Victor Herbert Hunter

The funeral service for the late Victor Herbert Hunter of Wolseley, Saskatchewan, Canada who died at Wolseley on February 3, 2003 at the age of 73 years was held in the chapel of the Tubman Funeral Home, Wolseley on February 7, 2003 with Ms. Connie Sykes officiating. Interment followed in the Wolseley Cemetery. The casket bearers were Fred Hunter, Jeff Hunter, Greg Hunter, Robert Hunter, Roy Moss and Darren Dixon.

Victor was born at Plunkett, Saskatchewan on October 20, 1929 to Frederick and Adda (Burton) Hunter. He married Audrey Ernst in 1951 and together they raised six children. In the early 1950's, Vic pursued a career as a geophysicist with Western Geophysical Explorations, which took them to many different communities in Alberta. This was a dynamic period for Vic and Audrey but when their children were being introduced to the world, they realized that a more stable home life was needed. Vic then purchased a grocery store in St. Albert, Alberta. In the early sixties an opportunity to move back to Saskatchewan presented itself when construction of the Gardiner Dam began. Vic built and operated a successful general store and post office called the "Cutbank Mercantile.." The town of Cutbank, where the family lived for more than a dozen years, was named by Vic. He had entered a contest to name this small community, submitted the name Cutbank and as a result this name was chosen and adopted officially by the Canadian Postal Service. When construction of the Gardiner Dam was winding down in the early 70's, Vic and Audrey searched for a business and a town that would be the best choice for their family. As a result, they purchased the Leland Hotel in Wolseley and made this their home for the past 30 plus years.

Vic was a community man and believed in his community. He was a member of various organizations such as the Wolseley Chamber of Commerce, the Hotel Association of Saskatchewan, the Tourism Association of Saskatchewan and the regional tourism association.. Many sports teams in Wolseley have benefited from the various promotions that Vic has helped them with. Vic was also a member of and sat as chairman of the Wolseley Arena Board for a period of time.

Vic was predeceased by his parents, Frederick and Adda (Burton) Hunter, sister, Joyce and brother, Bruce and is survived by his wife, Audrey; their six children: Fred (Rose) and their family, Jody and Paige; Jeff and his family, Tracy, Bryan and Tina (Kelsey) and their daughter, Camryn; Linda (Roy) Moss and their family, Erin and Adam; Greg (Kim) and their daughter, Miranda; Laureen and her daughter Shayla; and Lana (Darren) Dixon and their family, Devin and Shanelle; one brother, Robert, Sault St. Marie, Ont; and his numerous other relatives.

The funeral arrangements were entrusted to Corinne Chaikowsky of Tubman Cremation & Funeral Service, Wolseley, Saskatchewan, Canada, 1-800-667-8962.

Eulogy given by son Fred Hunter at Vic's funeral:

It's my privilege to deliver to you a small picture of the man who was my father.

You all have in your minds some form of a picture of Dad. They will all be different in many ways. That is part of the complex and disparate nature of Vic, as most of you knew him by. However with all of the different pictures each of you has of Dad, I'm sure there are several common themes you think of.

I think of a man who just genuinely liked people. Many of you have sat and talked with Dad or ran into him on the street and found yourself discussing any number of topics; be it the weather or the state of the economy or the life cycle of the boll weevil or his favorite politician, and wondering how a whole hour had passed and the errands you were doing were way late.

This was the nature of Vic, enthusiastic and outgoing, loving to interact with people of all different backgrounds, very knowledgeable and well informed on so many subjects. He was such a well-read and well-informed person. Discussion and discourse were one of the things he loved to do. Perhaps even more so an intelligent argument could put a glint in his eye. At one time or another every one of us kids has been involved in a discussion with Dad and dragged out the encyclopedia to prove him wrong. Most times it was a humbling experience for us as he would be proven right again. Even on the few occasions when the encyclopedia said he was in error, he knew there was another authority out there that agreed with his facts. That book was wrong and he was right and could prove it.

Another facet of Vic (Dad) that some of you would recognize would be his very strong sense of right and wrong; his code of ethics was rigid and he imposed on himself the very basic idea that once his word was given, he kept it,NO EXCUSES,NO COMPLAINING , just keep your word at all costs.

His honor was important to him. While he held himself to this very high standard of ethics and morals he didn't impose his sense of right and wrong on others. He didn't hold others to his standards and he didn't judge people who thought differently than he. I can think of many times myself or one of us kids would unthinkingly make an unkind remark about someone or something and would get a stern rebuke about not judging other people.

Dad was a "Child of the Depression." By this I mean he was brought up with a keen sense of the value of a dollar. But also he was brought up to share his good fortune with those less blessed. I often recall how he would recount the times that his father, my grandfather and namesake (Fred) would come home with any number of itinerant folk traveling through the area of Plunkett, Dad's hometown and have them enjoy the family meal whatever it happened to be, even if it meant skimpy portions for everyone. This carried on all through his life as well. Being in the hotel business for the past 30 years, Mom and Dad almost always had extras for meals on a regular basis. Many Christmas dinners that I remember were spent with folks that had no one to celebrate Christmas dinner with. This was the essence of both Mom and Dad's's ideas on being Christian. Although they haven't been churchgoers they are two of the most Christian people I have had the privilege of knowing. Many of you have shared with us the gifts of hospitality that Mom and Dad always provided, be it a New Years supper in the hotel, a Halloween party with all the extras, or just a quiet refreshment after a day's work. Dad wasn't a joiner of community service groups in the conventional sense, but his sense of community and his involvement in the community was considerable. His contribution to the community was important as it varied from direct monetary contributions to many different projects to innovative ideas that found their way into many project plans. Come to think of it, he was more of a joiner than I realized. He belonged to the Chamber of Commerce, the Hotels Association of Saskatchewan, The Tourist Association of Saskatchewan, and The Regional Tourist Association under its various incarnations.

