Lloyd George Fike

Lloyd was born on July 22, 1924 to Irvin and Abigail Fike.

Lloyd’s grandparents were Daniel and Mary Fike who came to Canada from Kansas, with their children Joe, Etta, Clara, Miles, Owen and Irvin in March 1903.

The family homestead was 9 miles west and 1 mile north of Crossfield, Alberta, or 1 mile north and 2 miles east of Madden and was a full half section. His mother’s father was Ephraim High

When Irvin Fike took over the farm in June of 1918 he had only been married to Abigail for a few months.

They were already expecting their first child, Irene, and were planning to raise a large family on the farm.

They had 8 children Irene, Arthur, Lloyd, Ralph, Owen, Elva, Lila, and Dallas.

I tell you this story because I wanted you to understand that Irvin’s children were the first generation of Fike’s to be born here in Canada.

They have helped build this land and make Alberta some of what it is today. Lloyd was one of these Fike’s.

I sat down with Dan, Peter, Owen and Lloyd and we talked about their dad and his life. So much has changed since the time Lloyd was born and he has seen so much on his journey through life.

Last month Lloyd was sharing stories of his childhood with his son Owen.

He told Owen of the time when he was 14 years old and he went with his dad just out past Dog Pound to get fence rails.

They would stay at an old cabin where there was a stream to water the horses. Back then they had to bring their own bedding and food.

He also spoke of when they used to cut ice blocks from the ponds and cover them with saw dust shavings so they could use it for the ice box in the summer.

At 15 years of age Lloyd got a job working on a threshing crew.

He would receive 2 dollars a day for his horse and wagon and he would make 1 dollar a day for his labour. He did various jobs and helped on the family farm.

At 18 he had a job shovelling hay into the grainary and made .60 cent an hour. Lloyd worked hard, but he had another calling.

While he was working on a farm for the Jones family, Lloyd decided he wanted to enlist in the service.

When he informed Mr. Jones, the elderly man called the RCMP on Lloyd. They told him that he could not leave Mr. Jones until all the work on the farm had been completed as Mr. Jones was old and could not do it.

After the work at Mr Jones was completed Lloyd did want he wanted to do and enlisted on Feb 1, 1943.

During his time of service Lloyd was paid 45 dollars a month which he would send 25 dollars back home to his mom.

Lloyd talked about how in North Africa you were given a blanket to sleep with. You would have to lie on the sand and wiggle so the sand could mould to your body and that was your bed.

While in Italy, you would dig a body shaped hole to lay in, and put your pack over your head for protection from any shrapnel.

In England you were given a mattress bag that you would fill with straw. You would put in straw, stomp on it to break the straw, and put in more straw until the bag was good to sleep on.

During his enlistment Lloyd spent 3 ½ months in the #1 General Hospital in Florence Italy because of shrapnel in the leg.

During his stay in the hospital he came down with jaundice and Diphtheria. Yet that didn’t stop him from fulfilling his duties.

After his stay in the hospital he shipped out to England on a hospital ship, and spent the remainder of his time stationed at the Canadian base in England.

While in England Lloyd did various jobs keeping the plants operational.

Once released he stayed in Bed and Breakfast in England and Scotland until he returned to Canada in March of 1946.

Lloyd was very proud of his contribution to the war effort, but because of the emotional toll on him, he rarely spoke of it. He lost a lot of good friends during his time in the service.

After his return to Canada he worked various jobs, but the family farm was always part of his priorities. He worked on a threshing crew for a while and he also collected scrap metal and took it in for extra money.

Lloyd went to church on a regular basis and that is how he met the love of his life.

He had purchased a car to drive Aunt Ethel, Uncle Joe, and Mrs Neilson to church and he would pick up Lois and her roommate Laura on the way

Aunt Lois was telling me about when she first met Lloyd. She told me the first time she looked into his eyes that she knew that he was her man.

So when Lloyd would come to pick them up for church she would be ready and waiting while Laura was still fixing her hair.

Lois would make sure she got her spot in the car right beside Lloyd. It wasn’t long before they knew they were perfect for each other.

They were married in the same church they met, and Lois made the wedding cake herself.

As a wedding present Irvin Sr gave Lloyd a panel truck.

After the wedding, they first lived in a basement suite near the river in NW Calgary until they bought a boxcar on land in Montgomery for $400

In the early years of their marriage, Lloyd would buy cars from the Calgary police auction and chain 5 or 6 cars together and drive them to Montgomery. He would break them down and take the scrap metal in for cash.

On Sept 21, 1954 just 3 days after their 1year anniversary their first son Dan was born. They had 4 amazing sons Dan, Peter, Owen and Lloyd Jr. and family meant everything to Lloyd.

Lloyd helped his father on the family farm until he passed away in 1968.

After that, Art, Irvin’s oldest son, had his own farm and Lloyd would take his sons out to help Art. Art would pay Lloyd half a cow to help him butcher or castrate the animals as well as other jobs that needed to be done on the farm.

The boys told me stories of helping on the farm. They were remembering a time when Lloyd was bringing a load of manure home for the garden in the back of his truck.

