|
Alvin Hein joked he would go all over the province to pay $100 for a hamburger.
That’s because Alvin, who was 89 when he died on July 19, was a farmer who learned to fly when he was younger.
And, after retiring, Alvin bought a Piper Arrow and flew with his wife to visit their relatives in western Canada or to go on day trips to various places, including the International Peace Gardens, Grand Forks, Morden, and Altona.
Advertisement
“He spent many days flying for pure enjoyment and joked about his $100 burgers at different stops around the province,” his family said in his obituary.
Alvin wouldn’t have been able to afford those burgers earlier in life.
He was born in a farmhouse near Brunkild and grew up during the Depression. As his family said, “life was hard and money was scarce.”
Alvin Hein
Alvin was 17 when he helped his cousin bring in the harvest before leaving for Winnipeg and working for five years in the Eaton’s mail order section, in the building where CityPlace is today.
By his mid-20s, Alvin was able to buy his first 80 acres of land in the area where he grew up. He farmed cereal and oil crops during the growing season, while during winter he worked at a sugar beet processing plant and later still worked as the head of security at the Winnipeg airport from 1970 to 1973.
Even after Alvin got married, in 1970, and lived in River Heights with his family, he still farmed. He just commuted to the farm every day.
But Alvin may have been interested in flying longer than farming.
He was only six when he would see RCAF pilots flying overhead while training for the Second World War.
When Alvin was hospitalized for six weeks with rheumatic fever in 1966, he decided he would learn to fly. By 1967, he had his private pilot’s licence.
Flying is also how Alvin started a business. He bought a new Bellanca Scout in 1976 and began a crop dusting business.
Overall, Alvin had more than 3,000 hours of flying under his belt.
Even after Alvin retired from both farming and aerial spraying, he found a way to continue combining his two loves of farming and aviation.
He sold the farm and bought a hangar at Lyncrest Airport to continue to fly.
But Alvin also brought along his John Deere tractor and mower from the farm to become “the unofficial runway grass cutter.”
Besides his wife, Elma, of 54 years, Alvin is survived by his son and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Read more about Alvin.
How They Lived
It would have been tough for Eleanor Huband to be Winnipeg’s first baby of 1935 — our archives show that baby came 10 seconds into the new year.
But while her parents missed out on the gifts local businesses contributed, Eleanor, born Jan. 1, went on to become a teacher.
Later, after marrying, she became active with the Junior League of Winnipeg, led a troop of Brownies, worked as a real estate agent, and even sold many of the paintings she created at local art shows.
Read more about Eleanor.
Eleanor Huband
Ingo Schroedter was a welder when he decided to change careers.
Ingo, who was 67 when he died on July 19, worked as a welder at Motor Coach Industries before going back to school at Red River Community College.
He graduated as a medical laboratory technician and worked under Dr. Henry Friesen — whose work on infertility led to the creation of a fertility-enhancing drug — at the University of Manitoba before going to the Health Sciences Centre, where he was a pioneer in bringing molecular genetics and diagnostic research testing into the clinic.
Read more about Ingo.
Ingo Schroedter
Jean McCormack was a nurse who worked for years in hospitals.
Jean, who died on July 21 at 89 years of age, was working at the Vancouver General Hospital, becoming a head nurse, before moving to Winnipeg, where she nursed first at the Grace Hospital and then the Victoria Hospital.
In the 1990s, Jean moved into education, first creating a health and child-care program at Miles Macdonell Collegiate, before leading the school’s costume department for theatre shows.
Read more about Jean.
Marilyn (Jean) McCormack
David Ross volunteered a lot of his time in Dauphin.
David, who was 91 when he died on July 11, served as president and life member of the Dauphin Men’s Curling Club, secretary-treasurer of Manitoba Junior Curling, and sat on the board of the Dauphin District Community Foundation and Lorray Manor. He had also been involved with Meals on Wheels, the Dauphin United Church, and the Royal Canadian Legion.
Read more about David.
David Evans Ross
Dolores Simpson competed at the Special Olympics.
And while we don’t know what sports Dolores, who died on July 19 at 76 years of age, competed in, we do know she participated in several sports including swimming, cycling, curling and rollerblading.
She also enjoyed dancing, polka music and horror movies — and she was adored by all her nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.
Read more about Dolores.
Dolores Anne Simpson
A Life’s Story
While Rita Menzies didn’t teach art at Kelvin High School — she taught math and English — she later made her mark in the world of musical arts.
Rita, who was 83 when she died in June, left teaching to become the first general manager of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
Rita Menzies in Reykjavik, Iceland (Jeannette Menzies photo)
Rita was with the orchestra for 24 years and, when she retired, she became the interim head of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, taking it from a deficit to a surplus in a year.
She retired again, but again a musical organization came calling: she soon was the director of the annual Agassiz Summer Chamber Music Festival, staying for 11 years and also serving as board president until she died.
“She was described as kind of having a calming effect on an organization,” Rita’s daughter Jeannette Menzies said. “I saw her as a trailblazer.”
Read more about Rita’s life.
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life’s story.
|
