eca_review_2018_01_03

A g r i c u l t u r e
E C A r e v i e w H A N N A / C o r o N A t i o n / S t e t t l e r , A b J A N u a r y 4 ' 1 8 7
OBITUARY
Enjoyed all aspects of his farming lifestyle
Rayford James Johnston
1926 ~ 2017
Rayford was born on March 9, 1926
at the Municipal Hospital in Hanna,
Ab. He was the second of four children
born to Fred and Blanche Johnston.
Rayford’s parents lived in the
Garden Plain district for four years
and that’s where they began their
family. They had two sons
and two daughters: Fred Jr.,
Rayford, Eileen and then
Edna.
In the spring of 1930 the
family moved south to the
Alps District. On the day
they moved, it rained cats
and dogs, according to
Rayford.
Rayford’s schooling
began in March 1932 a few
Johnston
days after his sixth birthday.
He took all his schooling at Alps School
to which there were good days and bad,
as Rayford was quite the prankster in
his younger years.
The hours before and after school
were no picnic either, with lots of
chores to do. The one he dreaded most
was churning the milk. He was also
assigned the job of getting in the
horses in the morning, giving them a
feed of oats and harnessing
them before school.
Their horse, Brownie took all four of
them to school from 1931 until the day
the last of them quit in 1945. Rayford
grew up working with his Dad and
brother on the family farm. They
farmed with only their horses up until
1939, where they then acquired an old
cross mounted Case tractor which was
their initiation to power farming.
As Rayford got older he did a lot of
stooking hay for his Dad and for the
neighbours. When Rayford was 14
years of age he was given a bundle
team to help thresh along with his
Dad’s outfits.
Other than working on the farm, he
also did farm work for neighbours. In
1944 his sister Edna sadly passed, she
was just in her early teens.
As a young man Rayford loved
playing hockey, baseball and life in the
country. Among his treasured vehicles,
he loved driving his 1946 Ford
truck and also enjoyed going to
country dances.
At one dance he
attended in
Spondin, he met
Mavis Durand for
the first time.
On Nov. 23,1955
Rayford married
Mavis Durand
who lived east of
Spondin. They
moved his folk’s
first house from
the Garden Plain
area (the north
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place), renovated it and lived in his
parent’s yard.
Rayford and Mavis purchased the
James MacDonald Taylor place from
Ben Taylor, built a house and moved
there in the spring of 1961. In the
Hanna North book his family story
was submitted to which the end of it
said in his words, “After living here 51
years I guess I am getting to be
an old timer myself. Life has
been good to me and I’ve
enjoyed it”, and he still echoed
that sentiment at 91.
Rayford had a busy life
working on the farm and
enjoyed socializing with his
many relatives, friends and
neighbours. The highlight of
those years was certainly the
addition of two children to the
family. He along with Mavis
raised their daughter, Shelley and
their son Lee.
Next came the marriage of Lee to
Shawna (Irwin) and Shelley to Bryan
Lee and the births of their four wonderful
grandchildren. He took great
joy in his grandsons, Dylan and Tyler
(Lee and Shawna) and Brandon and
Christopher (Shelley and Bryan).
Seeing them always brightened his
day.
He was a devoted husband, a great
Dad in the eyes of his wife and children
and was proud to be a Grandpa
too. Sadly, on Oct. 19, 2004 his beloved
wife Mavis Johnston passed away.
They had been married for almost 49
years.
Rayford followed in his Dad’s footsteps
in farming and in many other
aspects. He was actively involved in
many projects and organizations for
the betterment of the community such
as the UFA and Garden Plain
Community Club. When Sullivan Lake
Rural Electrical Association formed in
1952, Rayford’s Dad became the first
secretary-treasurer to which Rayford
later was also a part of. He was also a
member of Hanna Co-op, Alberta
Wheat Pool, Rural Crime Watch and
served on the Hanna Hospital board
for many years.
Rayford enjoyed all aspects of
farming and truly loved the lifestyle.
He had a special connection and a love
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Rayford also enjoying reading and
watching sports, especially the good
old hockey game and CFL football!
Wilf Carter and Hank Snow were some
of the favourite musical artists he
loved listening to. He was a strong yet
gentle man and lived a full life, independent
until the end. He lived on his
farm right up to 91 years of age. It was
truly remarkable and his family was
so proud of the man he was.
Rayford James Johnston suddenly
passed away on Dec. 8, 2017 at the
Hanna Hospital. He will be sadly
missed but never forgotten by his
daughter Shelley, his son Lee (Shawna)
and forever treasured by grandsons
Dylan, Tyler, Brandon and
Christopher.
He will also be
fondly remembered
and greatly
missed by his
sister Eileen
Heggen. His
sister and
brother-in-laws
Cathie (Bill)
Dacyshyn, Rose
(Pat) Matsuoka,
Laurie (Gerry)
Luciani, (Shirley)
Durand and his
many nieces and
nephews.
He is predeceased
by his
parents Fred and
Blanche
Johnston, his
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sister Edna and brother Freddy, his
beloved wife Mavis and parents-in-law
Leonard and Agatha Durand and sonin-law
Bryan Lee. Also by his
brother-in-laws Clifford Corry, Adrian
Durand and Clarence Heggen and
nephew Leonard Corry and greatniece
Nicole Corry.
In lieu of flowers, donations in
Rayford’s name can be made to charity
of your choice.
There will be a funeral service on
Sat. Jan. 6, 2018 at 11 a.m. at the First
United Church in Hanna. Hanna
Funeral Services Ltd. entrusted with
the care and arrangements; 403-854-
5956. Condolences can be forwarded to
the family at www.hannafuneral.ca
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