Obituary of Edmund Stanley

Edmund Vincent Stanley was born January 20th, 1938 in Elk Point, Alberta and passed peacefully with daughters by his side in Dawson Creek, BC on May 13th, 2021 at the age of 83 years. Edmund is survived by his loving wife Muriel Stanley, children Jessie (Rod) Drew, Judy (Bob) Kucharuk, June Stanley, Kenda (Mitch) Jacklin and Jaki Stanley; Grandchildren Amy (Ian) Seebaran, Erin (Kyle) Krauskopf, Matthew (Samm) Kucharuk, Tayler (Alara) Lees, Kyle Drew, Michelle (Shane) Kristenson, Bobbi (Ryan) Jobson and Ryan (Alycia) Jobson. And finally, the light of his life his great grandchildren: Dylan, Quin, Isla, Lucas, Soren, Barrick and Bennet. His sister, Edna Guy. Dad is predeceased by son Clark Stanley; parents Vince & Maggie Stanley; and siblings Jim Stanley, Florence Dopking, Olive Wasylciw, George Stanley, Willie Stanley, Ardythe Denison, Donalda Caskey, Myrtle Ann Stanley and Eunice Hogbin. A private graveside service took place on May 19th, 2021 at Brookside Cemetery in Dawson Creek. Edmunds daughter, Judy Kucharuk read the following eulogy: They say that when someone passes away, their life flashes in front of their eyes. I truly believe that Dad hung on last week simply because his life had been so full of experiences that he needed more than a flash. He needed an old school, full-length movie complete with intermissions to get completely through his life story. Oh and what I life it was! There was action complete with spectacular car crashes. There was a western edge with a fair bit of gun slinging. There was comedy and pratfalls remember when he did that header on our banana bike? There was adventure as he took to the sky as a pilot. Plus, there was a titch of Life Below Zero and even a sprinkling of Ice Road Truckers. Each of us here today has different memories of Dad. It stands to reason that Jessie and I would have different memories than June, Kenda or Jaki because we knew him at a different time in his life. The grandchildren entered Dads life when things were starting to settle down there was more time for hunting, messing around with snowmobiles in the shop and giving advice. The great-grandchildren truly got the best of my Dad. Sitting in his chair as he played guitar and sang to them all he had was time. There was no rushing to get to work, or take a call or harvest a field ripe with canola. Time was no longer of the essence and he could breathe in each precious moment with them. Do I make it seem like Dad lived a chaotic life? Quite the contrary everything that happened in his life was planned and executed. How did he accomplish so much? I truly believe that it was my mom the steady, thoughtful, smart, savvy, capable woman who acted as a rock to which dad could anchor his life. Mom and dad met in 1962. Dad was a charmer with the propensity to sprinkle glitter on the dullest of circumstance. He had been dating my moms cousin when he and she met. You have to picture their first meeting: Dad wearing his white t-shirt, tucked into jeans that were rolled with a cuff at the hem. His cigarette package, either in his shirt pocket or under his sleeve, his raven black hair slicked back into the style of James Dean. Mom would have been in cropped pencil slacks, her brown hair gently curling around her face, a smile that would stop a freight train and beautiful green eyes that crinkled when she laughed. I am sure that Dad took one look at her and said to himself, That girl is mine. They became the ultimate power couple and married April 15th, 1963. Jessie Louise was born September 30th, 1963 and mom and dad were living in a teacherage in Worsley where mom was a teacher. The little apartment was not paradise. I have heard stories about dad, lying in bed, would shoot mice with his 22. Jessie would laugh and laugh. Mom remains terrified of mice to this very day. Obviously this set up was not going to work. With moms support, they built a new house on the home quarter in Worsley immediately opposite the home Dad lived as a child, and in a few years, purchased the remainder of the original home quarter She and Dad settled into farming life and raising a family. Judy Laine was born in December 13th, 1964 Jessie and Judy almost Irish twins, but not quite. Dad bored easily. His life could hardly be described as boring, but in his heart and mind, Dad truly believed that he was destined for so much more! What began as Stanleys Trucking Service Ltd with one, lone water truck servicing the oil industry became a fleet of water trucks and employees to operate. In the off season I can recall the fleet of shiny tanks lined up in the yard when left to our own devices, Jessie and I would play on them for hours on end. Now our world became two seasons: Farming and Water Hauling. Thankfully we have a mom who naturally rose to any occasion and she became our world She is the teacher, the mom, the dad, the bookkeeper, and more. Dad needed her. How else could you go off on your adventure without someone to keep