December 16, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Alvin Dickie.

Ken's Uncle Alvin has died. He had the good fortune to die in his sleep at age 92. Many things about Uncle Alvin were fortunate. His wife Margaret was lovely and his children are competent and kindly. The life he lived was productive and pleasant and the few times we were with him were memorable. Alvin and Margaret still lived in Ninette, Manitoba, and when we attended our nieces wedding, we spent quite a lot of time talking with both and Margaret, and Alvin told me a wonderful story when I asked Alvin how he went into the carpentry business. This is the story he told me.

He lived in Parry Sound and when he graduated from High School, he and several of his friends went to Sudbury to apply for a job at the mine. All the young men were full of enthusiasm and confidence, and one by one they were interviewed and hired, except for Alvin. The Medical exam showed a heart murmur, so the mine authorities would not hire him. He was in the depths of despair. All the friends stayed in Sudbury to begin work, while he had to return to Parry Sound with no job and no hope of a job. "I was in the depths of despair," said Uncle Alvin, so he went and signed up for the armed service of Canada. He passed their medical and when asked what he wanted to learn to do in the Army, he recalled that he had always enjoyed the Shop classes, so he put down carpentry. The next thing he knew, he was shipped to Manitoba for carpentry school, and while there he met a group of people from Ninette, many families who settled there from Iceland. He told me that from then on, his life changed. He met and married the lovely Margaret, who was still by his side when he died, and he inherited all the other energetic people from Iceland who were very helpful to each other. After the war, they of course lived in Ninette, where their children were born and raised. He owned a lumber yard there and also used his expertise in carpentry. What started from a sense of despair turned into the chance of a lifetime.

His life was full and fun, and we will miss him. His life carries on in his children and grandchildren and great grand children. I am grateful for his life.