Ted Basarab, 1923-2008

Theodore Basarab was born in a small house at Randall’s Beach Oct. 29, 1923 to George and Olga Basarab. The family moved to a farm two miles west of High Prairie where he spent his life. It was Nov. 11, 1950 that Ted and Catherine met at the Armistice Dance. They courted for 7 ½ years and were married at the St. Paul’s Catholic Church July 7, 1958. They were blessed with twins, Darrell and Deborah, June 30, 1959 followed by Louise March 25, 1961, Tara March 30, 1964, and Garth Aug 3, 1967. Their beautiful family was complete. Ted’s youth was spent working on the family farm for over 65 years, the yard, fields and with the livestock. When he had free time he loved to play baseball on the local High Prairie team traveling to other towns in the Peace Country. He passed his love of the game onto his children spending time playing ball in the yard. His daughter, Deb, could be heard calling “Scrub One!” while Tara had to be coaxed to play because she always got injured. This passion for baseball carried on into his later years where he watched his favourite team, the Toronto Blue Jays on TV. Ted was very diligent and took great pleasure in maintaining the records of his purebred Hereford cattle herd. He spent many hours grooming and preparing the livestock for shows and sales. Spring was an exciting time for the family - a busy time when the new calves were born. Ted took great pride in maintaining the family farm. He was particularly fond of his new John Deere lawn tractor and he needed a lot of convincing to let anyone else drive it. Ted also assisted his mother and in the years to come his wife, Catherine, with their huge garden. Ted’s children spent many hours riding on the farm equipment while he was doing the farm work. A special treat was to share his thermos of coffee and sandwiches. They also have fond memories of the toys he would create for them which included little willow whistles and racing tractors made out of thread spools. The children loved to tag along with him to the barn when he milked the cows. While playing with the cats and running in-between stalls, if the children were not quick enough on their feet they would laughingly get squirted with milk by Dad. Ted enjoyed Louis L’Amour westerns and old movies. He travelled throughout the northern states of America in the summer of 2001. The rugged terrain and majestic pines of Wyoming reminded him of the scenery in his favorite John Wayne movies. Ted loved the mountains and while traveling through America he had the opportunity to visit Mount Rushmore for the first time. Ted travelled by plane for the first time in April 2006 to visit his daughter, Debbie, in Ontario. His only comment about the flight was, “It was pretty rough.” One of Ted’s hobbies was wood working. He created many pieces of furniture for the family and took pleasure in restoring the antiques he inherited from his mother’s collection. He took his children berry picking and fishing at Hilliard’s Bay in the summer and ice fishing to Snipe Lake in the winter. Ted was a quiet, gentle man who spoke few words. Ted’s words, when spoken, were heeded as they held knowledge and wisdom. He always had a stash of treats for his grandchildren and himself. He enjoyed taking his grandchildren for walks and their little legs worked hard to keep up to Grandpa’s stride. Ted’s most precious treasures were: his loving wife, Catherine; his children and his grandchildren: Shawna, Loren and Devin Rose; Mitch, Greg, Kelci, Katie, Kim and Kellie Parker; Ashley and Jessica Basarab; and Sam and Thomas Basarab. One of Dad’s favourite things were the family suppers loving prepared by Catherine. Mom is a wonderful cook and Dad was blessed with the enjoyment of her doughnuts, bread, sweets and delicious meals for almost 50 years. The children have many special memories of their Dad. Darrell shares his love of the land and farming with his dad. Deb would much rather spend time outdoors with Dad than cleaning or cooking. Louise’s fondest memories is her Dad encouraging Mom to let her become a Grade 1 dropout. Garth spent many spring hours tagging along with Dad to the homestead and letting the calves suck on his fingers. Tara shares her love of animals with Dad, especially dogs and cats. Dad was the last living member of his family of seven siblings. He is survived by his loving wife Catherine, Darrell and Deanna (Blaikie) Basarab, Steve and Deb (Basarab) Parker, Dave and Louise (Basarab) Rose, Tara Basarab, Garth Basarab and his 13 grandchildren. We’ll miss you, Dad!

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