Mr Henry Henry Nicholas Kramps

KRAMPS, Henry Nicholas

May 13, 1920 – May 22, 2011

Henry passed away peacefully at the Edmonton General Palliative Care Facility on May 22, at the age of 91 years. He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his one remaining sister Rachel Caouette; his “adoptive” family Dennis and Janet Macdonald and their children: Shannon Vance (Kurc) and their daughters: Aayla and Sienna; Lee Macdonald (Michelyne) and their son Connor; Jill Bouchard (Brad) as well as numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

He was predeceased by his parents: Anton and Mary Kramps; five sisters: Isabel Kramps; Elizabeth Kruse; Theresa Caouette; Mary Victoor and Rose Victoor as well as five brothers: John; Lawrence; Francis; Albert and Louis Kramps.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, May 31 at 10:00 A.M. at St. Peters Parish, Villeneuve, Alberta with Father Victor Botari, celebrant.

Interment will follow at 1:00 P.M. in Calahoo Cemetery, Calahoo, Alberta.

If friends desire, Memorial Tributes may be made to St. Catherine’s Parish, Lot 19, Lac St. Anne Trail NW, Calahoo, AB or Calahoo Cemetery, Sturgeon County, AB.

Parkland Funeral Services, in care of arrangements, Stony Plain. 780-963-2520.

______________________________________________

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON HENRY KRAMPS:

Henry Nicholas Kramps was born to Anton and Mary Kramps on May 13, 1920 on a farm in Riviere Qui Barre, Alberta.

His father Anton came from Germany in 1890 and lived in South Dakota for seven years before coming to Alberta. Anton married Mary Muller (a.k.a. Mueller) on April 16, 1901 in a little church called St. Emerence situated at Riviere Qui Barre, Alberta. Reverend George Nordman officiated. Mary and Anton (a.k.a. Anthony) had twelve children: Isabella (1902); Elizabeth (1903); Theresa (1904); Mary (1907); John (1910); Lawrence (1911); Rachel (1913); Francis (1914); Rose (1915); Albert (1918); Henry (1920) and Louis (1922). All attended Camilla School in Riviere Qui Barre.

Henry's father died of cancer in 1928 after a long period of suffering. Mary had a hard time by herself keeping her large family together and providing for them. In 1935, when Henry was 15 years old, he and his family moved to a farm east of Calahoo, Alberta where the boys built a log house and cleared the land of heavy bush. Henry and his brothers cut cord wood and later did threshing for the farmers in the district as well as crushing and sawing. During the war years, Henry and his brothers were all called into the Army but only Albert and Louis had to go. In 1952 Henry with brothers Francis and Lawrence ran a sawmill and sawed over 200,000 board feet of lumber. In 1953 Henry bought some land from Mark Powers in Calahoo and built a small house. His mother Mary kept house for him until 1965 when she retired at the age of 83 and moved into Vimy with her daughter Theresa and her husband. Henry and his older brother Lawrence did a lot of custom carpenter work in the Calahoo, Riviere Qui Barre and Morinville areas, building homes, kitchen cabinets, barns, whatever needed to be built. In 1970 Henry went to Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Poland, England and his parents' homeland, Germany. While there he visited one of his first cousins who lived in Henry's father's 180 year old home!

In 1985 Henry scaled down his carpentry work from building people houses to building birdhouses, birdbaths, windmills, wishing wells, knife holders and lawn ornaments. He generously donated these sought-after hand-built treasures to the local church bingos and raffles every year. In 1966 Henry was awarded the "Citizen of the Year" Award by the community of Calahoo. Henry enjoyed fishing and playing cards, particularly "King Pedro" where he claimed to be "The Champ".

Henry always made a point to keep in touch with his friends and neighbors and took a special interest in the young people of the community providing them with little jobs for extra cash. Many young people made extra pocket money over the years cleaning Henry's house, cutting his grass or sweeping out his woodworking shop. Each time they were generously rewarded with cash, a huge lunch and, of course, dessert. Henry always had goodies in his freezer for such occasions. Many family members and friends would drop in on his birthday to say hello and bring him gifts. He always laid out a spread and you never left his house with an empty stomach.

Although Henry never married, he held a special place in the hearts of his "adoptive" family Dennis and Janet Macdonald and their children: Shannon, Lee and Jill. As each child grew and married, Henry welcomed their spouses with open arms. Shannon and Kurc's two children Aayla and Sienna were like Henry's own grandchildren and he would shower them with gifts every time he could. Come Christmas he competed with Santa Claus. He would spend the year shopping for special items for the kids. He was always "Uncle Henry" to our children and grandchildren and will be dearly missed.

In 2008, due to age and health reasons, Henry left his dear Calahoo to move into West Country Hearth Seniors Home in Villenueve. There he enjoyed the company of many old friends and continued playing cards. About three years ago, Henry was diagnosed with prostate cancer and it eventually took his life.

On Sunday, May 22, 2011, he quietly passed away at the Edmonton General Palliative Care Unit. He was 91 years old.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EULOGY – (Written by Dennis Macdonald, presented by Jim Yeoman)

Henry Nicholas Kramps, 1920 to 2011. In his 91 years Henry did many things, never afraid to tackle something new to make an honest living, from land clearing and lumbering to farming and building. From a young age Henry and his brothers learned that to make that honest living it meant lots of hard work.

