Walter and Joyce Ganes

Walter grew up in Elbow and was a proud WWII Navy Veteran, seeing action in both North Atlantic and South Pacific. He always claimed, "The best sailors are from the prairies because they're used to the big skyline". He was a talented artist, attending art school in Vancouver after the war. Joyce grew up on a homestead in the Turtleford area. She developed her enormous work ethic from an early age working on the farm and excelling in the classroom. As a teenager she moved to Saskatoon with her family. Joyce and Walter met in 1949 at a Legion dance in Saskatoon. Joyce immediately caught Walter's eye, because she danced "just so". Too shy to speak, Walter approached, nudged her foot and gestured to the dance floor. It wasn't until they were almost finished their first dance that he finally said "hi". They were soul mates and together every day after that, marrying in 1951 and having two sons, Roger and Derek. Walter supported his family first working at a glass company, where his artistic talent was noticed. This led him to work as a draftsman and eventually becoming an architect. Joyce put her organization skills to use managing their home based architectural business, a household with two growing boys and a half acre garden in their Montgomery Place home. In their 63 years of marriage Joyce and Walter were devoted to their family, their garden and family time at the Turtle Lake cabin. They are lovingly remembered by their sons, Derek (Loraine Oman-Ganes) and Roger (Cindy); grandchildren, Nathan (Clare Cheng), Andrew (Adrienne Sporcic), Daniel (Sarah Pantusa), Heather, Carolyn (Chris Unsworth), Mark (Jenny Schmalenberg), and many friends.