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May 24, 1931 - April 28, 2020
Henrich August Turk - known as Henry - was born May 24th 1931 in Kassel passing away April 28th 2020 in Williams Lake.
Henry Turk - the fiercely independent pioneer, always marched to his own drum and never short of opinions, slipped away peacefully in his sleep two weeks shy of his 89th birthday.
He is survived by his wife Julie, step-children Charlie and Frances, son-in-law Michael, Cousin-in-law Margaret, nieces and nephews, lifelong friends and caring neighbours.
Henry immigrated from Germany 1955 with his cousin Herb (decease) and Steve (deceased) forging a life-long friendship.
And so Henry's adventure began. Being resourceful he had to switch from his masonry trade due to lack of work in Edmonton and ending up in 1956 in Slave Lake being hired by Swanson Lumber Company as Millwright / Machinist looking after lumber mill equipment. This is where he met a very special camp cook Julie whom he married. This took him to various camps including Sweet Grass Landing in Wood Buffalo. From there they moved to Horsefly BC working for Sawrite Lumber Company owned by Gundersons until the company was sold. This brought him to Williams Lake, hired by Sam Ketchum, founder of West Fraser Company, where he worked for 30+ years till retirement.
In their little haven just outside Williams Lake, Henry was plenty busy, gardening, wood working, making whirlybirds, machinery fixing, canning, baking (German recipes), herbal treatments - in short no project was too big of a challenge for Henry. Henry's strong personality was legendary and for better or worse is missed by all.
Life celebration will be announced for Williams Lake and Slave Lake at a later date.



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