Bennie (Ben) Milton Marling was born March 16, 1931 on the family farm in Leduc, Alberta. The farm had been homesteaded by his maternal grandparents during the early 1900’s. Ben attended his first year of school in this area. The family then re-located to an area just outside of Onoway Alberta. Here Ben completed his elementary school education.
Sometime during the 1940’s the family moved to Chilliwack, B.C. Ben graduated from Chilliwack High School in 1949. His yearbook mentions his interest in playing chess, and that he planned to pursue a career in accounting. This he did, starting his accounting career at Canada Packers – York Farms in Yarrow.
In July 1954 Ben married Hilda Freimuth. They built their first home the next year on Windsor Street in Chilliwack.
In March of 1956 their eldest son, Grant, was born. That same year, Ben was transferred to the Vancouver office of Canada Packers. The family moved to Vancouver and lived there for the next nine years.
In April 1961, their second son Michael was born.
In December of 1965, Ben was again transferred, this time to Abbotsford, where he became office manager of Willows Poultry Plant, a division of Canada Packers. During the 1970’s this plant was closed, and Ben declined an offer of a transfer to Toronto, thus ending his career with Canada Packers.
However, Ben kept busy renovating older homes; projects that often required the enlistment of the entire family. He thoroughly enjoyed these types of projects.
During the later half of the 1970’s, he was offered the opportunity of a partnership in a recreational vehicle dealership; an adventure he and Hilda pursued until 1979.
Ben, now approaching his early 50’s, thought perhaps it was time to retire. Having always enjoyed warmer climates, he and Hilda decided to try out Palm Desert, California for a couple of months in the winter. It worked out well, that for the next ten-plus years, the two of them joined the annual migration of snow birds south to the warmer climes. After ten years of wintering in California, they opted for a change of scenery. Cancun, Mexico became the winter destination for the next ten years.
Around this time, two grandchildren graced their lives; the first Emily, in 1988, and the second, Jordan, in 1993. As the pictures you’ve seen today show, “Papa” and “Nana” adored time spent with their grandchildren, and the feeling was certainly mutual.
When not escaping the Canadian winter, Ben and Hilda enjoyed seeing a variety of other places throughout the world on guided tours.
Now into their 80’s it was time to downsize. In 2017 they sold their house in Abbotsford, and moved into a condo.
ONLY ONE LIFE – HOW QUICKLY IT PASSES
ONLY WHAT IS DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST
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Holmberg House, Abbotsford, BC
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