Fred Finley

In memory of Fred Finley

Born on May 16, 1931, in Kindersley, Saskatchewan into a farming family.
Passed into the presence of his Lord on December 14, 2024, in Westlock, Alberta.

Fred is survived by his wife of almost 64 years, Joan, children Evelyn, John, Elaine (Chris), Elma and grandchildren David, Heather, and Sarah, sisters Marian and Vena (Phil), and brother Elmer.

If you would like to view the video of the funeral service, please email FredFinleyFuneral@gmail.com to receive a link.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Westlock Alliance Church Building Fund, Shiloh Youth Ranch, or Camp Nakamun.

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Fred was born the 7th of 10 children and raised on a farm near Flaxcombe, Saskatchewan. He attended Dewar Lake school and, after completing Grade 8, stayed home to work on the family farm.

As a young man, he purchased a quarter section of land across from the family homestead. But there were not a lot of young people in the area, and a few years later, in search of more socialization opportunities, he sold the land to his brother Elliot and moved to Drayton Valley where he worked as a Swamper on rigs for 36 cents an hour. Realizing he didn't want to do that job long-term, he looked for other opportunities in the area and, not interested in being a trucker, decided to try welding.

In 1957 Fred was involved in an accident while welding, which resulted in him spending three months in the Royal Alex hospital burn unit and another two months in rehab. His left hand was severely injured and since he was left-handed, WCB paid for him to learn to weld right-handed as it was feared he would never be able to use his left hand again. At that time, Fred obtained his Journeyman welding ticket. A couple of years later he went back and received a B-pressure welding ticket. Although he did regain full use of his left hand, he continued to weld right-handed.

Fred met his future bride, Joan, in Edmonton, where they both loved to go to dances. Fred swept Joan off her feet and soon they were engaged and planning a future together.

After their engagement, Fred took a job in Orillia, Ontario for three months. Joan found work in the area to be close to Fred, and when Fred’s job wrapped up they headed to Naramata, BC, to attend the Christian Leadership Training School. They got married in Naramata in December, went to Edmonton for their honeymoon, and returned to Naramata to finish school before heading to Judy Creek where Fred had a welding job.

Shortly after the arrival of their first child, a daughter, they moved to Sunset House, where a son was added to the family.  In 1964 they moved to Slave Lake, where they had two more daughters and stayed until 1997.

After moving to Slave Lake, Fred bought an acre of land at the edge of town and moved on a trailer, which they painted green, Fred’s favourite color. Fred cultivated a very large garden, put up a couple of tree swings, added a fire pit, and had rack of iron and a garage full of welding supplies. As the family grew, a large addition was attached to the trailer, and in 1978 the trailer was moved off and a house was moved onto the property.

As a self-employed  rig welder, Fred was on call 24/7. When the phone rang, he answered and if it was a rig calling with a job, off he went, no matter what time of the day or night it was. He had a mobile in his truck so he could be reached if he was out on a job and another rig called. Occasionally one of his kids would get to go out on a job with him, which was a treat for them, but it was a bit risky as to whether they’d get home at the time planned; there was always the possibility of Fred getting called to go to another job and home might not be on the way there.

Fred was a very hard worker and in the muskeg of Slave Lake and surrounding areas drilling occured primarily in the winter so much of the winter he was on the road and was home more in the summer. Fred welded on rigs, cats, and scrapers in Slave Lake and the surrounding areas, such as Nipisi, Wabasca, Red Earth, Swan Hills, and even as far away as Fox Creek and Calling Lake.

Fred’s faith was very important to him and he was a founding member of the Slave Lake Alliance Church. The church initially met in the elementary school, and when it came time to build, he was part of designing the church layout and spent many hours painting and doing whatever he could to help.

 Actively involved at Camp Nakamun, Fred served for several years on the board and did welding at the camp, including on playground equipment, barges, and railings. For more than a decade, every August included 10 days at Nakamun Family Camp.

One summer, Fred took his family on a road trip through Ontario and up to Michigan in a yellow school bus that had been converted into a motorhome. Adventures included breaking down and picking up hitchhikers. Fred called the hitchhikers his guests and treated them as such.

Other family activities included fishing, ice-skating on frozen ponds, ski-dooing, and go-carting.

In 1997, Fred and Joan moved to an acreage 12 miles north of Westlock.  Fred loved to tinker, fixing things such as his old riding mower, and creating new devices such as fashioning a blade attachment for the front of the welding truck to plow the driveway in the winter, a unique fan to cool the house in the summer, and a blower to circulate the air in the living room.

Fred also loved the church and immediately after moving to Westlock, joined the Westlock Alliance Church, where Fred enjoyed attending Men’s Prayer Breakfast and holding the doors while greeting people as they arrived on Sunday mornings.

