SIMS
Stanley Thomas Shera
Oct. 14, 1923 - Mar. 27, 2016
Our 92 year old dad, Stan, passed away on Easter Sunday - we figure the "Ol' Fella" just wanted to celebrate with Alice, his wife of almost 50 years. He soldiered through the last 3 years with less than 15% kidney function and no dialysis, compounded by a broken hip, multiple blood transfusions and a bout with pneumonia. Dad became a living legend to his medical team and his family delightedly dubbed him the Eveready Bunny. He was a gentle man's gentleman, raising his kids to work hard, treat everyone with respect, take your hat off at the dinner table, and keep your word. Born and raised in Avonlea District, Swan River Valley, MB, the eldest son of Herbert and Millie, Stan figured Grade 8 was enough formal education. Completely captivated by farm life, he loved working alongside his father shoeing horses, raising pigs and turkeys, and seeding the fields. Doing the right thing was never wrong. At 17, following his father's untimely death, Stan stepped up to support his entire family, first from farming and then the Army, helping to raise his two young brothers, Wes and Percy - ultimately buying the family a city house. He supported sister Lillian's teaching education and older sister Dorothy in her endeavors. Just short of a 1944 overseas deployment, a motorcycle accident abruptly ended his career as an Army Dispatch Courier. He suffered extensive leg damage in the accident, spent the next 3 or 4 years in and out of hospital in Winnipeg, and was forced to brave a brutal winter in Churchill, MB just to have work; however, he also met and married his first love, Helen Klusendorf. Together he and Helen raised Alan, Raymond and Cheryl in a little house that Stan built over 2 years while working a fulltime job. Stan was a door man for more than 50 years; he built them, installed them, fixed them, and got 'em up and down in all kinds of weather and residential and commercial emergencies. He started as a Richards Wilcox Door Company employee, was promoted to service manager for all of Saskatchewan (which forced him to leave his family for a month at a time), but a spur of the moment decision and a move to Calgary led to both the birth of the entrepreneur and another daughter, Shelley. Fate dealt Stan some brutal blows: first with his father's death; the loss of Helen to leukemia at 37; the drowning of his eldest son Alan at age 19; the early death of Shelley's husband Darcy Enderton when their daughter Katie was just 2, the sudden death of Percy at 54 plus he is predeceased by his elder sister Dorothy. Most recently Stan deeply mourned the loss of his wife Alice in 2013- their union he claims was a "put up job" to partner up in the "Queens & Jacks Square Dance Club". They dated, married and danced through life together working to raise a blended family (his Alan, Ray, Cheryl and Shelley with Alice's daughter Darcie). They travelled in Europe, cruised the Mediterranean and relished any opportunity to play Grampa and Nana to Ray and Vicki's daughters; Stephanie and Colleen; Shelley's daughter, Katie, Darcie and Tim's son Buzz and last, but certainly not least, his only great-grandson, Benjamin (Colleen). This farm boy, turned successful city businessman, never strayed far from the dirt - Stan's most cherished years were with Alice on their ¼ section in Sundre, gardening, cross-country skiing, entertaining, and grabbing pond frogs to dazzle the kids. Much to the family's chagrin, Stan proudly shared his annual bird hunting bounty well into his 80's! With a generous spirit, steadfast commitment and unwavering sense of responsibility, Stan always gave back: Sunday School Teacher; Superintendent of Sunday Schools; Commissioner of Little League Baseball; active in The Probus Club; served on the United Church Board in Sundre; delivered Meals on Wheels until he was 88; and when Alice lost her sight in 1993, they both became CNIB facilitators. A lifetime letter writer, he relentlessly maintained contact with his large circle of friends and, despite his hearing loss, he constantly chatted on the phone. Please join us for a celebration of the Ol' Fella's life: on Friday, July 8th, at 2 pm in Heritage Park's Gasoline Alley, 1900 Heritage Dr. SW, Calgary. In lieu of flowers, Stan requested donations be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.