ST. ARNAUD – Ferd, passed away peacefully on May 11, 2013. Ferd was born on the family farm near Hoey in 1925. He received his education in a one-room school. As he got older there was farm work to be done – he worked 12 hour days driving tractor for a dollar a day. After several months he was able to purchase a good suit. Alberta beckoned Ferd where he did welding for a time then went on to do payroll for a company building bridges near Blue Ridge and Calgary. You could see stars through the roof cracks of his sleeping accommodations and he slept fully clothed. His companion was luckier – he had a dog that kept him warm. While sleeping, they could hear the bears tearing at the 2 x 12 planks of the building their meat was housed in. Getting married was in the future so a city job was in order. Ferd went on to work in payroll and office management for a local sand and gravel firm – this company was later purchased by Steele Bros. of London, England who had properties worldwide. He spent several years doing Calgary, Kananaskis and Edmonton each week with an occasional trip to Victoria. Then he was transferred to Steele’s Concrete Division (18 years in all) as the company was downsizing its foreign holdings. His next job was as a controller with a Rig Lighting Company who manufactured airport lighting and oil rig lighting for Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The job also involved several trips to Anchorage, Alaska. On one trip in a lear jet the cabin filled up with smoke just as they were over the Rocky Mountains. The co-pilot was searching for possible causes for the smoke in the manual! It turned out they had dripped some oil that got hot and they arrived safely! We had bought a dry cleaning business which needed hands on attention and Ferd needed to get his boiler papers. It was five minutes from West Edmonton Mall and was a successful business. We developed three subdivisions north of Wabamun which is about six miles from three resort lakes (West Lake Estates). We planted wheat for two years, planted 81 spruce trees imported from the Leask area and several maples from the home quarter. We kept a 20 acre lot for ourselves, built a 14 x 28 cottage, a shed, two grain bins, a garage for the 1956 GMC truck and a larger garage made of used lumber to house the Massey Harris Junior 101 and the Massey Harris 55 – which Ferd used to cultivate the whole quarter initially (after 5:00 PM and on weekends). All sawed by hand – no power available yet! It was an interesting piece of land – had three hills with a small lake on the top of each one- meteorite activity? In 1994 we sold the dry cleaning plant and returned to Prince Albert. We built a one and a half storey all season cottage on Neis Drive at Emma Lake (we hired contractors). Two brothers took ill and Ferd spent a lot of time trucking them around the city and malls – picking up oxygen supplies, etc. The original St. Arnaud to arrive in Canada was a ships’ captain who sailed the oceans between Normandy and Quebec. His parents moved from St. Genevieve de Batiscan, Quebec and came west. It was a good move. Besides trips to Barbados and Hawaii, Ferd and his brothers enjoyed visiting relatives in Quebec. Ferd is survived by his wife, Magdaleine (nee Matula); three sisters, Rachel, Julia Sax (Ted deceased) and Pauline McNeil (Frank deceased); nephews, Barry, Gordan and Tim, Dan, Dennis, Charles and Ron; nieces, Janet, Theresa, Sharon and Elaine, Sylvia, Emilie, Rosalie and Giselle. He was predeceased by his parents, Jules and Jeanette (nee Baribeau); brothers, Andre and Armand; sister, Marie; and infant daughter, Lynda Jeanne. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, May 17, 2013 at 2:00 PM at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, 1401 4th Ave W, Prince Albert, SK. Arrangements entrusted to Hawryluk Funeral Home. 922.6611 www.hawrylukfuneralhome.com

• Date : 2013-05-11 06:00:00
• Location : Prince Albert, SK