Edward Landry
Edward Landry left this world on March 4, 2003 at the age of 73, at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
Born January 10, 1930 to Roland and Caroline Landry in Ste. Amelie, Manitoba he was the oldest of nine children.
He knew what hard times were. At the age of 13 he started working to help the family, which consisted of four brothers and four sisters.
He did odd jobs for farmers and loaded gravel by hand into trucks. Life was not easy at that time.
You did what was necessary to survive. That is when he learned his skills of hunting and trapping. And he would tell all about his early adventures.
Edward was a man with many hobbies, and he could do anything he set his mind to. He was never idle, and you could always find him busy doing gardening, building or repairing. He was also always willing to help anyone who needed his expertise.
Most of all he liked telling stories about his younger years. His best audience was his grandchildren, who would sit in awe and wonder how much of it was stretched. Their favourite was the one on how he walked five miles to school each day and it was uphill both ways.
In 1954 he married Blandine (Roussin) and for a few years they went to live in Ontario. He worked as a pulp woodcutter, or truck driver by winter and fishing/ hunting guide during the summer.
In late 1957, with a growing family, he decided to move back to Manitoba. There again he worked doing whatever was available.
In 1965, he moved his family to B.C. and went to work for a local sawmill as a chip canter operator, and later as a sawyer. After a few years, those earlier times were taking a toll.
So in 1982, he left the mill and started working at his own pace, mainly doing carpentry, which he really enjoyed. It was shortly after this that he was diagnosed with diabetes and heart problems.
For years he had dreamed of returning to the Prairies. So in 1993, with his five children and a niece all grown up, Ed and his wife decided to go live in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, where three of his siblings were living.
That year was one of the coldest with the most snow.
He then made up his mind that he was getting too old for this type of weather.
In the summer of 1994 they moved back to Williams Lake. For a few years he enjoyed travelling with his wife, and friends, but his health was failing and in November 2001 he experienced renal failure. For the past year he was on home dialysis and finally succumbed to his illness.
He was predeceased by his father in 1965; his mother in 1979; his sister Irene in 1964; brother Jerome in 1977; sister Lorraine in 1998; and brothers Joe and Louis in 1999.
He is survived by Blandine, his wife and soul mate of 49 years.
Three daughters: Jacqui Lowry; Anita (Ron) Handfield; JoAnn Hamilton (Jon Nascou);
Two sons: Yves Landry; Alde (Sherry) Landry; and one niece which they raised after her father passed on, Faith Landry (Chris Hansen);
Eleven grandchildren: George Gonyer, Steven Lowry, Phillip Gonyer, Florence Gonyer, Dawn Lowry, Jeffrey Lowry, Kara Hamilton, Chaz Hamilton, Shaylyn Landry, Cassidy Landry, Alex Landry.
Five great-great grandchildren: Colten Gonyer, Kalie and Teneka Clark, Ayla Bean, and Isabella Lowry.
He is also survived by one brother, Lionel (Rita) Landry; two sisters, Dolores (Joe) Bernard, Louise (Ruben) Breland.
Many, many, nieces and nephews. He will be greatly missed.