He had such a heavy load on, that the front wheels weren’t even touching the ground. Lloyd would have to push on the brakes to get the wheels down so he could turn a corner.

Lloyd worked different jobs through out his years. Lois was showing me pictures of Lloyd helping build a major road way in Calgary.

The boys talked of when their dad was buried on an excavation crew when a dirt wall came down and buried him up to the neck.

Lloyd also had a landscaping business in his spare time. Everyday the boys would come home from school and get ready to go out and cut lawns. Weekends they all worked sunrise to sunset.

His business grew and he had up to 32 customers and Lloyd hired Gary and Colleen Fike, Gordon and Rick Campbell and other family members to help.

He taught his sons how to farm, work hard, family values and many other traits, but he also made sure they had fun and family time as well.

Lloyd wasn’t all about work though; he loved nature and spending time out doors. The family would spend time camping at Kananaskis Lake on weekends and at Heffley Lake near Kamloops for longer vacations.

Aunts, Uncles and cousins would meet up at the campgrounds and enjoy family time playing and fishing.

Lloyd and the boys always wore their captain hats fishing and Lloyd, being the captain, his hat was white.

Every few years they would go to Hatzic Lake to visit with Aunt Elva and Uncle Adrien.

Peter talked about spending time water skiing and forgetting to let the rope go. He swallowed a lot of water every time.

Lloyd and Lois were out camping with Roland and Judy one summer in 1958 or 1959, and were sleeping in a tent.

A bear came into the camp while everyone was sleeping. Well almost everyone, Lois was awake and could hear the bear sniffing on the other side of the cloth.

That was the end of the tenting for Lloyd. After that, Lloyd went out and bought a slide in hard camper, and never slept in a tent again until 2000 while camping at Shuswap Lake with Owen, Jenny and the kids.

After his retirement Lois and Lloyd moved to Barriere just north of Kamloops.

There he built a hobby farm.

He got a permit from the federal government for his Canada Geese, and he had Pheasants, Peacocks, Pigs, rabbits, goats, many other animals and a large garden.

Lloyd was very proud of his Canada Geese, and he would never pass up a moment to talk about them or show them off.

They were happy living in their Barriere home, but they missed their sons. So in 1993 they sold the home and bought a house in Calgary.

Shortly after Lloyd and Lois moved into their current Calgary home, Peter moved to Regina and Owen moved to Abbotsford.

In 1997 Lloyd started up his scrap metal business again at age 73. He was at his busiest at the age of 86.

He had 40 to 50 different shops he would visit twice per week. Everything was cleaned before it was taken for scrap.

Radiators and alternators were dismantled and separated, they were stored along with batteries until he had a huge pile of them to be taken all at once.

Sometimes he would get copper wire that the plastic wouldn’t come off, and would burn it in the driveway at the farm or later at young Lloyd’s.

You see he was not only a hard worker but he was an organized man.

He had his route planned, loading up the scrap from different shops, sorting while loading, then he would head to the garage, unload what needed to be cleaned and stored, reload and head to the scrap yard.

The employees at Navajo scrap yard knew Lloyd, and he was well respected there. They told Owen they were missing his dad the last time that he brought his dad’s scrap in.

He always planned a load or two of what he referred to as ‘heavy’ around Owen’s visits and Lloyd always made sure to put him to work. Owen remembered the one day they hauled in over 6 tons of scrap metal.

Even though Lloyd had a certain way of doing things and he was always looking for a good deal, didn’t mean that Lloyd didn’t like to buy things.

He was just smart. He saved where he could so he could spend where he wanted to.

Back in Oct 1965 Lloyd purchased one of his pride and joys. He purchased his 1966 special order Chevy short box truck.

He was proud of his truck and worked it hard. Lloyd Jr started rebuilding the truck in 1993 and had it finished for the World of Wheels show in 1996, for it’s 30th anniversary. Lloyd Jr. now gets to take care of Dad`s truck.

I asked the boys to describe their dad to me and one of the first words they gave me was Thrifty.

Now don’t take that the wrong way, as some would think cheap when they think of the word. No, Lloyd was a true thrifty person, he saw the value in things and he understood the meaning of a good deal.

Lloyd always watched the grocery flyer's for the sales and he would make his round trip when he went for groceries.

It was always the same places in the same order for certain things that were on sale. It was always for 2 of this or 3 of that at each store, and he knew exactly what it should be costing him.

Owen told me of the time he was driving in to town from BC, he phoned when he entered the city. Lloyd planned on going to dinner at Perkins, one of Lloyd’s favourite places.

Perkins had a senior special but it ended at 5:30pm, so when Owen pulled up Lloyd was already standing outside the door ready to go. Owen didn’t even have a chance to unload first.

Lloyd was a man that recorded his life and left information and memories for his children and grandchildren to share.

Every year Lloyd would be given calendars from family and friends. He would pick the one with the biggest squares to write in, but still had to fit in his drawer beside the chair.

Everyday he would write about the weather and other important information about that day. He kept a calendar for each year.