the home fires burning? June Lois was born April 15th, 1969, Kenda in June 24, 1971 and Jaki Lin, born prematurely, on November 22, 1973. Wee baby Clark was born in March of 1974 and he rests in the Worsley Cemetery. Dad was surrounded by so much estrogen it is no wonder he worked away from home! In 1973 Dad, no doubt with his trademark attitude of I can do anything I put my mind to, purchased a Cessna 172. Now what probably should get a licence! So Dad became a pilot. The Cessna was kept on the farm in a big hangar alongside the combine and a landing strip was built on the property to the west of the house. When a day was deemed, A good day for flying he would taxi out to the runway, take off and soar over the community, buzzing the house and tipping his wings to say hello. Dad always told me that he could see what might happen before it would happen. I am not saying he could look into the future, but what I am saying is that he could see the what ifs and quietly, without fanfare, always prepared a contingency plan. This sixth sense saved his life. On September 14th, 1977 while my mom drove us older children to school, Dad suffered a heart attack. When mom returned home, wee Jaki, confused, was sitting on Dad and Dad needed medical attention and fast! In a this cat has nine lives moment, and where Dad had always subconsciously planned for every contingency, Peace Air Ambulance was dispatched to the farm and landed on our airstrip. They pulled their aircraft into the yard and Dad was loaded on board with the community nurse. They took off and headed to Fairview hospital. Dad coded in the aircraft, but was brought back. After Fairview hospital he was then transported to Edmonton. April 7th, 1978 Dad underwent triple bypass surgery and on April 15th, 1978 we held a massive farm sale. Dad sat at the dining room table looking out the window as everything he had in his life was sold. Dad moved us to Vancouver Island to be near my moms parents and his brother and family. He didnt think he would ever work again and that he would not survive his heart disease. One Vancouver Island rainy winter came and went and my Dad, desperate for Peace Country sunshine, left the Island and got himself a job as a Construction Engineer. We lived on the Island and he worked away. Do you sense a pattern? With a renewed sense of life and purpose, Dad moved the family back to the Peace Country settling in Dawson Creek. He continued working in road construction and we went back to the two seasons of life with our father not working and work. This is the big dash in Dads life, the time where he worked, when his family grew and expanded: graduations, weddings and grandchildren. Dad did not slow down until very late in life and even then he continued to create and manifest his legacy. This past year has been difficult. Dad grew tired and I think for the first time he began to understand that life is finite and that he was entering a time in his life where he was losing control. As always, mm has been by his side, caring for him, supporting him and encouraging him. His daughters, son in laws, grand children and great grandchildren became the center of his universe and we looked forward to seeing his blue eyes and his smile savouring each moment knowing that time was of the essence. Edmund Vincent Stanley lived a great life a life with the privilege of being able to try anything he dared trying which led him to accomplish so many amazing things. As I mentioned earlier, we each hold a different memory of Dad. We came into his life at different times and each manifested a unique and special relationship. Dad was black and white he rarely tolerated shades of grey. If you were a part of his brood, you knew it and he would do anything for you regardless of time of day or price to pay. Dad was a collector: A collector of things and experiences; A collector of friends and relationships. Dad was passionate. He loved the special people in his life with a boundless heart. Dad was inventive and creative. Dad was witty and smart. Dad had difficulty with verbal boundaries; sometimes believing that we always needed to know what he was thinking. In the end, it is important to know that Dad left his mark. His energy will be felt for generations. I would like to close with a poem from John Gillespie Magee: Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward Ive climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hovring there, Ive chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air Up, up the long, delirious burning blue Ive topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or ever eagle flew And, while with silent, lifting mind Ive trod The high un-trespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. Today is a good day for flying Dad we will miss you. For friends so wishing, donations may be made in memory of Edmund to Networks Ministries, 10500 13 Street, Dawson Creek BC V1G 3W5. Very Respectfully, Reynars Funeral Home & Crematorium