Obituary of Arthur Leonard Day

Arthur Leonard Day was born March 7, 1923 on the farm near Consort, Alberta, legal SE 17 34 5 West of the 4th. He was the first child of Bernice (Shannon) and Leonard Day. Leonard came west from Owen Sound, Ontario and filed on the homestead in 1914. Art’s sister Marj was also born on the farm. The family moved into Consort in 1929, the year Bert was born. Bob was born about 4 years later and the family was complete. School was attended in Consort. His friends nicknamed him “Snuffy” due to issues he had with hay fever mostly on the Coulton and Uncle Arts farms. Art took an examination for the Royal Canadian Air Force in October 1941 at 18 years of age. He had his medical in August 1942 and was enlisted in September. He commenced training at No 3 Manning Depot, in Edmonton. Art graduated under the British Commonwealth Training Plan No 3 Bombing and Gunnery School as an air gunner. He was initially stationed in Edmonton, then moved on to other places in Canada and finally England. He flew in the Lancaster planes as a rear gunner, completing two tours, the last one as a Pathfinder. Each tour consisted of 30 missions. Reading his log book is very enlightening. Art received his commission as a Pilot Officer in July 1944. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of Flying Officer, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war Art attended Tech School in Calgary working towards becoming an architect. After completing the first year he went to Toronto seeking summer employment. He became discouraged as no one would hire him without experience, which resulted in the end of this endeavor. Art then went to Fort Smith and worked on the Paddle wheelers/barges transporting goods in the north. Charlie Swift, Bill Coates and Ralph Morris joined him. Art next went to Trail, BC where he worked in the smelters. Seniority was giving to anyone having been in the service so this helped to secure good employment. Archie Read of Crown Lumber hired Art to work for him in the Consort store. On April 15, 1948 Art married Kay Ference. They spent their first year of marriage in Vermillion where Art worked for Crown Lumber. Guy was born in Vermillion. Len, Ted, and Kelly were born in Consort. The family lived next door to Bernice and Len before settling on the acreage. Art opened a woodworking shop next to the elevator his dad operated. He could build just about anything including truck boxes, kitchen cupboards, and campers. Woodworking continued to be a hobby for him in later years. Family members hold dearly to the items crafted by him. He had the contract for hauling mail for Canada Post and in 1990 completed his last run after 35 years of service. Mail was picked up daily in Lacombe and delivered to all the towns along the highway to Compeer. With his wife Kay they went in to the chicken business for awhile. Finally in the mid 1960’s Art and Katie opened Day’s Service which they operated for over 30 years. The whole family was involved in working to make this a successful business. This business is still operated by family members today. Boat building and fishing were passions of Arts. Many holidays were spent with family and friends fishing the lakes in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1982 a fishing cabin was purchased in northern Saskatchewan. Art constructed 2 boats which were flown to Scott Lake and reconstructed. These boats are still being used today. Art and Kay lived briefly at the Consort Seniors Lodge before moving to Harmony House in Red Deer in May of 2005. Art was a favorite of the staff who treated him with kindness and compassion. Art passed away August 8, 2011 with his family by his side as well as the Harmony Staff. Art was predeceased by his parents, son Ted in 1967, brother Bert and wife Kay in 2005. Art will be forever missed by: sons Guy (Joan) of Consort, Len (Linda) of Stettler, and Kel (Cheryl) of Red Deer; his beloved grandchildren: Jody, Aaron, Chris, Joel (Sheila), Reid, Natalie, Mitch and Erik (Melissa); brother Bob (June) of Consort; sister Marg Pryce of Vernon; numerous other family members and dear friends. A celebration of Art’s life will be held on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 1:00 P.M. at the Knox United Church in Consort, Alberta. If friends so desire, memorial donations in memory of Art Day may be made to Lakeroad Cemetery, Consort, Alberta c/o Parkview/Stettler Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Box 1780, Stettler, Alberta T0C 2L0, who are entrusted with the care and arrangements.