If you came to visit he would ask you if you wanted a new calender because he had over a dozen spares that didn’t work for him.

I was shown a diary that Lloyd kept during his time in the service up until the 1950`s. It was amazing to see as well as his soldier’s pay book from back then.

The history Lloyd has left his family will be treasured by all those that see what he has left behind and all the stories told about his life.

His values will live on in his children and grandchildren as they pass those values on to each new generation.

And Lloyd will be remembered and loved forever through all of us.

Thank you for listening and for being here with us today.

Lloyd’s Story (Chronological History)

Welcome and thank you everyone for coming today to celebrate the life of Lloyd George Fike.

I am Lloyd’s great niece and I am honoured to be here to speak to you about the amazing life Lloyd led and all the accomplishments he made in his 91 years with us.

Lloyd was born July 22, 1924

Left school in 1938 at the age of 14 after completing the 8Th grade to help on the family farm.

On Feb 1, 1943 he enlisted and went to Camrose for basic training and then went to Curry Barracks for his advanced training. He trained with the Seaforth Highlanders.

He went overseas in Aug 1943 after his 19Th birthday.

He spent the winter of 1943/1944 in North Africa

In the spring of 1944 he joined the War Campaign in Italy.

March 16, 1946 Lloyd was discharged with honours and returned to Canada.

Lloyd met Lois June of 1953 and on Sept 18, 1953 they were married.

Between 1954 and 1968 they had 4 sons.

Some of Lloyd’s work history is

1946 to 1948 Lloyd worked numerous farm hand jobs and other side work.

1948 and 1949 worked for CPR Canadian Pacific Railway.

1954 - 1957 Worked with the City of Calgary Parks

1958 - 1979 worked for the provincial government, taking care of the provincial buildings and eventually became the head gardener at Calgary Correctional center were he retired at the age of 55.

Also during this time from 1965 - 1979 Lloyd had his own landscaping company that he worked the evenings and weekends

They moved to Barriere BC in 1979 and had a hobby farm.

In July 1993 They moved back to Calgary.

In 1997 Lloyd started his Scrapping business until he retired from that on his 91 birthday on July 22, 2015.

Lloyd held a valid drivers licence right up until his passing.

Lloyd passed away on Dec 16, 2015 surrounded by his loving family.

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Lloyd George Fike passed away peacefully at the Peter Lougheed Hospital surrounded by family on December 16, 2015 at the age of 91 years.

Lloyd is lovingly remembered by his loving wife, Lois Ellen of 62 years; sons, Dan (Ruth), Peter (April), Owen (Jenny), and Lloyd Jr. (Tracy); sisters, Elva (Adrian), and Lila; brother, Dallas (Irene); his grandchildren, Jason (Heather), Jeremy, Jesska (Josh), Sarina (Troy), Morgan, Taylor, Spencer, Christie, Karianne, Kylee and Coleton; his great-grandchildren, Steven, Kyonna, Kasey and Autumn. He is also survived by sister-in-laws, Fern (Gerry), Judy (Rolland), and June (Ted); brother-in-laws, Jim (Christine) and Gordon. He was predeceased by his father Irvin and mother Abigail; sister, Irene (Ernest); brothers, Arther, Owen and Ralph (Lavina); brother-in-laws, Niels and George; sister-in-laws, Greta and Joy and great-grandson, Tristin.

Lloyd Fike was born on the family farm in Madden. He was a hardworking man, leaving school at the age of 14, and working right up to his 91st birthday. He was very detail orientated and dedicated to everything that he did. His word was his bond. On January 29, 1943 he drove his 1927 Ford home to the family farm, drained the fluids then walked 10 miles to Crossfield in freezing temperatures to catch the train to Calgary, where he enlisted on February 1, 1943. He served overseas until his discharge on May 16, 1946. After the war he worked various jobs including collecting scrap metal until he married Lois, the love of his life on September 18, 1953. A few years after their marriage he got hired as a grounds keeper at the City of Calgary and later with the Government of Alberta taking care of the grounds of the provincial buildings in Calgary. He took a transfer to the Calgary Correctional Institution as Head Gardener. In 1979 he retired to a hobby farm outside of Barriere, British Columbia until they moved back to Calgary in 1993. Shortly after returning to Calgary, he started collecting scrap metal again which continued right up to his 91st birthday. Lloyd believed that if you didn’t need it don’t buy it and if it wasn’t broken do not throw it out.

A Visitation will be held at SOUTH CALGARY FUNERAL CENTRE, 12700 Macleod Trail South (at Lake Fraser Gate) on Friday, January 8, 2016 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

A Celebration of Life will be held at SOUTH CALGARY FUNERAL CENTRE, 12700 Macleod Trail South (at Lake Fraser Gate), on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. Interment to follow at Crossfield Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations being made in Lloyd’s memory directly to the Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Fund by mail, (Dominion Command, 86 Aird Place Ottawa ON, K2L 0A1) or online, http://www.legion.ca/honour-remember/donate-to-the-legion-poppy-fund/.

Messages of remembrance may be left for the family at www.southcalgaryfuneralcentre.ca