CYR – Armand J Cyr
July 23, 1934 – April 23, 2024
Armand passed away on April 23, 2024 at the age of eighty-nine at the Grande Prairie Care Centre where he had resided for the last 2 1/2 years.
Armand was born near Burdett AB, the second eldest to Eugene and Elizabeth Cyr. He grew up in a farm setting helping out in various ways. He had a strong sense of caring for his family at a young age which carried on throughout his life. He had a lot of fun riding bikes over the prairie roads and coulees, making all kinds of contraptions to ride in or be pulled by something, hanging out with good friends, and even finding trouble once in a while.
He graduated grade 12 and got into various construction jobs throughout the south and eventually in the Peace country. He met Ellen Hellmer on New Years Eve in1960 at the local dance, three years later they were married.
Armand always wanted to farm but felt the land prices in southern AB were too high and he was not interested in irrigation. He and his dad noticed some advertising about available land in northern AB, so they checked it out. Well, it must have been just fine as he purchased some homestead land in Fourth Creek and so did his dad who eventually Armand bought out. With Ellen and two young kids in tow, Armand packed up all their belongings and headed north one balmy late winter day and by the time they got to Rycroft it was -18. All the canned food stuff and other non freezables had to be unloaded into the hotel room they had acquired.
Armand found work with local construction outfits and also worked with Dika’s Construction for the first few years. During the summers he would run out to his land to clear and break as needed. Soon enough he got on with local cat skinners and was brushing and piling in the winters and farming, working and breaking land during the summers. He purchased a mobile home and moved Ellen and then three kids a couple of times to Fourth Creek and back to Rycroft accommodating his work opportunities. Finally, after purchasing a farm with a lovely yard site a final move to Forth Creek was made in 1974. He continued running caterpillar for several different folks over the next six years before he was finally able to rely completely on the farm for his income. He cleared all his available land by the time he retired from the farm in 2004, after just over 40 years. He found a niche with clover, fescue, and timothy seed, but he also grew oats, canola, wheat, buck wheat, canary seed, and barley. He won many awards for number one quality seeds. To keep the kids busy a couple of milk goats, a few geese and chickens were added to the farm and there were always a couple of cats and a dog for more excitement.
Armand enjoyed visiting the neighbors on the weekends, traveling south over Easter breaks, seeing the sights of Alberta and some in BC in his later years. He was a part of the local gas co-op, life member of the Knights of Columbus, regular in church attendance no matter where they lived. Family and friends were always important and he looked forward to his 3 kids and their families or friends coming over for visits and seasonal holidays, moose hunting for meat, hitting the baseball for the kids to chase after, picnics at Moonshine Lake, trips to show southern families that visited, the local sites, coffee and card games, use of his grain tester in the fall, taking the grand kids out for equipment rides, and more. The kids all worked for Dad in some area of the farm at various times. Armand retired from the farm to move into Grande Prairie. He got involved with helping the Catholic church with weekly recycling until he could not physically do it anymore. Clearing land was in his blood as shortly after settling into his new home in town, he cut down the big trees, so he had a clear area for mowing and a horseshoe pit to play with the great grand kids.
Sadly, Lex suddenly passed away in 2018, which was a shock to all. It was hard on Armand and Ellen to lose the youngest child; they had shared a lot of crib games together and with company. Slowly Armand’s mind started to be more forgetful and eventually Alzheimer’s took over and he had to move into the Care Center in Grande Prairie in Nov of 2021. He never lost his sense of humor as he loved to tease or give the staff there a rough time. He always enjoyed games, car trips to check out the fields and always an ice cream treat had him smiling. He was only bedridden for a week before he passed away peacefully to the song “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” playing in the background. He is now free of all encumbrances and playing crib with his son, brother and good lifetime buddies gone before him. Till we meet again….
Armand is survived by his wife Ellen; children Crystal Cyr-Martin (Stan Trider) of Hines Creek AB, Miles (Debbie Levey) of Williams Lake BC; grandchildren Veronica Dougherty (Jeremy) of Grande Prairie AB, Kimberly St. Amant (Adam) of Lethbridge AB; great grandchildren Ethan Dougherty, Austin Dougherty, Bailey St. Amant, Elliot St. Amant, Torunn Mortensen, and Scarlett Mortensen; Eva Wikenheiser of Calgary AB; in-laws Roland Anderson of Lethbridge AB, Rita Lapointe of Calgary AB, Joyce and Martin Timko of Tilley AB; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family.
Armand is predeceased by his son Lex Cyr (2018); parents Eugene and Elizabeth Cyr; siblings Louis Cyr, Alice Anderson, and Paul Cyr (infant).
A Celebration of Life will be held on July 4th, 11:00am @ St Joseph Catholic Church, Grande Prairie, AB with presentation and lunch to follow.
Memorial donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association https://alzheimer.ca/en, Grande Prairie Care Centre, or Stars Foundation https://stars.ca/.
Care entrusted to Bear Creek Funeral Home bcfh.ca 780 830-7742.
