. In 2006 he moved into the Riverview Village Estates and then in 2012 the Care Center. The staff at both of these facilities provided him with amazing care, and they too came to love his quiet and contented ways. Whenever visitors asked how he was, his reply was always the same: “Oh, it goes pretty good.” During this time his grandchildren and great grandchildren would enjoy bringing him strawberry sundaes and he would let them choose from the interesting rocks that he’d found on his walks. His sister, Mary Brown, was always a faithful visitor, bringing him fresh fruit, news of Gull Lake, and most importantly the face of family. The family is grateful for her visits and watchful eye. He loved the creek on the farm, paddle boating on it and planting hundreds of trees along its banks, so it was fitting that he had a window seat at the Care Center where he would look out on the creek at the golfers and geese, being the first to see signs of spring or fall. In Prairie Memories he concluded his history by saying “over the years a lot of good water has run under the bridge: as the years progress, it runs quicker and more clearly”. While time has moved forward very quickly, it comes with the clarity of all that John Weston meant to those who knew him. Whether it be through the grace of the blue heron, the steadfast flight of the geese, or the happy song of the meadowlark, we will be reminded of John Weston and how he gently took each day in stride while making an indelible mark on each one of us. John is survived by his children Ken Lloyd (Carol Ann), Nora (Dave Stuart), Sharon (Ken Retzlaff); grandchildren Alisha (Jody Lussier), Amber (Cody Betham), Katie Stuart, John Stuart, and Lisa Retzlaff; great-grandchildren Kaydra, Kiera, and Kaysen Lloyd-Lussier, and Emma Betham; siblings Mary Brown and Carl Weston. He was predeceased by his wife Pearl (2002), and siblings Bernie (1973), Percy (1994), Roy (2002), Maurice (2003), Lily Konradson (2005), Albert (2007), and May Trembath (2012). The Memorial Service was held on Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at Knox United Church in Gull Lake followed by interment at Antelope Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Swift Current Care Center Auxiliary Fund. For further information or to sign the family book of condolences, visit www.parksidefuneralhome.com. Arrangements were in care of Parkside Memorial Funeral Home – Ryan Cappelle.