Art Henkel, 1936 -2010

Arthur Allen Henkel was born on a small farm west of Edmonton Oct. 29, 1936 and passed away June 27, 2010 at the age of 73 years.
Arthur was the third of seven children born to John and Bertha Henkel. He had two older sisters at the time, Mavis and Laverne. By the time he was 18 he had two more sisters, Merle and Paulette, and two brothers, Gerald and Brian.
He attended Whitewhale School until Grade 6 or 8 or 9. Whenever one of his children or grandchildren did something reckless he would tell the tale of his flipping the cutter and dumping his sisters in the snow on the way to school one winter morning. Like most farm boys, Dad spent a lot of time working and didn’t go to school much after 15. Off to work he went!
Arthur worked for Propps in lumber camps hauling short logs and skidding during the winter and in construction during the summer. He was part of the crew that built the Jasper Highway, the airport at Nisku and while working for Pollacks did landscaping on Saskatchewan Drive in Edmonton.
In 1959 while working at Propps lumber camp he happened to head into town where he met Evelyn Gould. She must have left a lasting impression because a short year later they were wed and a year after that in August they hadme(Darla Driscoll)!
We lived in an 8 x 28 foot trailer in Grandma and Grandpa Henkel’s yard. That winter they moved the trailer to the bush. In the spring the trailer was moved back to the yard and in July brother Gordon came along. Art and his little family stayed in the farm yard for a few years. Soon another son, Michael, was on the way and a bigger home was needed. He purchased a new 12 x 58 foot trailer and moved it to the homestead in High Prairie. Because there was no gravel on the goat trail road into the homestead the family was moved to Gordon Rich’s property which is where (the Banana Belt Hall) is located.
Dad was working for Indian Affairs at this time with his cat on the Paul Band Reserve near Duffield, Alta. so we all moved back to Duffield and lived in one of Grampa’s houses. During the years we lived there Dad had major surgery for kidney stones, then major surgery for a ruptured appendix and a third son, Mark. It was also during this time that we discovered that both Gordon and Michael were deathly allergic to bee stings. It was on a night of the worst storm I have ever seen that Dad drove like a maniac with the water, wind and hail pounding the car to Stony Plain with Michael going into anaphylactic shock. Gordie, I and baby Mark were in the back seat and Mom was trying to keep Michael calm as Dad careened down the back roads to the hospital. Needless to say, we made it!
In 1972 he moved his family up to High Prairie where we lived on the Phillips place for four years. Dad worked for Buchanan Lumber and Contracting until 1983. He also was working the little homestead. In 1975 he drilled a well on the homestead and built a temporary home which he and Mom lived in until the fall of 1986, when the new house was completed.
In 1983 he started Art’s Consulting and Scouting Service. He supervised the building of drilling leases and roads for many different oil companies all over Alberta and Saskatchewan. During this time Mom ran the farm with nightly debriefings and instructions. In 1999 he retired from consulting and went farming full time at the ripe old age of 63. At this time he switched to organic farming.
By now his family had grown substantially. He had a son-in-law, Brian, a daughter-in-law, Tammy, two grandsons, Tyler and Riley, four granddaughters, Kelsey, Nicole, Michelle and Shelley, and two step-granddaughters, Shannon and Kelly. In 2007 he welcomed his first great-grandson, Cager.
Dad loved to argue. I believe he would often argue against his own beliefs just for the fun of the argument. He also would tell some outrageous story to see if he could get you to believe it, and if you did he would laugh.
Dad was a man of faith but not a man of church. He believed we should all live by the 10 Commandments and the golden rule. He did not believe he needed to go to a building to talk to God. He was just as apt to be heard from his tractor or out in the cow pen.
He believed in the need for government if only we could find someone anyone to do it right.
He had a genuine concern for other people’s well-being. He was extremely compassionate to someone who was ill and always made an effort to visit them or call them. He always seemed to know what to say.
Art loved having company. He didn’t cook much other than fried bologna but he could whip up a pot of coffee in no time flat. His favourite visitors were either the ones who enjoyed listening to his stories or the ones ready for a good discussion about almost anything. His favourite arguments usually involved government ineptitude, cattle prices, or - God forbid - a combination of the two.
Art believed family was the most important thing. He kept in regular contact with all of his brothers and sisters and many of his nieces and nephews. He shared their joys and their sorrows and let them know that whenever they needed to talk he was more than happy to answer the call. When his sister Merle was stricken with Multiple Sclerosis he tried to find out as much as he could about this illness. He felt helpless in her cause. When Colleen and I decided to start riding in the MS Bike Tour he jumped at the chance to do something. No one was off limits. Everyone who walked through the door was asked to sponsor. He was very proud of our efforts to fight this disease.
He was proud of his farm. In 2007 he was knocked off of a lowboy while at an auction sale and broke his wrist and his back. Those injuries slowed him down considerably and a failing hip had almost stopped him completely. It hadn’t stopped him from going to auction sales though. As recent as May 6 he was at a sale in Rycroft. He was starting to talk about downsizing a little, maybe retiring.
He was incredibly proud of his family. He would rarely tell us, but was quick to tell others of our accomplishments and talents. His grandchildren were the centre of his universe. They all held a very special place in his heart and they all made him laugh with their antics - good and bad. His great-grandson gave him such joy he adored him. And Cager adored him back.
He was a son, brother, uncle, husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather and friend, and he will be missed.