Obituary of Chester Frank Lyste

Chester Frank Lyste was born May 21, 1918 in Hatton, North Dakota. When he was less than a year old, his parents Otto and Nellie moved to a homestead south of Pontiex Saskatchewan. It was at this homestead in Saskatchewan that Chester began his working days. He recalled doing errands for the hired men and earning a few cents per task. On a trip to town he decided he wanted a pair of long pants or jeans. He did not recall his age but remembered walking into the general store with his mother, putting his coins on the counter and asking the clerk for a pair of jeans. The clerk looked at the coins called a co-worker over and after a discussion Chester left with his first pair of jeans not knowing if his coins had covered the cost. Had his mother supplemented his purchase or did the clerks feel generous that day? Chester remained a jeans man and when he moved from his apartment in 2013 he had in excess of 40 pairs of his beloved jeans. At age nine, Chester, along with siblings Mayme, Nettie, Alma, Kenneth and Ellen, the family moved to Admiral Saskatchewan, where brother Roy was born. In 1932, drought came to the prairies and the family made a move to a homestead north of Swan Lake, British Columbia. The youngest brother Arthur was born while the family lived there. After three years, the family moved to Valhalla. In 1937, at age 19, Chester heard there was good land north of the Peace River in the Cherry Point area. He told the story of how he walked to the river about a 3 day journey from where he was living. At the river he found a log and floated across to the other side of the river, then hiked up the hills and scouted out the land. After returning home Chester, his mother, father and sister Mayme all filed for land and the family made another homesteading move to Cherry Point, Alberta. It was during some gospel services put on by Tom and May Harland that both Chester and brother Ken put their faith in Christ. Chester's life work consisted of homesteading and farming, hauling water with a horse and wagon to homes in Dawson Creek, being a parking attendant during the Calgary Stampede in the 1950's, and being a fisherman off the coast of British Columbia out of Ladner. He was also employed in an institution for handicapped boys in New Westminster. It was while living at the coast he met his beloved Anna Amundson and they were married March 10, 1958. Prior to their marriage, Anna made Chester promise never to take her up north to which he readily agreed. After being on the water and seeing the life of a fisherman's wife, Anna changed her mind and decided that the north would be a better option after all. Chester agreed it was a woman's prerogative to change her mind and north to Cherry Point they went. Chester and Anna settled onto the homestead, where they farmed, had numerous horses, cattle and chickens. They also grew a large garden every summer and picked berries, both tame and wild. They lived a quiet life on the farm. Going to Auntie and Uncle's was a novelty with the wood stove for heat and cooking, and a pail of water in the corner of the kitchen. A stroll out to the "point" to view the Peace hills and the river in the distance was always a beautiful walk no matter what time of year. Their living arrangement at the farm began with a trailer and then a cabin beside and then in later years a house that was pulled there on skids, none of these had running water or electricity, but in the later years the cabin did have a phone. Chester's love of reading and studying was evident in each of these homes as books, magazines and various publications lined the walls. He learned Norwegian from books and tried to teach his nephews. This lifelong love of reading carried on until his death, with Chester's last reading material being a Canadian history magazine. One day, Donna found him at the Rotary Manor in the lounge reading a Woman's World magazine, when asked if there was anything interesting, he said he liked to keep up with the things ladies were interested in. In 1993, at seventy five years old, Chester made a solo trip to Norway via England. He said he got to know the city of Oslo quite well and enjoyed his time there and being able to speak Norwegian sure helped. Prior to travelling north of Oslo to the area where his ancestors had come from, he got word that Anna had taken ill while visiting relatives in Saskatchewan and he made a quick trip home. Chester stayed with Julie and me when Anna arrived from Saskatchewan. We picked up Anna at the bus depot. When Anna met Chester the first question she asked was "How much did the trip cost?" Chester did the familiar head shake, got his "Chester grin" on, gave his unique giggle and said "You know Anna, education is an expensive business!" He always had hopes of going back to Norway one day to scout out the land a bit further. His Norwegian heritage was something Chester valued as attested to his Golden membership status in the Sons of Norway organization, his numerous books on the Norwegian culture, and publications in the Norwegian language. Uncle Chester was a regular at the annual family Norwegian Day held each November. He would peel potatoes, turn lefsa and flatbread, and eat his share of lutefisk and his all-time favourite menu item-mashed potatoes. Anna and Chester moved to Dawson after Anna's hip broke and for a few years they made their winter home in town and moved back to the farm in summer. Before finally residing at their apartment on 100A Avenue. Once they lived in town they began to regularly attend Grandview Chapel, where they made many dear friends. December 16th of 2006, Anna passed away after a beautiful 48 years and 9 months together. Chester remained in their apartment for the next 7 years walking to the Co-op daily. The Dawson Co-op was Chester's second home and one would often find him keeping up with the latest newspaper in the cafeteria and visiting with those who happened by. When speaking to a Co-op employee recently I was told that their policy of a free coffee and toast or pancake for those members over 90 was started because of Uncle's dedication and frequency of his visits there. He would have been honoured to have learned of this fact. Chester was also well known and a favourite customer at the local Lakeview Credit Union where "10 dollars was good", all he needed for the week and the Dairy Queen, where his order was usually a soft ice cream. He moved into Northview Assisted Living in December of 2013, where he became a favourite among the residents and staff. It was no different when he moved to Rotary Manor in October of 2014, the staff loved him and cared for him with dignity and respect. It did not hurt he called them all "girl" and was always agreeable and pleasant. Chester passed away with Delbert, Debbie and Donna by his side on Saturday, February 28th, 2015. It was a peaceful and quiet passing. Chester was predeceased by his wife Anna in 2006, his father Otto Lyste in 1974, mother Nellie Lyste in 1992, and brother Ken in 2009. He leaves to mourn two brothers Roy Lyste and Art Lyste, and four sisters Mayme Benterud, Alma Gullackson, Nettie Forseth, and Ellen Israelson, numerous nieces, nephews, and a host of friends from the Dawson Creek area. Service 2:00 pm Saturday, March 7, 2015 Bergeron Chapel 10200-17th Street DAWSON CREEK, British Columbia, Canada V1G 4C2 Interment Cherry Point Community Cemetery General Delivery Cherry Point CHERRY POINT, Alberta, Canada T0H 0T0