Obituary of John Calvin

John Alexander Calvin of Mankota, SK went home to be with His Lord on October 21, 2010 at the age of 82, having passed on from complications due to gallstone surgery and pneumonia. He is survived by his wife Esther, his son Leslie (along with his wife Donette, and their three children Brett, Robyn, and Regan), his daughter Linda, his daughter Rosalie (along with her husband Scott and their two boys, Liam and Paul), and his daughter Ruth (her husband Trent, and their three boys, Alexander, Landon, and Brenden), along with his sister and brothers and numerous neices and nephews. John was born to David and Elsie Calvin (nee Harris) on June 8th, 1928. John was oldest son of 4 children, a sister (Betty), and two brothers (George and David). He attended Westwood Valley school and finished his high school education in Hazenmore, SK. Later, he took a course in diesel mechanics in Edmonton AB. On November 7, 1958, John married Esther Hall and they were blessed with 1 son (Leslie) and three daughters (Linda, Rosalie, and Ruth). John loved farming. He grew up and worked on a farm all his life. He worked hard, and mixed grain farming with raising cattle. I remember coming home to the farm many times during harvest and rarely seeing him except for Sundays when we went to Church. In the middle of freezing nights, he would be out checking the cattle, and in the midst of seeding he would be labouring to get it done. To that end, in 2007 John and the family proudly received the Family Farm Century award, memorializing 100 years of continuous farming of the same land. John was fond of reading, enjoyed watching TV and going to Church, and loved his children and many grandchildren. John was very proud of his Irish heritage, and made trips back to Ireland and England, including visits to his ancestral home and visits with distant cousins in the UK, who returned the favour on occasion, bringing a bit of the old country to the farm. John enjoyed traveling. Along with his trips to the United Kingdom, he enjoyed travels to Arizona, California, Mexico, British Columbia, and Alberta. John was fond of family outings, including many excursions for picnics, picking Saskatoon berries, and visiting the local area.