Many of the sports teams in town have benefited from the promotions that he has helped them with. While many people might construe this as a good business strategy, and it is, I know that he did these things out of a sense of rightness and the need to support groups in the community. All of these things he did with no fanfare and a great reluctance for recognition or publicity. In this sense he was a shy man. It seems to be quite an anomaly that Vic as such an affable, gregarious man was shy but there was that side of him as well.

His private side, which I'm sure he shared with Mom was brought home to me in Dad's final days. He didn't discuss ( at least to my knowledge) any last wishes or any regrets or thoughts on what was happening to him, with anyone. He kept his own council. Never once did I hear him complain of pain, or the fact that each breath was becoming a huge struggle. I'm sure that he had his own idea of how his journey would end and what he would be doing in the hereafter. I'm sure his plans include a reunion with the love of his life "Audrey" and that he won't be far from her always. I know his thoughts were always with her and that they both depended on each other to remind themselves of what was truly important. I think of them going through life together and complimenting each other's strengths and shoring up each other's weaknesses. They were truly greater than the sum of their parts. As their journey on the seas of life progressed, I think of Dad as the KEEL of the ship; strong and sturdy,

indomitable plowing through the waves. Mom was the rudder that steered the ship from danger and guided it on the right course. This was the togetherness and teamwork that made them both stronger and wiser, and kinder and more loving than each would have been on their own.

Make no mistake. I am certainly not talking about a Saint here. Dad had his faults, foibles and qualities that were not always attractive. For a few earlier years he had a problem with alcohol. Being such a social person he didn't realize how far along the slippery slope alcohol could take you. However, when he finally realized the harm it was causing he just quit like that and never touched another drop. He did this with no exterior support systems and was successful I'm sure because of his iron will and unyielding sense of what was right. To me it had to be an incredibly difficult thing to do. I am sure also that he did this thing not just for himself but for his family as well.

Dad was a stern taskmaster especially with his kids. He demanded alot from us and expected that things would be done to the best of our ability. Praise was a hard thing to earn from Dad but when he praised you, you knew you had done something special.

He had a quick temper and would blow up quite easily at times. But five minutes later all was forgotten and forgiven. Anyone on the receiving end of Dad's anger didn't transgress again for a long time. He demanded reponsibility from us kids but he also extended praise and privilege when you acted in the correct way.

In contrast to this he was very indulgent with his grandkids. If not formally called the CANDYMAN he should have been, because he certainly

could not refuse them anything in the house they wanted. He kept a large stockpile of treats handy. Pop, chocolate bars, donuts, candy and ice

cream were doled out repeatedly. One dose per kid was never enough. The family pets were also recipients of this largesse, with beef jerky and bacon and pork chops being the favorite for our dogs.

A brief history of Mon and Dad's working life would go like this:

Work was one facet of their togetherness as they earned a living together for most of their married life. How many of us can say we lived together for 50 plus years and worked together for most of them? That took a special kind of love, patience and forbearance on both their parts.

Together since their teens they lived in many different communities in Alberta as Dad pursued a career as a geophysicist with Western Geophysical Explorations. The search for oil took them many places and provided them with several life long friends. Don and Pat Houston being one couple that comes to mind. As Uncle Bob stated the other day, Dad was probably the only non-geologist in Morth America that was in charge of conducting geological tests and searches for oil. This was in the early fifties and was a very exciting and dynamic period for Mom and Dad.

As we kids were being introduced to the world, Mom and Dad realized that a more stable home life was needed so Dad willingly sacrificed this endeavor and traded it for ownership in a grocery store in St. Albert Alberta. In the early sixties an opportunity to move home to Saskatchewan was presented when construction on the Gardiner Dam began. There he built and operated a successful general store and post office called "Cutbank Mercantile", a truly unique name I think. As far as names are concerned one thing not many people know of Dad was that the town of Cutbank where we lived for more than a dozen years was named by Dad.

I don't think Bill Berry is aware of this fact yet but I'm going to make sure of it soon. (For those of you not familiar with Bill Berry he is a historian who has written extensively on the history of place names in Saskatchewan). When there was a competition to name the place where we lived Dad submitted "Cutbank" and it was chosen as the best name and adopted officially by the Canadian Postal Service. He was quite proud of this and I agree it is a very unique thing to name a town.

When construction was winding down at Cutbank in the early 70's, Mom and Dad searched for a business and a town that would be the best choice for our family. They chose wisely and we have lived in Wolseley ever since.

Dad often said the openness and willingness of the Wolseley community to embrace newcomers, the friendliness of everyone, the spirit of pulling together that exists here is the main reason for moving here and the main reason for being successful. He believed in Wolseley and often said that the entrepreneurial spirit was still alive in this town and would stand us in good stead.

One of the honors he was quietly proud of was the awarding of a "Star Blanket" from the Chief and Council of the Carry the Kettle Reserve on the occasion of Mom and Dad's retirement from the hotel. I myself am very proud of them because I think that gesture shows that people respected Dad for one of the cornerstones of Dad's philosophy on life. You treat people fairly, with dignity and respect and that is what you will get back.

I think again of what my Uncle Bob, Dad's brother, said to me the other day, and I know that all of you will understand what he meant also. He said, "Vic was a GOOD man!"

Thank you.