Obituary of Earl Bruce Blakely

EARL BLAKELY EARL BRUCE BLAKELY Earl, late of Regina, passed away at the age of 93 years on Sunday, September 1, 2013. Earl was born at Bethune, SK. He was predeceased by his parents, Emma and Achan Blakely; his beloved first wife, Marjory; sister Sylvia (Tom) Walker; son Doug and son-in-law Bob Rupka. He is survived by his cherished wife Betty; daughter Heather (Bill) Pankratz; brother Murray (Amber) Blakely; daughter-in-law Sandra Blakely, grandchildren Julie (D'Arcy) Letourneau, (great-grandchildren Mikaela, Nevaeh and Lucien), Lori (Chad) Holt (great-grandchildren Ashley, Eric, Chloe and Tyler), Cameron Blakely (Shauna) and Curtis Blakely; five nephews; and step-daughters, Pat Kelln, Sharon (Lorne) Dunsmore, Rhonda (Dale) Ulmer and Debbie (Mel) Wolf, and their families. Earl was an air frame mechanic with the RCAF, stationed at Paulson, Manitoba for four years during WWII. His working life after the war was varied; from farm hand to short-order cook to town cop, settling on the career of mail carrier in Regina in 1954. He loved his work and made friends with many of his customers from different routes. In May of1960, while on his round he pulled two children from their burning house; a third child, a baby in a crib, was removed by a fireman. In October of 1966 again while walking his route he came upon another home on fire. That time he helped a mother and two children escape to safety. For his heroic action local Union #30 of the Letter Carriers' Union of Canada presented him with a gold medal letter carrier crest, which he highly valued. It was estimated that he walked 375,000 miles and carried a weight load of 65 tons over the years. Earl was an Odd Fellow for 50 years (and insisted he'd be odd right to the end!). During those 50 years he was twice District 12 Past Grand Master. He had been a resident at Veterans Ward 3-6, Wascana Rehabilitation Centre, since November of 2010. Caregivers, support staff, recreation workers, physiotherapists and volunteers provided a wonderful sense of family and community, and we are deeply appreciative of the care he received at the hands of Dr. Van Heerden, nursing staff, Chaplin Jan, music therapists Amanda and Tyne, among others. Your tenderness provided an intimate and caring atmosphere in those final days. At Earl's instruction, cremation will follow and no funeral will be held. Interment will take place in Bethune Cemetery on Wednesday September 11, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. with Rev. Carla Blakley officiating followed by a private family dinner. In lieu of flowers, friends so wishing, may make donations in Earl's memory to the Bethune Cemetery Fund or the Bethune and District Heritage Museum, both General Delivery, Bethune, SK, SOG 0H0. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.speersfuneralchapel.com