  |
 |
 Edward John Halbert (most commonly known as Ted), was born in Viceroy, Saskatchewan on June 7th 1945. He was the 2nd of four children to William and Barbara Halbert. Ted and his siblings; Bill, Lois and Neil grew up in Viceroy & Dehinda, Sask. William and Barbara owned a farm and there was always a lot for the kids to do. A couple of Ted & Bill's favorite activities included hunting for squirrels and rabbits and a lot of time doing target practice. Ted also really enjoyed cooking fudge with his younger brother Neil. After high school, ted attended Greystone University in Saskatchewan, where he studied arts and sciences. He then went on to work for Century Geophysical doing seismic work in Saskatchewan, working his way into Alberta. It was there that he met Donna Withrow in 1964. They were married in 1965 in Dawson Creek B.C, where they had four children: Brad, Brent, Tanya and Tamara. Ted worked for the city of Dawson Creek before becoming a heavy duty mechanic. He worked for most of his career with High Tower drilling, followed by Kenver Equipment. Ted loved to watch sports. He always looked forward to Friday night fights, football on Sunday afternoons, and the curling brier. He always was secretly cheering on any Saskatchewan team to win. Ted enjoyed country music. He often would turn on a radio or TV and sit back, relax and enjoy the music. Ted and Donna owned a farm and raised many different animals from pigs to cows and chickens. Needless to say this kept the young children very busy. Ted was very proud of being self sustainable. From the animals, Ted shifted gears and took to being a hobby farmer. His passion, however was growing potatoes. Last year’s harvest had 750 hills. Which you may think sounds like a lot. However, it is down considerably from the previous year’s harvest of 2100 hills of potatoes. You haven't tasted potatoes until you have tasted these. The potato planting process was always an adventure. Ted would carefully consider where on the farm the best soil was. Luckily he had Donna to help with the planting process. Ted would drive the potato plow while Donna walking behind plunking the seeds into the ground. After many hours, Donna was done, and Ted thought perhaps that they could sink in a few more hills, and guess who won? Well, that would be Ted. Ted's favorite past-time would be cruising around the back 40 on his tractor. The amount of hours and time he spent on the tractor, was pretty evident by the number of new seats it received, which the last count was 3. Ted was in his element on his tractor, making trips up Halbert Mountain, creating new trails and the list goes on and on. Ted was a Scotchman right through to the core and was proud of his heritage; he was also a talented inventor. He could build just about anything from pieces of scrap. Some of his accomplishments that he was most proud of were; His 1 man sawmill His bucket for his tractor, and his potato plow. Ted was very independent and always liked to do things for himself. He was always willing to help out a friend or a neighbor, but often wouldn't ask for help in return. He took pride in completing jobs himself. He was a jack of all trades and could fix anything from plumbing, to electrical; there literally wasn't anything he couldn't fix. If it was something he wasn't familiar with, he took the time to learn it and was pleased when he completed the task. In winter time, it was tradition for Ted to get into "puzzle season". The goal was to open up a puzzle and to try to complete within the week. Donna would feverishly work on the puzzle for hours & hours. Ted would offer some assistance by adding a piece here and there. When it was coming down to the final crunch and there was only a few pieces remaining, Ted would secretly sneak and hide the last pieces. As Donna would be looking on the floor for them, Ted would come along, deposit the last pieces and say "It's a good thing I came along and finally got this put together for you". Then he would want to open a new puzzle. A few special family memories were: Tamara remembers; Her dad's "so very funny" sense of humor. The family had made a few trips through the pine pass very late at night returning Brent to Vancouver. To keep the mood light in the vehicle, Ted thought this would be a great opportunity to share the story of the Sasquatch with the kids. Sometime after, he would slow the car down and say "Did you see that?" slow down even more and say "Did you hear that?" and tap on the brakes. The kids would be squealing that the Sasquatch was coming... about that time he would tell Brad that he thought maybe the vehicle was getting a flat and that he might need to get out to look. The kids would be terrified for years to come, but laugh about it now. I also always looked forward on my trips home to a tractor ride up to Halbert Mountain. We would always get all bundled up if it was cold, and find our comfy spot on the tractor, and head up the hill. The race was always on with Clancy, our trusty dog, as to who would make it to the top of Halbert Mountain first. Proud to say Clancy won every time. The view from the top of Halbert Mountain, as always breath taking and something I will forever treasure. Forever & Always Pumpkin. Brad remembers; I learned the importance of working hard and having good work ethics. All of the work on the farm, from picking roots, stacking bales and helping with the animals taught me the value of doing a good days work. I will always remember all of our projects that we tackled together on the farm. We always had a plan, but maybe a different set of ideas on how to get the job done. The backyard fires in the fire pit were always a good time with wiener roasts, marshmallows, lots of joking around, laughs and stories. My favorite memory of a trip we made one afternoon up Halbert Mountain, involved an "Inukshuk building contest". We had teams, and the teams were scouring the hillside and gravel pit for the best rocks. There was lots of laughter and fun. When all was done my brother Brent and I had built the largest and the sturdiest Inukshuk. Little did we know at the time but this would be my brother's last trip to the mountain before his passing. It has been 3 years and the Inukshuk is still standing and my Dad would always check to make sure it was good. Thanks Dad for being my mentor, my teacher and my friend. Love Brad. Tanya Remembers; From you, I inherit strength and wisdom. I learned that to provide for others is a blessing. That smiles and moments, laughter and hardships were to share amongst us, to help when you can, give if possible and to know when to sit and just ponder before acting: And if somehow you made an error in judgment along the way to avoid acting like a jackwagon as much as possible. I remember you were one of the few people I asked to borrow a chainsaw from to cut my rail road tie flower beds into chainsaw art when I experienced failures. You never so much as let me even fire one up. I remember how you laughed when I told you Darryl had given me toxic top soil for my lawn and nothing but weeds were growing even though I planted grass seed twice. To this day I don't even know if it was chick weed or stink weed, but to know failure at planting is one thing, then along comes a measure of success and it is equivalent to making a master piece. These qualities make me like you. I remember the smiles and chuckles all the kids have given you. On days we laugh, all the days of our futures, may you shine down among us. Bless you. Love, Tanya. And a very Special Closing thought from Donna. Ted, thank-you for sharing your life with me. You were my life, my love and my best friend. We shared so many good times together and we shared some trials and tribulations as well. Through it all, we always stood strong and pulled through it. I would never change a moment, and will cherish them in my heart forever. I admired your strength, your courage, your independence and your will power through your illness. I was pleased to help you with your wish to be at home. The 45 years we spent together, hold a special place in my heart, and forever and always will. I am grateful for every day. All my love, Donna. |
  |
|||||
|
Dawson Creek: (250)
782-2577 Serving Fort St. John |
 |