After Fred retired from rig welding, he continued to weld farm equipment and take small welding jobs. To stay active, he would go for walks and often end up at a neighbor’s for coffee. He enjoyed going to community harvest suppers for good food and socialization and became involved in supporting Shiloh Youth Ranch, holding fundraisers and collecting donations for the camp.  Fred loved when people he knew, whether toolpushes and drillers from his rig-welding days, people from Slave Lake who were on their way home from Edmonton, or his neighbors in the area, stopped by for coffee and a visit.

Over the years Fred’s hobbies expanded to include purchasing cattle in the spring and selling them in the fall, boarding horses, and, later in life, gardening. Fred built a garden watering system and enjoyed sharing potatoes, carrots, beets, and crabapples. Many trips were made up and down into the well house, which provided perfect storage for garden vegetables, which were then enjoyed year round.

Fred’s grandchildren were very special to him. In the summer, gardening and picking saskatoons were favorite activities to do with the grandkids; in the winter, he would pile the snow up high for them to build snow forts, and a tractor-pulled sled ride was a special treat. The grandkids also have fond memories of playing Scrabble, tractor museum visits, rodeos, and long walks with their grandpa, during which he would teach them about crops and machinery and tell them tales of life on the farm. The old adage “you can take the boy out of the farm but you can’t take the farm out of the boy” certainly applied to Fred.

Fred obtained his first driver's license by paying a fee of $5. Later he purchased a Limousine licence, a requirement to drive a company truck, for $7. He held a valid driver's licence until his 93rd birthday.

Fred put many miles on  his welding truck and so replaced it on a regular basis. Fred always purchased his trucks from the same car dealer in Wetaskawin - after all, we all know that Cars Cost Less in Wetaskawin. He purchased so many trucks over the years that the dealer asked him to be in a TV commercial promoting his dealership.

Fred would say he must have driven a million miles over the years and only had one moose encounter. Thankfully the Fred-built heavy-duty grill guard on the truck prevented serious damage to the vehicle and Fred was completely unharmed.

 Fred had a sweet tooth and enjoyed desserts after both dinner and supper. In addition to Joan’s amazing desserts, Laura Secord chocolate miniatures were a favorite and for years he would eat one piece each night. He always received a box of chocolates for Christmas and his birthday.

Over the years, Fred tried his hand at woodworking and curling. He enjoyed reading biographies and was interested in family history and 1900-era vehicles, farm machines, tools, and aircraft.  He enjoyed bigger cars - for years it was the Chevrolet Oldsmobile. On drives, he would comment on the scenery when it included oil rigs, crops, machinery, hip-roofed barns, or horses.

Fred was interested in the story behind Hymns of the 19th century and faithfully listened to the radio segment “the rest of the story” with Paul Harvey. He also enjoyed listening to country and western music of the 60’s and the 70’s, including Wilf Carter, Slim Whitman, and the Mamas and the Papas. Lesser-known Christian artists that performed at Nakamum were also among his favorites. He enjoyed singing boisterously even though it was off-key; he often said that he couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, but he knew that it was pleasing to God anyway.

In later years, Fred occasionally watched hockey games, but rarely missed Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. His granddaughters, who inherited a bit of his mischief, and would hide behind the upstairs banister in order to watch the game shows as well, often well past their bedtimes.

Fred  loved to sit down with a coffee and discuss theology, welding, farming and equipment, and, of course, the weather. He had quite a sense of humor and could spin a tale with a straight face, but if you saw a twinkle in his eye, you knew he was pulling your leg.

One of his favorite stories was of a shy young man back when the west was being settled. The young man wanted a wife, but women were scarce. Occasionally, a new batch of young ladies would arrive in town but, by the time he got up the nerve to ask any one of them out, they were all spoken for. Finally, in desperation, the man courted and then married the town spinster. After they married, everywhere he went, she was with him: to the store, to the post office, out in the field. At first everyone thought it was sweet that they were so in love that they were inseparable, but after he’d been married for a while, the man’s friend asked him, “Why do you bring your wife everywhere with you? You’ve been married for quite a while now, and, well, no offense, but it’s not like she’s the most beautiful woman in town.” To which the man replied, “Come on, now. We both know she’s as homely as a mud fence, but bringing her with me sure beats kissing her goodbye.”

Occasionally when Fred left for a job and Joan would ask for a goodbye kiss, Fred would get a twinkle in his eye and ask, “Do you want to come with me?”

Throughout his many years, Fred was known for both his brush cut and his willingness to pitch in and help where needed. Fred had a generous heart and even throughout his 80’s was delighted to share his home-grown produce with those who were “too old” to garden.

This past September, Fred moved into the Westlock Continuing Care Centre, where he maintained both his sense of independence and his brush cut. On December 14th, at the age of 93, he passed away peacefully in his sleep to join the Lord Jesus in heaven.