It is with sadness the family announce the passing of Mr. Frederick James Grant on March 4, 2026 at the age of 99 years.

Dad was born in Notre Dame Hospital, on Ground Hog’s Day, February 2, 1927. His mom had driven a horse and open sleigh about 40 miles (or 60km) to North Battleford 2 weeks prior and stayed with friends until Dad’s arrival. We can only hope the weather wasn’t too harsh as he was taken back to the homestead in the same manner. Dad grew up on the farm with his parents and younger sister Lilian. He remembers hating to eat lambs quarters (or pigweed) that was passed off as spinach. He said that he would break a raw egg over the greens to make them slide down. He had a tendency to fall asleep while eating a meal so was sometimes sent for a run around the outside of the house to wake up. One time his mom took him to Saskatoon and they stayed at a teachers’ hostel. He was very impressed by the escalator when they visited the Eatons store.

His father, James Grant, was born in Inverness, Scotland. He came to Canada in 1903 on board a passenger/cattle boat. In 1924, the Hyde Park School district hired an English teacher named Jesse Moore. Forty-four year old James and thirty-three year old Jessie, were married on November 26, 1925. The summer before they were married, James and his brother Peter fixed up the walls of his old sod-roofed house with plaster and put drop siding on the outside, so it’s log construction was not seen. Cedar shingles were put on the roof. Underneath the floor was a large excavated dugout for a cellar. The second story had a fir lumber floor, but otherwise was totally unfinished. There was no insulation and poorly sealed one-pane glass windows made winter comfort hard to find. However, Dad remembers the comfort level improving when one of the cats would sneak into his bed.

There were over 40 kids in grades 1 to 10 in the one room Hyde Park School when Dad was old enough to attend first grade. After a very short time, his parents decided he could make more progress at home with his mom. He was back to walking the one mile to school in grade 2, but Lilian didn’t go until grade 3.  Only on very cold winter days, would his dad get out the horses and a cutter or sleigh to give them a ride.

Since there was no Sunday School for her children to go to, Granny made sure that her children knew about their Christian heritage. She read them Bible stories and they listened to a church program on the radio that suggested memorizing Bible verses. Dad received a small bible, the “Radio Sunday School Prize” for memorizing the verses every Sunday in the year 1940.

Dad’s great aunty Fanny would send parcels from England at Christmas time. New clothes, small toys, hobby magazines, and even sometimes some Christmas cake, were treasured by the children, living with almost no income on a tiny farm in the “dirty thirties.”

Dad saw an ad in the Western Producer and bought himself a pair of white rabbits. With a rapidly increasing population, he soon had a small business. He would make crates out of wooden apple boxes and then ship the pairs by train from Sandwith to places in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Crow eggs and gopher tails also provided a little income.

Horses were used on the farm to pull machinery, so Dad remembers training a lot of colts. Dad loved being in Boy Scouts, summer camps,  and 4-H clubs.

Living conditions in pioneer Saskatchewan were very difficult for the city-raised bride. Granny gradually lost all faith in farming to be able to improve their situation, so in 1940 she took a teaching job at Poplar Dell School about 12 miles from Edam.  Dad was finishing his grade 8 and, in early May, he was given a brand new CCM bicycle. A few weeks later, on May long weekend, he tied a few clothes and a little lunch on the bike carrier and made the 30 mile (50 km) trip to visit his mom and sister Lil, who was staying with her. They were, of course, very surprised to see him, and after a good visit and night’s rest, dad made the return trip. He said he must’ve been tired, but didn’t miss school on Tuesday.

It would have been plenty for most kids at that time to be satisfied with grade 10, but the RM secretary of Round Hill convinced Grandad to allow his son to board in North Battleford to get his grade 11 and 12. Dad boarded with an elderly widow and she was paid $10 per month for his room and board while Dad did a few chores for her, such as taking out the coal furnace ashes.

After high school, Dad was soon offered a position as clerk in the Sandwith store. He enjoyed that, but still wanted to farm, so he enrolled in the School of Agriculture and graduated in 1949.

One of Dad‘s favourite memories was the trip to England in 1950 with his mom and sister Lil. It would be the first time his mom has been back in 29 years! They travelled by train to Montreal and then by ship to England. It was a trip of many adventures and great memories.

Later that year, Dad was looking for a date for a dance and knocked on the door of the Bournemouth School where Olga Drieschner had a job as study supervisor. Dad had taken note of Olga when he had been to her sister Erma’s wedding dance sometime before. By 1951, they were engaged and then married on August 11, 1953. That was the first day of a 61 year marriage that Dad called a wonderful life.

Dad and Mom, whom he eventually called Holly,  moved to a slant ceiling third floor room of a home in Saskatoon where Dad took Teachers College for two years. They had to share the one bathroom with the couple who owned the house, their three teenage daughters, and a grandmother. Mom worked at a grocery store the first year and the Hudson Bay store the second year.

Dad’s first teaching assignment was in Glenbush for 2 years where he taught grades 6 to 9. Their son, our brother Dale, was born during those 2 years.  Then it was to Hyde Park School in Sandwith. I, Carol, was born his first year there. Laurie arrived four years later. We lived in the school teacherage or in the house connected to the Sandwith store.

