Obituary of Erik Jensen

Erik was born on May 7, 1934 in Canwood to Jens and Marie Jensen. He grew up on the family farm in the district of Blue Heron until grade 8 then entered into the work force. Erik worked at many different jobs including a thrashing crew; he worked on the family farm, and did freighting excursions at Flin Flon and Reindeer Lake. While back working on the farm he met his wife Olwen while she was a supervisor at the Blue Heron School. They were married on October 21, 1955. During the off season he and Olwen ventured to Edmonton where Erik took a job working at the pulp mill in Hinton, AB and in other years he worked at Burns Meat Packing Plant in Prince Albert. Spring always took them back to the family farm in Blue Heron which he eventually took over. Their daughter Linda was born April 9, 1957 followed by a son Terry on January 2, 1961 and a son Ricky on September 30, 1965. He enjoyed running the kids to their hockey and figure skating practices and attending many other hockey games in the district. He enjoyed the Canwood Canucks so much that he became their trainer. He recalled the time when at an "out of town" game they did not have enough players to play so they dressed Erik in a jersey and sent him onto the ice. The community rink was very important to him. He even worked building the new rink which is still running today. From watching his children and grandchildren at the rink, he then continued to enjoy it by watching the girl's team during the past few years. His passion for dancing started at a very young age. He and Olwen attended many community dances. He also was very musical playing such instruments as the accordion, organ and guitar. Many a time he would give a "private performance" - just he and his accordion upstairs. We below would hear the muffled sound of the accordion and of course, the tapping of the foot to keep in time. His love for music took him and Olwen to many country music jamborees where they enjoyed meeting new friends. In later years Erik worked for the RM of Canwood. For 10 years Erik did many jobs such as picking stones, cutting grass and grading roads for the RM. He later became a Councilor for the RM and also served as Reeve for one year. The RM was very important to him and he enjoyed this work very much. In earlier years Erik enjoyed fishing trips with Kris Gulbrunson when spring seeding was completed, hunting trips with Alex Arabsky and his brother in-law Charlie Cramer. Later years he hunted with his son Rick, and friends Gordon & Randy Stene. In late 2002, Erik faced health issues which he was able to work through. He remained strong and always wanted to be outside working on farm projects no matter how bad he felt. It was hard for Erik to sit inside and not be able to always go out and help. After a successful surgery in 2004 Erik felt he had a new lease on life and purchased his very first 4x4 Ford truck that he was so proud of. Erik continued to farm until the spring of this year when health issues arose. Erik will be sadly missed by his friends and family. Our memories of him will last forever.