William FRASER

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FRASER: William L. Fraser. Bill was born and raised on the family farm at Franklin and attended the two-room school at Franklin. He was a member of the Minnedosa Tractor Club and the Franklin 4-H Poultry club and Seed Clubs. While a member of the seed club he competed in the provincial competition and, along with a club member from Boissevain, represented Manitoba at the national competition at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto where they placed second. After high school Bill attended the Brandon Agriculture and Home Making School for the first year of a diploma in Agriculture. It was there he met Viona Chesney of Vista who was taking a course in Home Ec. After completing the remainder of his diploma at the University of Manitoba, Bill returned to Franklin to help his dad on the family farm. During the off-season he worked for seven years as a poultry inspector for the Department of Agriculture, working with hatchery supply flocks. After four years of courtship, Bill and Viona married, raised four girls and enjoyed 59 years of marriage until Viona’s passing in 2017. Bill was an active member of the community, acting in various capacities in the Franklin Curling Club and the Franklin Hall Committee. Bill was a past president of the Neepawa Curling Club and was on the Neepawa Gladstone Co-op Board for 24 years. He was an avid ball player and played with Franklin, Springhill and the Neepawa Cubs. After his playing career he spent many years as an umpire. Bill was active with the Neepawa Golf Club, both as a player and a volunteer. Bill is survived by four daughters of which he was very proud. Debbie Fraser and her husband Bill Diehl-Jones and grandchildren Nicole, Cayly, Liam and Anna of Winnipeg; Sharon Bartley and her husband Kevin and granddaughter Cassie of Brandon, Tami Fraser-DeHaven and her husband Rod DeHaven of Brookings South Dakota and Glenda Zelmer and her partner Pete Gerlinger of Brandon. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. in the Neepawa United Church, Neepawa, Manitoba. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Beautiful Plains Community Foundation Inc. Box 486, Neepawa, MB R0J 1H0. White’s Funeral HomeNeepawa, MBin care of arrangements www.whitesfh.ca

As published in Brandon Sun on Oct 18, 2018