Obituary of Martin Beitel

MARTIN BEITEL

February 3, 1924 – February 14, 2018

Martin was born near Spring Valley, SK on February 3, 1924. He was the 7th of 13 children born to parents Martin and Magdelena. He grew up on the family farm and following high school, Martin left to work at a copper mine in BC where explosives became his specialty. After 2 1/2 years in BC he returned to take over the family farm with his brother Kasper and soon after, married Emma in Moose Jaw on April 16th, 1952.  Martin and Emma continued to farm with Kasper for 5 years before moving to the Moosomin area in 1957.  Times were tough in the early days. Martin remembers running out of feed for the cattle by spring, cold winters, blocked roads, and wood stoves.  Not only did they grow grain, they also raised chickens, turkeys, cattle, sold eggs, shipped cream to the local creamery, and maintained a huge garden which fed the family all winter. Together, they worked tirelessly on the farm, eventually selling off the cattle when Martin's bad back made it too difficult to haul bales. In 1964, they had a new home built on the farm and purchased their first new car in 1966. 

 Retirement came at age 55 and the move was made to Moosomin.  They built a new home on a double lot, which allowed room for their very large garden. They lived in Moosomin for 23 years before moving to Regina in 2000, and eventually to William Albert Care Home in Emerald Park in 2015. 

Martin and Emma have three children, Randy, Brian (Kim) and Linda. They have 6 grandchildren, Jackie (Steve), Brittany (Corey), Jeffrey (Amanda), Stacey (Jordan), Lindsay (Brandon), Shawn (Leanne) and 7 great-grandchildren with the 8th on the way.

While farming and continuing into retirement, Martin gave freely of his time to family, friends or anyone in need. He could not sit still for more than 5 minutes. Martin was an active member of the Knights of Columbus in Moosomin and spent many hours volunteering for the church. He was always there for his children and grandchildren, helping out with many household projects.  He enjoyed traveling within Canada and the United States and managed to visit relatives in Germany, where Martin was able to brush up on his German.

One of his favorite pastimes was spending time with his children and grandchildren at the family cabin at Katepwa Lake. He would build snowmen with his grandchildren, pick peas and raspberries from the garden and he attended many of their school and after school activities. A highlight in his later years was attending the 100th year anniversary of his family farm in 2012 and reminiscing about the days from the past.

Martin's great memory, work ethic, honesty, and integrity were admired by many. His family always came first. We are grateful to have had him for so many years and will always keep his memories close to our hearts.

Funeral Mass will be held at Resurrection Parish, 3155 Windsor Park Road, Regina, SK on Saturday, February 17 at 11:00 a.m. If unable to attend, the funeral will be live streamed at www.resurrectionparish.ca