Obituary of Cecil Paul

Cecil Francis Paul of Park Valley passed away in Shellbrook on May 25, 2007 after a short battle with cancer. He is survived by Maria, his wife of 46 years; four children and ten grandchildren: Joanne (Randy) Fedyk of Saskatoon and their daughter Leia; Kelvin (Jane) from Calgary and their sons Vince, Kurtis and Troy; Russell (Kim) from Calgary and their children Brittany, Elijah and Kassandra; Kelly (Ellie) from Park Valley and their sons A.J., Garrick and Cody; One sister, Florence Bruce (Chuck Broomfield) from Prince Albert and one brother, Don (Mary) from Los Angeles; numerous other relatives and friends. Cecil is predeceased by his parents, Frank and Olga, and by two brothers-in-law, Doug Bruce and Lester Gear. Cecil was born in Saskatoon on June 7, 1927. He went to Haultain School and Tech High School. Cecil worked at various jobs in the city but wanted to be his own boss, so he bought land in Park Valley in 1955 and started farming. There he met Maria and they were married in 1961. The stork brought Joanne in 1962, Kelvin in 1963, and Russell in 1967. Cecil and Maria moved to the Zacharias farm in 1968 where Kelly was born in 1969. Cecil and Maria farmed in Park Valley area until they retired in 1992. After retiring, Cecil enjoyed fishing, drinking coffee and kibitzing with the neighbours. Retirement also allowed Cecil and Maria to travel. They took regular trips to Calgary, Kelowna, Prince George, and Chilliwack. Some of their longer trips included going to Norway in 2004 and a trek to the Yukon and Alaska with Irvin & Elaine Amundson in 2005. They continued to make travel plans until Cecil's health confined him to trips to the hospital where he delighted in teasing the nurses. The funeral service was held on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 11 a.m. from the Big River Community Hall. Mr. Albert Hannigan was the officiant. The musicians and singers were Irvin Amundson, Darryl Amundson, Ken Olson and Cyndi Aarrestad. The honorary pall bearers were all relatives and friends who shared in Cecil's life and the active pall bearers were Kevin Latus, David Gustafson, Errol Vaadeland, Phillip Aarrestad, Andrew Aarrestad and Clif Amundson. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Shellbrook & District Health Services Project. Cecil was laid to rest at the Lake 4 Cemetery.