During this time, Dad was also doing some farming, and in 1963, Dad and Mom finally bought a quarter of land to built their own home.

Over the years, Mom had a lot of responsibility raising us three children, taking care of a large garden and even operating farm equipment while Dad was farming, teaching, taking upgrading to get his Bachelors of Education, being the secretary treasurer of the Sandwith Hall, going to evening staff meetings at school, 4-H meetings, Sandwith Curling meetings, etc, etc.

After I graduated, Dad purchased a lot at Turtle Lake, and then built a cabin.  There, they had lots of company and enjoyed many summers of fishing, playing Kaiser, and visiting in the mosquito-free “screen room”.

Dad and Mom had been down to Florida a few times and stayed with Mom’s aunt Olga. In 1989 she offered to sell her mobile to them because her husband had passed.  Dad and Mom spent more and more time in Florida during the winter as the years went on. It was a magical place of orange, grapefruit, and lemon trees, bowling, dancing, playing billiards, shuffling, and great friends.

Dad had sold his land and machinery to Dale and me in 1993 so that he could spend more time doing the things he loved.  By this time he had two married daughters and four grandchildren. More birthday parties to attend, more stories to tell.  But Dad’s love for the farm never faded, and Dale was Dad’s lifeline to everything happening at the farm. New tractor, new seeder, new combine, bushels per acre?… He was on top of everything and so happy that he was able to pass the torch on to his son.

Besides their trips to Florida, Dad and Mom went on many other amazing adventures, like to the Yukon, Alaska, the World Fair in Vancouver, several countries in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and the Maritimes.

About 2009, we noticed that Mom was losing her memory.  Subtle at first, but when things got more difficult, Dad took over in the kitchen.  Dad tried to keep her life as normal as possible and even took her to Florida, and then on her first cruise! Mom always had the impression that people on cruises wore tuxes and long gowns, so was never comfortable with the idea.  I’m sure, that, even though her memory was fading, she would have still enjoyed that time with Dad.

The following year, Dad hired Minda Vila to help out with Mom.  Mom always said that she wanted to see Dale get married before she died.  That didn’t happen, but as fate would have it, Minda later became Dale’s bride and he also inherited 3 beautiful girls.

After Mom’s passing, time dragged for Dad, so he decided to take in some senior’s dances at the Pioneer Hall in North Battleford.  That’s where he was introduced to Connie Leask. Not only did she love to dance, she was also a Christian and loved to play Kaiser. Another match made in heaven! They had both been married 61 years to their original partners, and as they got to know each other, had many other things in common. So at the age of 90, Dad remarried. Suddenly, our family was much larger and enriched. At first, Dad and Connie celebrated their anniversaries every month. Then it became years, over 8! Dad always commented that he was so blessed to have two wonderful wives.

Throughout his 99 years, Dad always held a deep belief in a creator. God, a God of greatness beyond human concept, and in Jesus Christ, who laid down his life as a sacrifice, to give those who believe, eternal life. This began at a young age as his mother read bible stories to him and his sister.  He remained active in church and incredibly even as late as 2025, Dad took a live stream course offered to become a Communicate Elder which would allow him to give communion and also to baptize. The Presbytery of Northern Saskatchewan approved his position and he was asked to conduct his one and only communion in probably the last held at St. Andrew’s in North Battleford before it closed.

Dad had 3 children, their spouses, 8 grandchildren and spouses, and 9 great-grandchildren. He was proud of every one. He wanted his children to remember him for simply trying to help them achieve their goals.

We will remember him for his wonderful positive outlook on life, his encouragement, his incredible tenacity, his guardian angels that he kept so busy, his wisdom, his kindness and thoughtfulness for others, his faith, and his love. We feel so blessed to have had him for so long and to have had him as our Dad.

Fred left this earthly home on March 4, at the age of 99 years, to be with his wife Holly, his parents James and Jessie Grant, his sister Lilian and husband Fred Luthje; in-laws Erma and Karl Kuchler, Emil and Kay Drieschner, and Bob Bonsan; nephews Gordon Kuchler and Keith Drieschner; and numerous relatives and friends.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife Connie and her children and families, his 3 children, 8 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren: son Dale (Minda) Grant and children, Nikki (Jun) Reyes and son Zach, Trixie, and Francine; daughter Carol (Alvin) Wiebe and children, Joni (Derek) Macnab and children Berkley, Kylie, and Piper, Joel (Kate) Wiebe and children Jase and Ellie, Jocelyn (Ross) Gadzella and daughter Evelyn; daughter Laurie (Clint) Anderson and children Cam (Kristy) Anderson and children Daxton and Macie, Brittany (Teagan) Folden.

Funeral Service for Fred will be held Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the Sandwith Community Hall. A private family interment will take place following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Sandwith Community Hall  c/o Kristy Anderson R.R.#1 Glenbush, SK S0M 0Z0

Condolences for the family can be made at www.eternalmemoriesfuneral.ca Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Eternal Memories Funeral Service and Crematorium – Alyssa Kozinski Student Funeral Director

• Date : 2026-03-09
• Location : RM of Round Hill, SK