June 17, 2021
Henry (Hank) Engert
Hank passed away peacefully on June 17, 2021 in Sun City West, Arizona at the age of 86. He is survived by his wife and partner of 26 years, Barbara Maki Stevens who was by his side at the end. Hank met Barb after losing his first wife, Sharon, to cancer in 1993. Hank and Barb enjoyed skiing, kayaking, hiking, rv'ing and playing tennis, but golf was Hank's true passion. He took up the game seriously after moving to central Alberta in the mid-seventies and never looked back. For a time he had a single-digit handicap and was passionate about organizing golf tournaments and, later in Arizona, organizing the Lo Cap men's group that played twice a week. We always thought he would die with a club in his hand, but he spent the last year plus of his life side-lined from the links and was none too happy about it. His golfing highlight was winning the Super Senior Class at the World Association of Left-Handers Golf tournament on the Costa del Sol, Spain in 2002.
Hank was a hard worker from a young age, growing up on a farm near Alsike, Alberta to German immigrants Joe & Anna. He enjoyed the grain farming, but he was not a dyed-in-the-wool sheep farmer and left for the city and a career in the oil patch as soon as he could. It was in Edmonton where he met Sharon in 1956, and from there he worked across the province from Fox Creek, Whitecourt and Winfield in the north to Cochrane in the south and Caroline and Eckville in the middle. He earned his second class engineer's certificate in 1974 while working full time and raising three kids. In Fox Creek, he even found time to be a Yamaha dealer selling snowmobiles, parts and the occasional motorcycle.
He enjoyed cards and was never one to throw a game, even if it was cribbage against his 8-year old daughter. He and Sharon played a mean game of bridge and he was as competitive in cards as he was in sports. He was a crack baseball player in his youth and even tried out for two teams in the majors. Later on, he coached hockey and spent countless hours refereeing minor hockey in Red Deer. Hundreds of families in and around Red Deer will have known him as a drapery and window covering installer too - his contribution to Sharon's Interior decorating business.
He will also be remembered as the Mayor of Cochrane, AB in the late sixties and, for a time, a proud Lions Club member.
In addition to Barb, Hank leaves behind his three golfing children; Russ, Joey (Sheila) and Cindy (Brian). He also leaves five grandsons; Jordan, Blair, Hayden, Nate and Garrett. He is pre-deceased by his older sister Dorothy, but his little sister Shirley is still hitting the links.
There is no service planned at this time, but if you would like to honour Hank's memory, please consider a donation to the Canadian Mesothelioma Foundation.