Obituary of Walter Paul Jackle

JACKLE, Walter

It is with great sadness that on April 20, 2019, Walter passed away peacefully at the age of 80 after a long battle with cancer, surrounded by his loving family. Walter was predeceased by his father and mother, Herman and Hertha Jackle, and his younger sister Irene Orton.

Walter is survived by his devoted wife of 57 years, Elaine, son John Jackle of Vernon BC, daughter Joanne Brandon and her husband Mark Brandon of White Rock, BC, and daughter Sandra Jackle and her husband Derek Bell of Regina. 

Walter is also survived by his sister Helene Hack and her husband Clayton Hack of Kelowna, BC, and brother Paul Jackle of Huntington Beach, California. His wonderful family was made up of many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews that loved him dearly. 

Walter worked at the Co-Op Refinery Complex for 40 years where his work ethic and personality was legendary. Walter had two speeds, full-out and sleep. He was a modest man with a ‘keen’ fashion sense who enjoyed cultivating his garden and will be remembered for his generous spirit and helping hands, size extra-large! Walter was greatly loved and will be dearly missed by his family.

The family would like to thank the staff at William Booth Grace Hospice for his excellent care.
In lieu of flowers, Walter would want you to plant your own.

A Memorial Service to celebrate Walter’s life will be held at Speers Funeral Chapel, 2136 College Avenue, Regina, SK on Friday, April 26, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. Interment in Riverside Memorial Park.

The following is the beautiful Eulogy which was delivered at the service by Walter's daughter Joanne;

Eulogy
Thank you Michelle for those kind words.

Good Afternoon. My name is Joanne Brandon, the elder daughter of Walter
Jackle. On behalf of my mother Elaine, sister Sandra, and brother John who
could not be here today, our family would like to thank the attendees who
have come to honour my Dad, especially those who have travelled a great
distance to be with us today.

When my Dad asked me to speak at his funeral, he told me to keep it short,
not say anything over the top, or get all emotional. So I asked him how he
wanted to be remembered, he said one word: Frugal. This gave me laugh, as I
thought to myself if anyone here did not know my Dad was frugal, you are
probably at the wrong funeral. So I decided to go back to the beginning, to
find the source of this frugality.

Dad came from very humble beginnings. He lived at 417 Dewdney with his
Father Herman, Mother Hertha, older sister Helene, younger brother Paul, and
younger sister Irene. This house was very small, with no plumbing. Dad was in
charge of hauling water for the entire family from a standpipe on the corner of
the block. The order of bathing was as follows: Irene, Helene, Paul and finally
Walter. One day, as Paul was awaiting his turn for the bathwater, he was
warming himself near the potbelly wood burning stove, and happened to back
up just a little too close, and burned his butt which put a smile on Dad’s face
as Paul was unable to sit for an entire week, and Dad finally got some revenge
for having to endure Paul’s dirty bathwater.

Dad was given the task of obtaining the groceries for the family. It was a
source of pride being the one his mother entrusted with the money. Dad told
me that his mother said he was the only one who could get the right stuff for
the right price. So from a very young age, Dad learned how to stretch a dollar.
So while my Dad was proudly frugal, when he actually did decide to make a
purchase, whatever he was buying was top of the line, and meticulously cared
for after acquisition.

I asked my dad to talk about his brother and sisters, and he said immediately
that Helene was the smartest. One of the traits my dad most admired in a
person was that you were useful, and he said that Auntie Helene applied
herself better than anyone else. Dad’s younger sister Irene, was the free spirit
of the family. He knew her as the baby sister who got away with more than he
of the family. He knew her as the baby sister who got away with more than he
could. He got his revenge for taking on her share of the chores and workload
by making her hand crank his Model A Ford whenever she wanted to go
somewhere. When I asked Dad for funny stories about Uncle Paul, he said,
“Don’t embarrass him”. As Dad reminisced about his bother, he said they
shared a paper route when they were young teenagers. My Dad’s iron clad
memory could recite the route and people along it. As children, summers
were spent with Paul at a farm in Silton belonging to extended family. They
shared a close bond as children and this continued all their lives. Our family
heard stories about these incredible eating competitions between my dad and
his bother Paul. After a full meal of German food, consisting of cabbage rolls,
potatoes and the like, they would then embark on eating as many plum
dumplings, known as knedle, as they possibly could. Legend has it, that their
combined total would sometimes top 50. My Dad loved and respected his
brother, who was also a self made man.

Hard work was something that was borne of necessity, and my Dad
developed an incredibly high standard for achievement. Throughout his life, he
looked for people who had drive and passion. It didn’t matter what your
passion was for, as long as you pushed yourself to achieve your full potential
through hard work and determination. If this was you, you had gained the
respect of my Dad.