Several years after the death of his father, Henry, at the age of 15 along with his family moved from Riviere Qui Barre to a farm east of Calahoo. Basically to a hill covered with heavy bush. Here they began clearing that heavy bush and from it built a log cabin. I guess that was where Henry began his life as a builder. As I have said, he did many things but I think first and foremost he was a carpenter. He was a builder.

Is there anyone here today who hasn’t had something built by Henry? From the very house you live in to the birdhouse outside your window. From your newly renovated house or new garage to that neat wishing-well in the front yard next to your sidewalk; from that very sidewalk to the foundation for your new barn and then the barn itself. But more than all these material things he built, yes more than those kitchen cabinets or that beautiful china cabinet in your dining room what Henry built with each of these was relationships; relationships that would last many years as witnessed by all the friends here today.

I would like now to borrow some lines from a song called “The Carpenter “ which I think in many ways describes Henry.

He was as tough as a crowbar; he was quick as a chisel

He was as fair as a plane and true as a level

He was as straight as a chalk line he was right as a rule

He was square with the world, and he took care of his tools

He worked his hands in wood from the crib to the coffin

With a care and a love you don’t see too often

He built birdhouses for the backyard he built mansions on the hill

He said anything worth cutting down a tree for is worth doing well

If he worked for you he became a lifelong friend with you. He always returned for a visit, a cup of coffee or a good game of cards, usually “King Pedro”. If you needed a favor or some help physically, or financially he was always very generous. Henry was very dedicated to his church and to his faith and over the years was always involved in church repairs and projects, fund raising or whatever else was required. One of the lines of the song says, “ he was square with the world “ but it also could have said, “ he was square with his Lord”.

He was always ready to help a neighbor or a friend and he seemed to have a special spot in his heart for the younger generation. He was happiest when surrounded by younger people and you would often find some youngsters at his place either cutting grass, cleaning his shop or cleaning his house. The reward was always a generous amount of precious pocket money followed often by one of his delicious home cooked meals and desert; always the desert.

Although Henry never married, he was accepted into many families, especially in the Calahoo area where so many of his lifelong relationships were built. It would be difficult to mention all of these “honorary” families for fear of missing one, but I’m sure you all know who you are and that you were all special to him. There was one family in particular that Henry truly was an honorary member. That was the Dennis Macdonald family. Yes, to the Macdonald kids living on Meadowview Drive, to Shannon, Lee, and Jill he has always been “uncle Henry”. And over the years as spouses, Kurc, Michelyne, and Brad came on the scene they too were introduced to Uncle Henry. When Shannon and Kurc started a family their girls Aayla and Sienna were fussed over and spoiled by none other than Uncle Henry. Lee and Michelyne's’s new son Connor is only 5 months old but I’m sure he too will get to know who Uncle Henry was.

This relationship with Henry began over forty years ago when Dennis in need of spending money was asked by his neighbor Henry if he would be interested in driving tractor for him on the farm and helping out with some other work. Since that day, right up until his completion of studies at NAIT and start of his own career with ‘edmonton telephones’, there was always work for him on the weekends or holidays’ be it on the farm or some of his carpenter projects to supply that precious spending money. He earned more than just spending money though; he earned many skills that he still uses today from a man who was very patient and helpful in passing on those skills. Thus began a relationship that has lasted to this very day.

For over thirty-five years, until he left his home in Calahoo, Christmas- eve for Dennis and Janet Macdonald’s family was at Henry’s where he prepared a huge and delicious meal with enough food to feed half of Calahoo. He competed with Santa himself in the number of gifts given. In fact when his suite at the home was cleared out it was found he had already bought a toy truck for Connor and a huge stuffed teddy bear for Aayla and Sienna.

As I said previously, with each building project there was also built a lasting relationship and I think Henry would be happy to have some of those special ones acknowledged. To the Victoor family who always included him in so many of their family functions and especially to Rene who was always there in these later years when Henry needed a favor. To Emile and Lorraine Berube and their families for that Christmas day supper every year. To Wilfred and Chris Berube and family for the annual New Years day supper. Oh how he loved that ham Chris! To his very dear friends Floyd Boyko and Jan who were so kind and helpful to Henry when he needed it. He sure loved those Friday night fish fries! To Eileen and Allan McDonell, where he spent many evenings visiting and who also included him in many of their family functions. To Gib Borle who was always there to drive Henry to his doctor appointments or shopping trips. To his niece Charlotte who took a special interest in him and another niece, Sister Doreen who visited him regularly in the hospital. These are just a sampling of the many relationships that Henry established in his long “building” life and to all those who I have failed to mention, know that your relationship was just as special.

Although having to move from his beloved Calahoo to the home here in Villeneuve was very difficult for him I believe he was finally settling in when he became ill. In concluding I would like to thank all his friends at West Country Hearth for being so kind to him. To his co-residents, the administration, the kitchen and maintenance staff and especially the nursing staff who were always caring and helpful.

On behalf of Henry Kramps, “The Builder”, thank-you and farewell.