The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
VIC PETTERSEN From Clarence Pettersen's Eulogy: Victor Harold Pettersen of Flin Flon, MB passed away on Monday, July 17, 2006 at the age of 83. Dad was born in Bracken, SK on March 2, 1923 to Harold and Tiny Pettersen. He had a sister Hazel and a brother Engal. Being a child of poor farmers in the thirties, he never wasted or threw anything away. Dad served three and a half years in the Royal Canadian Navy during WWII. While on a two week leave in 1945, he met my mother, Ann Krysowaty, of Carragana, SK. In 1946 he was discharged and they got married. Dad wasn't always the easiest guy to get along with, but he always enjoyed people, and having family gatherings. He also loved the grandchildren's dogs, Rosie and Kayo. The happiest times for Dad were spent with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. First came Loretta and Richie's sons Leon and Paul. Many times they spent holidays with my parents out at the cabin. They gave Grandpa Vic the nickname, "Bump", which stuck with him to the end. My wife Judy and I have three daughters, and he enjoyed watching their sports teams, playing the accordion and small guitars together, and playing Fox and Goose in the snow at Christmas. Next came two great grandchildren, Justin and Tyler-Rose Budlong, though his health was too poor to enjoy them. They all have a part of Grandpa Vic in them, and that's a good thing. We have a family saying: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Dad told me once to make sure the girls work hard and never give up. There's always a way. Boy, was Dad tough. I remember one time when we were moving my ice shack onto Kissinou Lake and we got stuck a quarter mile away. Bob Romphf and Rick Hall who were with us suggested using a 4X4. Dad said, "Hell no. Let's shovel the road to the lake!" He wasn't scared of work. Auntie Francis and Uncle Ted Linnick will remember how many times they and Mom and Dad got stuck in the snow or mud on the Hudson Bay road going to visit Baba and Grandpa Krysowaty at Carragana and Sturgis. He also enjoyed going to Preeceville to visit Auntie Carrie and Uncle Gwyn Watkins and family. Gwyn always took him to different places and to visit the farmers. He also enjoyed visiting with Auntie Olga and family, who would come up in the summertime. Most of our trips were spent going to Aunt and Uncle Gladys and Orville Brand and family. There was always something going on. He did a lot of fishing and fooling in the early days with Uncle Bernie and Auntie Ann Krysowaty. He enjoyed visiting with the Erickson family nephew Lorne and nieces Judy, Joan and Shirley. Dad had six main passions in life: his plane, building boats, working on model T's, collecting junk and parts for cars, travelling and playing his accordions. He had a lot of pain in his legs and back from an accident, and when he played the accordion the pain would go away. Later in his life he enjoyed playing in a band with Wayne Wallaker, Gary Overland, Fred Dedik, Mike Todoschuk and others. Dad had four planes in his life and I am glad to say that I was on one of his last trips, when we flew to Churchill. He also liked spending time at Jackson's Airways. Bill always made time to spend with him, and I will always appreciate that. Dad loved working on his 1927 model T truck, that was his pride and joy. He restored a car when he was 16 years old and drove to school with it. I used to go with him to find junk and old parts, and then help him load them up to bring home. He collected a lot of stuff and took pride in his little museum in the basement. There's probably not a person I know, including students I taught, that wasn't given a tour. A lot of the stuff is now in the Flin Flon and Denare Beach museum. His greatest passion was travelling. We took many family trips and never missed a museum or an airport in most of Canada and the States. Mom and Dad also travelled to many parts of the world, including Hawaii, Europe, Israel and Egypt, and a Caribbean cruise. They often travelled with cousin Merlyn and Sy, and later with good friends Helen and Elwood Strom. We saw many wonderful slide shows of these trips. We also had a great family trip to Jamaica with Loretta, Richie, and the boys plus Judy and me. Mom and Dad treated all of us and it was a really good time together. They also enjoyed their place in Apache Junction, Arizona where they travelled every winter for a number of years. Dad's motto was, "We don't talk about adventure; we live it." His last expedition was with me up to Heming Lake by train, two years ago. We stayed in an old CN shack. We cooked a steak and he said it was the best he ever had. He could barely walk, but he still took time to look for junk. My dad passed away while I was on a canoe trip. Before I left I gave him a map to show him where we were going. He told me to make sure I had matches and a gold pan. My dad gave me the opportunity to do things in life. My sister and I picked roots on the farm, hauled gravel, cut ice for the ice box. I trapped furs with him, built houses and garages, and hunted moose, which he really loved. Dad was a character, but he thought all the relatives were characters and he was the normal one. He was right in that he and they are all special. Dad and I talked many times in the last few years about his funeral, and what he wanted. I told him it would be an honor to do his eulogy. He told me to stick to the facts, then he laughed. In this last year, Dad was tired of his life and ready to go. He went in the best way; quietly in his sleep. I'm probably the luckiest son in the world and proud to say that he was my mentor, teacher, friend and father.Rest in peace, dad. Thank You We would like to give our deepest thanks and appreciation to our family and friends who travelled from near and far, gave food and baking, sent flowers and cards, and made memorial donations to the Heart and Stroke Fund after the passing of husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather Vic Pettersen. Special thanks to Rev. Clare Edwards for the beautiful service, and also to Legion Branch 73 for the rites, to Susan and Brent Lethbridge for the lovely hymns, to Mark Kolt for his lively accordion playing, and to Northern Lights Manor doctor, nurse and staff for their care of Vic. Thanks also to ushers Bob Romphf and Rick Hall, register attendants Donna Harmon and Effie Todoschuk and all the pallbearers, as well as to the Anglican ladies of St. Peter's and St. James church for the lovely lunch after the service. Many thanks to Dana Dadson and his staff for their kind consideration. All of your encouragement, support, prayers and company have been such a comfort. Ann Pettersen Clarence and Judy Pettersen and family