We all want to feel like we have left a legacy here on earth. From witnessing
the dozen or so colleagues that came to visit my Dad in his last weeks, I am
assured that Dad’s legacy at the Co-Op Refinery will be remembered and
celebrated. If you observed Walter for even one day at work, you would know
a couple of things about him: First, he was able to accomplish before noon
what most other people would accomplish in an entire weekend, you were
following a leader and mentor of men, and you were never really secure
against a crazy practical joke that left you standing with no pants on. Dad was
proud of the fact that he accomplished in his life the equivalent of two lifetimes
of work.

The discipline it takes for some to maintain a healthy physique was something
that my Dad took great pleasure in doing, all the way to his final year of life.
Everything was an exercise for him, including shovelling. I will always
remember him coaching us to squeeze our abs when you lift! I want to share
with you now, a short personal story from my Dad that explained why he had
such drive to develop his strength and fitness. My Dad said that his father
such drive to develop his strength and fitness. My Dad said that his father
commented that while his girls turned out fine, his boys were wimps. This was
before my dad hit his growth spurt, prior to grade 10. So, my dad fashioned a
set of weights out of scrap materials and began his own weight lifting regime.
He continued training on his own and eventually gathered 60 boys into the
motor mechanics shop at Balfour Tech High. He announced to them that he
could lift the crank shaft of a big Chrysler truck weighing over 200 lbs, above
his head. Those 60 boys stood and watched in amazement, and this feat
gained Dad instant respect. Upon graduating high school, Dad was drawn to
train at the Laird Gym located on Dewdney Avenue. What many of you will not
know is that my Dad’s first passion was actually wresting and not boxing. But
when the boxing trainer took one look at Walter’s hands and forearms, he
decided he would shape Dad into the Open Heavyweight Champion of
Saskatchewan. Dad proudly maintained his physique throughout his life and
had great admiration for anyone that shared his drive for athletic
accomplishment.

When I asked Dad what his favourite trip was, he said without hesitation, the
first trip with Elaine to Niagra Falls which happened to be their honeymoon.
That was the beginning of a 57 year marriage. Walter was happiest at home in
Regina, where he and Elaine began their married life together in a tiny
apartment on Scarth Street call the Esquire, right behind the Hotel
Saskatchewan. They lived there until the birth of my older brother John. Once
the family began expanding, my dad was guided by Elaine’s father in drafting
and building the home on Cameron Street, where he lived for the rest of his
life. The house was completed in 1970, the year I was born. My sister came
along eight years later. During our childhood, Dad would build a rink in our
backyard in the winter for us to skate on, take us on family bike rides, and for
the famous cherry picking trips in the summer in Penticton, B.C. I would be
remiss not to mention his garden. The garden at 3860 Cameron Street actually
deserves a eulogy of it’s own. My dad took great pleasure in capturing rain
water from the eaves to water the garden, not so much because it was
helping the environment, but because it was free water. His green thumb was
a skill he taught himself. He would share the bounty from the garden with
family, neighbours, co-workers and even complete strangers. If he had
something, he wanted to share it. From the scarcity of his youth sprang the
generosity we all came to know. When company came over, they instantly had
a beer in their hand whether they wanted one or not. It took people a while to
figure out that saying “No" to Walter was just not an option.

On top of his full time job at the refinery, his father-in-law encouraged him to
On top of his full time job at the refinery, his father-in-law encouraged him to
acquire property in order to build his wealth. My dad took this advice,
recognizing the value of this foresight and wound up with two apartment
buildings that he would tend to on a daily basis. I remember the chores
associated with the vacancies that would come up in the buildings, and how
much work could be accomplished with him at the helm. My mother was by
his side during all of it, and the biggest compliment I ever heard from my dad
was about my mother. He said simply, “When she was in her prime, she could
keep up to me”. Most people don’t recognize that this was the highest praise
you could get from him, and I will never forget it.

If you saw my Dad on the street, you would see a man who clearly had scant
regard for fashion. It simply did not phase him what other people thought. If
there was a degree for recycling, my Dad would have had a PhD. He had the
confidence of a self made man, in every respect. He had a wisdom that came
from a life well lived and my favourite piece of advice was simple. He would
say, “All that matters is where you stand with yourself.”

Prior to his retirement, he was known to have said, “It is not the destination
that matters, it is the journey that counts” and my Dad’s favourite way of
saying good bye was, "Don’t straighten out any curves.” My Dad made me
promise not to go on and on in his eulogy, so I will conclude by simply saying
that our family will never be the same without Dad, and that we will miss him
dearly. Thank you.