Joseph Phillip Chester

Joseph Phillip Chester

            After a long and healthy life, Joseph Phillip Chester of Portage la Prairie passed away at the age of 101 years. He was predeceased by his wife Lucy. Joe leaves to mourn his passing his daughters Linda (Jan), and Fran (Dave), grandchildren Chris (Sharon), Ryan (Julia), Tracey (Ryan), and Beckey (Kelly), as well as 7 great-grandchildren.

            Prayers will be held in the chapel of the Omega Funeral Home on Friday evening, October 7 at 7:00 PM.

            Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at the Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Church.

            Joe was born in Bellhampton, Manitoba on June 17th 1915. Joe worked on the family farm until he was 17 when he moved to the Okanagan to earn money picking fruit and cutting shingles during The Depression. He recently spoke of how difficult this work was. In 1940 Joe moved to Toronto where he built war planes for De Havilland. While there, he decided to join the war effort but was not able to go overseas as the doctors saw something on his x-ray that would not clear him for military duty. Luckily, for Joe’s future family, this turned out to be a false alarm.

            Joe continued to work on military planes until the war was over. He retuned to Manitoba and farmed in the Lakeland area with his wife Lucy. While farming, he also began working for CN, retiring as a foreman in 1979. Joe has always been a hard worker and retirement did not mean he stopped working. Joe has said he’s never taken a day off, except for Sundays, because that day was for church. He was always busy with his house, garden and yard. Even at age 100 he could be seen working on his roof or stringing Christmas lights from every corner. He loved to have his home bright with lights each Christmas. There was typically no rhyme, nor reason to his light placement, only that more was better.

            As a man who grew up in the era of the Model T, he was not phased by new technology. He would often look at photos and videos of his great grandchildren on his grandchildren’s iPhones, flipping through the photos like he’d been using one all his life.

            Joe was very proud of his family. His daughters Linda and Fran took loving care of him, ensuring that he always had home cooked meals at his place, or family dinners at theirs. Joe loved being a great grandpa. He always wanted to hold his great grandchildren when they were babies, and this is a special memory for the entire family. Through memories, stories, and photos, his great-grandchildren Connor, Lucas, Hudson, Tressa, Isla, Ivy, and Rossi will know that they were lucky to have been a great-grandchild.

            Joe never thought much of the saying that you should never discuss religion or politics. Those were his favourite topics. He had many opinions on both and would love to tell you what he thought was wrong with the country and how to fix it, his thoughts about the pope, or how the new church should be built.

            His other hobby was spending time at the Herman Prior Centre. After the passing of his wife Lucy, it became somewhere he could go to play cards, dance, and visit with friends.

            Joe lived a very long, healthy, and happy life. He enjoyed a family that loved him, a belief in God that was strong, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

            We love you Dad and Grandpa, may you continue to be never hungry and never full.

            Should friends so desire donations may be made to Central Plains Cancer Services, 318 Saskatchewan Ave. E., Portage la Prairie, MB, R1N 0K8 or to the Good Shepherd Parish, 114 Countess Ave, Portage la Prairie, MB, R1N 0T2.

Omega Funeral Home in care of arrangements.

204-857-4621 or 1 800 303-4261

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