KREW KUTS: Calgary Connections - Part 2
By Bernie Krewski
These were some of the early settlers who passed away during the last half of 1966 as reported in the Calgary Herald and the Oyen Echo.
Goodburn - Mrs. Norah Beatrice Goodburn, aged 62, of the Mayfair Nursing Home in Calgary, died on July 19 after a lengthy illness. Born in St. Paul Kansas, Mrs. Goodburn moved to Oyen in 1918 and came to Calgary in 1925. Predeceased by her husband Arthur in 1951, she was survived by three brothers - William Hogan of Oyen, Eugene Hogan of Vancouver, and James Hogan, Kinsley, Kansas, one sister Mrs. Luella Frazier, Anthony, Kansas. Funeral services were held in Calgary.
Momb – Torlef (Ted) Momb died on August 8 at age 76. Mr. Momb homesteaded east of town in 1910 and retired in Oyen in 1960. Funeral services were held in the United Church. Surviving him were two sisters in Norway and a sister, Mrs. Oyen, in Calgary. There is no history of his life in Many Trails Crossed Here.
Gray – Mrs. Annie Matilda Gray of Ponoka passed away at the Ponoka General Hospital on September 17 at the age of 80. The late Mrs. Gray (nee Norris) was born in Mere Wiltshire, England, on September 22, 1885, and came to Sibbald in 1911 where she married Sidney Gray (Sibbald Community History, p. 222). They moved to Morningside in 1953 and retired to Ponoka in 1963. She was survived by her husband Sidney, daughters Mrs. Gwen Campbell of Oyen and Mrs. Albertha (Donald) Harris of Morningside, and eighteen grandchildren. Pallbearers were Frank, Reg, and James Campbell, Glen Knaus, Donald Langmaid, and James Turney. Interment was at the Fairview Cemetery in Lacombe.
Brown – Mrs. Josephine Brown, age 85, passed away on November 5, at the home of her daughter, Alma Yockey, in Zionsville Indiana. Mrs. Brown arrived in this area in 1922 and homesteaded in the Cappon district before moving to Oyen. Left to mourn, beside Alma, were daughters Hazel Ball, Cappon; Marie (Seth) Carson, Aldersyde, Alberta, Dorothy Ainslie, Edmonton, and son Nivien in Susanville, California (MTCH v. 1, p. 173). She was predeceased by her husband and daughter, Cora Bartley.
Burke – Funeral services were held in St. Joseph’s Anglican Church in Acadia Valley for Mrs. Alice Walker Burke, age 77, who passed away in Medicine Hat Hospital on November 10. The Venerable J.W. Carter Archdeacon of Medicine Hat, assisted by Rev. Westfall of Oyen, officiated at the service. Interment followed at the Acadia Valley Cemetery. Alice was born July 3, 1889, at Durham Ontario and married Patrick Burke at Saskatoon in 1912. They homesteaded in the Empress/Acadia Valley district. Mrs. Burke was active in the Women’s Auxiliary and the Anglican Church. For the past eleven years she had been a resident of the Baptist Haven of Rest at Medicine Hat. She was predeceased by her husband in November 1946. Surviving was one daughter, Mrs. Lillian (Bert) Elliott of Calgary, sons Tom and Harold of Acadia Valley, four grandchildren, and a sister in Durham, Ontario (Times to Remember, pp. 151-152).
Rugsven – Carl K. Rugsven passed away in the Oyen Hospital on November 13 at the age of 79 years. He left Norway at the age of twelve to join a brother in the Dakotas. He came to Alberta in 1910 and homesteaded in the Acadia Valley and Oyen districts. Left to mourn his loss were his wife Annie Rugsven, sons Harvey of Youngstown and Albert and Harold of Acadia Valley, and daughter Ester (?) at Ashcroft B.C., as well as brothers and sisters in Norway, three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. As noted in MTCH, v. l, p. 161. Carl’s name was changed from Karl K. Christofferson when he arrived in the United States to reflect the piece of land on which he was born in Norway.
Tomkins – William James Tomkins, age 76, died at High River on November 30. He was the beloved husband of Mrs. Mae Tomkins, High River, and father of one daughter, Mrs. Marjorie Pidhirney, Leslieville; two sons, Dean of High River and Gerald, Cereal, thirteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He farmed in the Oyen and Chinook districts from 1914 until retiring to High River in 1961. Funeral services were held in High River and interment in Mountain View Memorial Gardens.
Morrell – Lillian May Morrell, age 51, beloved wife of Francis Morrell of Calgary, died on December 24. She was born in Oyen, coming to Calgary twelve years ago. Besides her husband, she is survived by three sons, Allan and Brian of Calgary and Murray of Red Deer; four daughters, Mrs. Sylvia (H.) Berg, Mrs. Elaine (K.) Read, Joanne and Susan, all of Calgary, two sisters and one brother, and six grandchildren. Interment occurred at Queen’s Park Cemetery. More to follow on the Morrell family in a later issue of The Echo.