ROBERT ‘FRANCIS’ KINNAIRD

May 16, 1948 – January 4, 2023

After a short illness Francis passed away surrounded by his family. Francis was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; the second child of Graydon and Georgina (Gena) Kinnaird. He went to school in Shellbrook, Saskatchewan.

 

He is survived by his wife of over 53 years Brenda; sons, Brent and Don (Jane); grandchildren, Morgan, Samantha and Benjamin; sister Anne Gaboury; brothers-in-law, Andy Gaboury and Ken Yaremchuk; nieces, Sherry, Tammy, Kathy, and Becky; nephew Matthew; and their families his aunts Annette Kinnaird and Donna Dodd and numerous cousins and many friends.

 

He is predeceased by his parents Graydon and Georgina (Gena) Kinnaird; sisters, Ellen Kinnaird and Mary Yaremchuk; his in-laws Sixten and Rosa (Bobby) Lundgren; brother-in-law Art Churchwell; sister-in-law Darleen Mulgrew; several aunts, uncles, and cousins.

 

Once he retired, he had more time to farm, raise cattle, go for breakfast and coffee with friends, and spend time with family. He really enjoyed going to Cuba and a recent trip with family is a treasured memory. Francis loved his grandchildren and was always happy to see them and have them around. Francis loved to tease, walk in the woods, protect all living things.

 

He enjoyed going back to the Shellbrook area and seeing friends. Francis loved to pick up the phone and call his childhood friend Lawrence. They would talk about machinery, old friends, and of course their wives.

 

Francis had a few unique ways of dealing with spam calls; he would sing to them, give them his “wife’s” phone number (which was the RCMP number), or tried to sell them something.

 

Francis recently joined Facebook and was always happy to find people he knew.  Francis also enjoyed TikTok and followed everyone.

 

Francis worked at numerous places, CN Rail for 31 years in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg; he was an underground miner near Merritt, BC in the early 70s, also at Lynn Lake and Flin Flon, MB; and he worked for Athabasca Airways in Prince Albert, which he often said was his favorite job. With all these jobs he always wanted to be a farmer and to raise cattle.

 

When CN moved him to Winnipeg, and it was obvious he wasn’t going back to Saskatoon he started looking for a farm. Machinery, cattle, and all kinds of other things were moved to Manitoba. One memorable trip was when we loaded the manure spreader with various tools and topped the load off with the aluminum boat. There were a lot of comments from people along the way.

 

He has had Shorthorn cattle since 1976. It was a purebred herd “Kindale Farm” for several years then switched to a commercial herd with Shorthorn cows and bulls. The Red, White, and the Roan were always in his heart. Brenda had a poem on the fridge for years “My love is not my love alone He loves his Red, White, and Roan.”

 

Anyone who knew Francis knew that the cattle must be looked after first, therefore the family will host a celebration of his life, in both Garson and in Shellbrook, once all the calves are born.

 

The family would like to thank the staff at Selkirk General Hospital Emergency and the staff at HSC Medical ICU for their exceptional care and compassion. Thank you to all the friends and neighbours for their help and support.

 

There will be a public graveside at 1:30 PM Saturday May 20, 2023, at Shellbrook Cemetery.  Friends and family wishing to send online condolences may visit www.beaulacfuneralhome.com.  Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Beau “Lac” Funeral Home and Crematorium, Tammy Smart, Funeral Director, Shellbrook, SK. 306-747-2828.

 

• Date : 2023-01-04
• Location : Shellbrook, SK