Kenneth EDWARDS

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EDWARDS: Kenneth Wilfred Edwards of Winnipeg, Manitoba passed away peacefully at Grace Hospital on Monday, November 6, 2017 at the age of 91 years, surrounded by family members who loved, admired, and adored him. Left to cherish Ken’s memory are sons Bruce, Craig and Paul, daughters-in-law Gail, Erin and Leiko; nieces and nephews; and seven grandchildren, Cole, Carmen (Jesse), Ben (Cassie), Taimu, Jensyn, and Taishin; as well as the legion of friends and neighbours who also mourn his passing and wonder what life will be like without him. He was predeceased by his parents Marjorie and Fred; sister Phyllis, and his wife Marjory. Ken was born to parents Fred and Marjorie Edwards in Regina, Saskatchewan on October 16, 1926. His grandfather was Israel Bennetto, one of Winnipeg’s first professional photographers. The family moved to Winnipeg in 1929, but like many others who spent time in Regina, Ken remained a stanch Saskatchewan Roughrider fan for the rest of his life. The family took up residence in the Maple Leaf Apartments on Corydon Avenue and Ken and his older sister Phyllis attended LaVerendrye, Earl Grey, and Kelvin Technical High School. When his parents divorced, young Ken became the devoted man of the family, a role he took very seriously for the rest of his life. His first jobs were delivering groceries evenings and Saturdays for J.R. Sharpe and Co. on Lilac Street and working part time for Canadian Pacific Express assisting the drive in the pickup of parcels in the garment district during the winter months. He spent many of his summers at the Lake of the Woods, where his grandfather Isreal owned several cottages for rent, and at his Uncle Ben’s farm near Piapot, Saskatchewan. Ken started working for the Canadian Pacific Railway full time the day after he finished Grade 11 at Kelvin High School on June 1, 1943. His first position was office boy to the Vice President and General Manager for the Prairie Region. In 1944, at the age of 18, he joined the Canadian Army and was training for the Armoured Corp when the war ended. As he said many times, the only war injury he suffered was stubbing his toe one day coming out of the biffy. After Ken was discharged, he went back to school and enrolled in a Shorthand and Typing course, which he hoped would open up more interesting opportunities at Canadian Pacific, which it did. He served in various steno positions in the CPR General Office, working his way up to Secretary to the General Manager, where his duties included travelling the Prairie Region in a private railway car and staying at the best hotels. When he became Secretary to the Vice-President, his travels extended to the rest of the country, including a memorable Fort William to Vancouver trip in the company of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as assisting with members of the Royal Family on two of their visits to Canada. In 1948 Ken met the love of his life on a blind date to a Harlem Globetrotters basketball game when he was asked by a co-worker to fill in for a friend who was under the weather. Her name was Marjory Cairns and when he dropped her at her door on Lipton Street and asked if she would go to the movies the following night, after some hesitation she said yes. As Ken tells it, he got back in the taxi, drove to the end of the street, paid the driver and took the bus home because he really couldn’t afford the cab fare and a movie. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Ken and Marjory married in June 1949 and built their first new home on Glen Avenue in St. Vital. Unfortunately, the flood of 1950 in Winnipeg forced them to evacuate but everything was high and dry by the time their first son Bruce was born in October 1951. Ken moved from clerical duties to rail line operations with the CPR when he was transferred to Calgary in 1954, the first of many managerial positions that took him and Marjory back to Winnipeg, then to Regina, Brandon, Minnedosa, and finally Brandon again, where he retired in 1986 as an Assistant Superintendent after 43 years of service. Along the way, they had two more sons, Craig in January 1955, and Paul in September 1956. In late 1956, Ken made plans to reunite with his estranged father while on a business trip to Vancouver, only to find out that Fred Edwards was one of 62 passengers and crew killed on TCA Flight 810 when it crashed into Mount Slesse near Chilliwack on December 9, 1956, along with five CFL players returning from the annual East-West All Star Game. With every move, Ken and Marjory built a brand-new home and met new people who remained close lifelong friends no matter where they were. They became valued members of every community they lived in and enjoyed sixty years together before Marjory passed away on January 2, 2009. In spite of the sad times, Ken lived his life following a simple principle: “Smile and the world smiles with you”. Wherever he went, he lit up the room with his warmth, his kindness, his infectious laugh and sense of humour (the cornier the joke the better as far as he was concerned), his greeting card poems, and, of course, his smile. We can all take comfort knowing that he is with his beloved Marjory once more and already organizing the next bingo or bridge game, dancing up a storm, and bringing a smile to everyone he meets. Ken will be cremated and has asked that his ashes be scattered with Marjory’s at their cherished summer cottage at Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park. In the meantime, details of a celebration of his life will be made available as soon as they are finalized.Wojcik’s Funeral Chapels & Crematoriums, Winnipeg, 2157 Portage Avenue, 204.897.4665 www.wojciksfuneralchapel.com

As published in Brandon Sun on Nov 10, 2017