Obituary of Alfred Francis Ries

Alfred Francis Ries February 4, 1916 ~ October 10, 2016 Alfred Francis Ries was born in Castor over 100 years ago on a cold winter’s day on February 4th 1916, the first child of Maria and George Ries. As a child he experienced the hardships and good times of pioneer life on the prairies. He began speaking at an early age with German being his first language. A year and a half later he was joined by a sister Virginia (Kindi as he called her). Five other siblings joined the family in quick succession (Margie, Harold, George and Willy) with Rita, born in September of 1929 being the youngest. There were 7 children in 13 years. Alfred received his education at Willow Prairie School, which was a mile and a quarter south of the home place. Alfred’s passion for travel started at an early age when he left the farm during the depression years. His adventurous spirit found him riding the rails across Canada and into the US with many other young men. When World War 2 broke out Alfred joined the forces along with his brother George He served in a division of the artillery. Upon returning home Alfred acquired some farm land near Warden in the Stettler area where he farmed for nine years. He then rented his farm out and moved to Calgary where he used his steam boiler ticket to operate the heating system in a downtown government building. Over the years his extensive travels essentially took him around the world. His summers were generally spent camping on the “Lone Coyote Ranch”, a name that he had proudly given to his 320 acres. He was married to Donna Ackerman for a short time in the 60’s. Wanting to get out of the big city, Alfred moved back to Stettler following retirement. After a number of years there he moved in to the Paintearth Lodge in Castor, where he once again spent several happy years. Eventually, as forgetfulness began taking its toll, he moved to Our Lady of The Rosary Extended Care where he peacefully passed away on October 10th 2016. Alfred will be fondly remembered by his sisters Marguerite Harper and Rita Renschler; sister in law Shirley Ries; numerous nieces and nephews; other family members and many dear friends. He was predeceased by his parents; sister Virginia (Reinhold) Griebel; brothers Harold (Patricia), George (Maria) and William; brothers in law Vincent Harper and Edward Renschler. Mass Dedicated to Alfred and William 9:00 A.M. Sunday, October 16, 2016 Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church Castor, Alberta Luncheon to follow 11:00 A.M. Castor Community Hall Castor, Alberta Donations in memory of Alfred are gratefully accepted to Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital Extended Care or the Paintearth Lodge.