Mom was born on May 13, 1916 in the little hamlet of Leney, Saskatchewan to
Ellen (Warin) and Ray Smith .. She was a telephone operator and rising tennis star. I have been told she was very good but a serious fall on the court while practicing forced her to give up the game she loved. I can only speculate that if current medical techniques were available then, the injury would not have kept her from becoming a world class player.
Dad was born on December 30, 1921 in Asquith, Saskatchewan to
Catherine (MacLeod) and James Childs. These two little communities are about 20 miles apart as the crow flies. He was an electrician but came into the employ of the Perdue Rural Telephone Company. As a linesman and troubleshooter he was constantly on the roads in the area in all kinds of weather. Telephone service was essential to a small farming community.
Mom and dad were married March 24, 1943 in Perdue. Until their retirement, they continued working in the telephone communications service. As an independent contractor, Dad spent many years building and repairing lines throughout the district. This was all within the jurisdiction of the SGT or Saskatchewan Government Telephones later renamed to SaskTel.
There were 6 children born to them. Kenneth James,
Douglas Raymond, Linda Francis, Greta Diane, Arthur Gordon and Karen Louise. Karen Louise died in infancy within hours of her birth on November 8, 1962. There are no pictures of her.
After spending their entire life in that area of the province, they moved to Osoyoos, BC. They were very active in the senior's center there and organized many excursions and trips for the members. Hazel May died suddenly at home there on December 14, 1989. After cremation, she was interred in the family plot in Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Karen Louise is now with her again.
Dad continued to live in Osoyoos, meeting and eventually marrying
Dorothea who died in
1994. He took a third wife, Dorethy, in 1995. There were no new children from these unions. After spending Christmas with his son Arthur in 1996, he suffered a heart attack on December 27 and died in hospital January 2, 1997. After cremation, he was interred in the family plot beside Hazel in Hillcrest Memorial Gardens.
