Richard Bryce Stout, 1967-2007

On June 19, 1967 at the Edmonton Misericordia Hospital, Richard Bryce Stout was born to Jerry and Verna Stout. At the time we were living in Edmonton. His older sister, Lorrel, was delighted to have a baby brother with lots of dark, curly hair. In April 1968 when Bryce was 10 months old we moved to the Heart River area onto a quarter belonging to Ohlen, Bryce’s grandfather. That fall we moved a house up next to the Stout’s family home to live in. The following year Grandpa and Grandma Stout moved into the house on the hill and we moved into their home. Trevor was just a couple of months old. In April 1971 before the farm was sold we bought this quarter from Ohlen and Iris Stout. We built a house in 10 days and moved in. Bryce loved the outdoors. We had a natural sand pit and the boys, with their cousin Scotty, would build tunnels up to five feet deep. One day the school bus backed into the tunnel so we made some changes. When Bryce was 10 we planted 110 trees. To water the trees we would have to crank up the Alice Chalmers tractor to start it, back the tractor up to the river and fill barrels with water. One time, as Bryce was going down the row of trees the wheel fell off the tractor. He shouted and asked Dad what to do. Dad told him to turn the key off. We bought a Honda bike for Bryce from Ernie Isert. Bryce ran it into a tree. Then, when he was 12, he ran his S10 into a fence. One time Jerry and the boys pitched a tent up at the dams. The next morning Bryce had caught them a fish for breakfast. He helped his Mom a lot in the garden. The red-winged blackbirds could really get loud. There were so many that Bryce would say they were having church. When Bryce decided to get married he wanted to be married outside. It was January and it was 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Bryce and Jackie were married outside under our spruce tree on Jan. 30, 1987. They lived in Salt Prairie and also at Bert Cuthbert’s place. Bryce and Jackie were living in a trailer they had bought. That day then had been out with the family swimming and when they returned home the trailer had burnt. By this time they had bought their own land. Bryce and his Dad walked into the land to find a building site. Bryce wanted a sheltered place with lots of trees. They built the home they lived in on that site. He worked for Nemadar Ranch for quite a few years with the rock crusher. Joe, another employee at the time, and Bryce would have water fights with the two loaders. They would fill their buckets from a water hole close by and dump it on each other. Another time it was coffee time and Bryce parked his loader so Joe’s loader cab would fill up with smoke. Joe couldn’t go back to work until the smoke cleared. The truckers liked him loading them because they had very little to level off when he was done. He also knew how to load just the right amount of gravel. Bryce decided he wanted to do something different so he went into carpentry. He worked on the Pleasantview Lodge when they added on and enlarged the rooms. His Grandma Martha was in there as a resident. She called him her smiling Bryce. He then worked on the ATCO Building in High Prairie. He finished a project in Fort McMurray, then the Pomeroy Inn in High Prairie. He worked at the police barracks in Spirit River, then the renovations at the seniors lodge in Valleyview. When Ken Kroetch broke his ankle he took a temporary position with Heart River Housing. He used to tease Ken about having this easy job until he experienced it for himself. We are proud of our grandchildren. They have a deep love for their grandparents on both sides. Bryce leaves to mourn: his wife, Jackie; sons Cody Travis and Chance; parents Jerry and Verna Stout; sister Lorrel Stout (Lynn Johnson) Trevor Stout, Ryan Stout and numerous cousins, uncles, aunts and friends. He is survived by Cody, Travis and Chance. Bryce, you will be missed by us all who knew and loved you.

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