Posted on by Louella Lester

Seeing, Making, and Fixing

My dad passed away two weeks ago—about six months after my mom (you can see my tribute to Mom at https://louellalester.blog/2020/01/20/flowers-and-books/ ). The feature photo above shows the view from the last house in which Dad and Mom lived. Later Mom went to a care home and dad moved into an apartment which was not really his cup of tea. He much preferred to be outside. This post is a small tribute to Dad.

Dad grew up on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, a lake as big as a sea, where his grandparents from both sides had settled.

Dad, always a hard worker, loved his food. And stuffed vine leaves from his Lebanese heritage were a favourite. Even though I don’t like cooking, I picked the leaves in his yard and made the ones pictured below to share with him. 

Dad loved playing sports when he was young. Here he is in his hockey gear. Dad was an active guy, but he sat still to watch sports and the news.

When Mom and Dad married they moved into an old log house. In this photo Dad, my sisters, and I are on the roof. This is just before we moved into the new house that he, along with some help from us, built nearby.

Dad worked building roads, mining, and driving trucks across Canada and into northern Manitoba. Later he and Mom ran a store.

When they retired, they moved to live in farm country near East Selkirk. Below are some photos of what I saw on the way to visit them.

Dad planted lots of trees in the yard.

He and Mom had a huge garden.

Dad was alway making and fixing things. He reused and recycled—hated wasting things. He used metal piping with old plastic pails that would spin in the wind to keep the deer away from the garden. He picked up some old windows to use in a shed he built. He put together broom handles to make a device to loosen ice when the ditches flooded in the spring. And these are just a few examples. 

When I saw this crane with bicycles attached, near Lockport, I took photos to show to him. I knew he would get a chuckle. He always like to tell amusing stories.

Dad loved Happy the dog and Cloudy the earless cat. Seeing that Happy was sleeping outside of his house because Cloudy had moved in, Dad built a new one with an upper level for the cat.

If you visited Dad you got a tour of the yard. He pointed out flowers and trees as you walked.

And he would phone to tell me about wild birds and animals that showed up.

Dad is somewhere else now, with all the plants and wildlife that he needs, and hopefully with some building projects, too.

28 Replies to “Seeing, Making, and Fixing”

  5. Enjoyed your photos and tribute/story very much, your dad lived an interesting life. Lake Winnipeg looks huge, I had no idea! I smiled seeing those crane-held bikes 🙂 Hope you’re doin’ ok yourself, take care xx

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    1. Thanks, Liz. I’m settling down now. It’s been a rough year. Lake Winnipeg is over 24,500 square-kilometres. The 6th largest lake in Canada. And the 11th largest freshwater lake in the world. We have some pretty big lakes here. It would fit 5 times into England. 🙂

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  7. Sweet and heartfelt tribute to your dad. Loved hearing about his journey and seeing the houses and landscape. His never liking to waste reminds me so of my own dad who grew up on a farm in North Alabama. Thanks so much for sharing your memories. Lovely writing and pix! ❤️❤️❤️

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  8. So nice Louella,
    The VB sand cliffs picture for one brings back memories of meeting your parents and spending time out in that beautiful area. I always make a special trip out to VB cliffs whenever I visit MB

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  13. Dear Louella, First of all I am so sorry to hear this sad news that affect you. I wish I had met your dad, we would have had a lot to talk about I am sure. What a wonderful universe he had.So rich and full of ideas and nature. Thank you for sharing this. It is deeply moving. Valérie

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