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ROGERS - Richard Stanfield passed away at Heritage House in Stettler, AB on Jan. 26 at the age of 96 years, 6 months and 25 days. He is survived by his daughters Shirley (Bob) Schulze and

Carol DeRijck; seven grandchildren: Bobby (Kathy) Schulze, Jeff (Sheelagh) Schulze, Chris (Dawn) Schulze, Kim (Byron) Nahorney, Kevin (Dawn) DeRijck, Brian (Sharlene) DeRijck and Steven DeRijck; 13 great-grandchildren: Katie, Jesse, Maddi, Meghan, Alison, William and Samantha Schulze, Brayden and Shaelyn Nahorney, Ashley, Cole, Cody and Bryce DeRijck. He was predeceased by his brother Ralph, wife of 59 years Lydia and his son-in-law Frank. Richard was born in Calgary, AB on July 1, 1912, and was proud to say that he attended the first Calgary Stampede. His parents homesteaded in the Hackett district where he and his brother Ralph grew up. He attended Olds Agricultural College for one year, and went on to farm with his Dad. Then he decided to spread his wings and rode the freight trains to Toronto, ON to work in an insurance office. When the depression hit, he rode the freights back to the farm. It was then that he met the love of his life, a neighbour girl, Lydia Pfenning. They were married in 1941 and together continued to farm. Shirley was born in 1944. In 1945 they bought the Leo General Store which they operated for four years. They returned to the Pfenning homestead and Carol was born in 1949. Richard started to drive the school bus to Botha, AB and continued for 21 years. He drove his children and his grandchildren to school. Richard and Lydia retired to live in Botha and it was there that he pursued his love of gardening, especially growing roses. He even grew grapes in this harsh Alberta climate and every year had grape juice to keep for the winter. They lived in Botha, however, Lydia’s poor health required them to move to Stettler. Lydia passed away in 2000 and Richard lived at Willow Creek Lodge until October 2008, when he became a resident at Heritage House where he lived until his passing. He was an avid curler and goose hunter in his younger days. He loved to take his grandchildren fishing. He was a great supporter of all their sports, attending every one of their home games and was known to travel distances to watch them play. In his later years, his favorite pastime was telling jokes to anyone that would listen and entertaining children with his magic tricks. A funeral service was held on Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 at 2 p.m. at the Brennen Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Ross Helgeton officiating. Interment took place at the Botha Woodland Cemetery. Family and friends then gathered at the Brennen Funeral Home Reception area for a time of fellowship and light refreshments. As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be made to the Alberta Heart and Stroke Foundation or to Cancer Research in care of Brennen Funeral Home (2001) Ltd., P.O. Box 193, Stettler, Alberta TOC 2LO. Condolences can be e-mailed to brennenf@telusplanet.net 403.742.3315



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