My father was the best storyteller. Please share your memories and stories from his later years in the comment box below! We look forward to reading your own stories of Arnie or those he shared with you.
If you have stories from other times in Arnie’s life, please consider posting the tales under
Thank you!
Arnie 
I said a prayer for you today (ha ha) at Multnomah falls, Oregan. I left a part of you at the falls today and you have a perfect view of the falls that we visited together so many times.
Your very favoritest cousin,
Miriam
It has been 2 years this week since Dad has past. I still think of him often and still miss him. Just this week Jacob was taking about remembering his Grampie and how he still misses him too.
I know how you feel, my darling son and grandson, as I miss him very much
also. And I feel much better now that I know he is ‘back home’ with his Dad,
whom he loved and missed very much. This old world just keeps going….
round….and …round…and round!!
Tomorrow is Grey Cup sunday and the Edmonton Eskimos are playing. Dad and I watched many a grey cup together and everyone together when the Eskimos played since 1980; well except for the last one 10 years ago, when I got to go to the game and watch Edmonton win live, but even then we shared in it as he reminded me again of the story of his first trip to the Grey Cup in 1954 when Edmonton beat Montreal , just as I got to watch Edmonton beat Montreal for my first live Grey Cup. Tomorrow will be the first Eskie Grey Cup I wont get to share with him, but I know he will be here sharing in it in spirit.
Go Esks!!
Arnie lived a life filled with a number of health challenges, and he seemed to be a bit like a cat with nine lives due to his amazing ability to bounce back from a health crisis. A couple of years ago, Arnie was very seriously ill, and spent quite a long time in hospital. Nobody expected Arnie to recover, but to our astonishment, recover he did. It is a tribute to Arnie’s wonderful sense of humour at the laugh he enjoyed when he heard about the offhand comment I made to my husband, Paul, after Arnie’s latest miraculous recovery… “After the nuclear holocaust, it’ll just be Arnie and the cockroaches!”
The greatest gift Arnie ever gave me came near the end of his days. While he was in the hospital care giver after care giver came by wanting to know what Arnie’s story was… Well he could tell them ever detail down to the last BM he had. On more than one occasion I’d be in the room and I’d interject with data or opinion and the nurse or doctor or whomever would say” and who might you be?” Of course my answer plain and true “I’m his ex-daughter in-law.”
Well the nurses would grunt and then Arnie would say ” I think she can give up that ex-daughter in-law title and just say daughter cuz I loves her like me own daughter” and all the staff would shake their heads and just agree and say “lovely” …. I miss him like crazy and cherish every moment I had with him! He was a wonderful and loving man to me and his family!
Sam or Dave? Fun with Trivia
Dad, Mom and I always enjoyed a competitive game of trivia. Sometimes it was Tour de Force with Dixie and Allen, other times it was Super Quiz or Trivial Pursuit with his sister Gwen. Dad was known to get a little frustrated in these games. We always played in teams and generally Mom and Dad were on opposite teams. Quite regularly Mom would rack her brain to come up with an answer. finally after great deliberation and uncertainty Mom would say “I cant think of anything – all I can think of is _______” and blank would often be the right answer and Dad would get all angry and bellow ” sure you can’t think of anything all you can think of is the right answer!!” . His frustration at this often got a laugh.
He wasn’t the only one to get angry. When my Ex Wife Melissa was partnered with Dad she was convinced they would finally win a game when they got the question to list the acronym for M.A.S.H. With this answer they would win and she completely believed that Dad couldn’t get it wrong and he was confident too. Except Dad said the A stood for Airborne instead of Army and then Mom and I won the game on the next question. Melissa was so Mad at Dad she never played again.
The best moment ever was one night at Gwen’s house. The question that Dad had to answer was – “who died first, Sam or Dave?” Dad was not really up on 1960s pop music and the category was fairly vague and he had no clue of who they were, let alone even the context. He asked Gwen to repeat the question twice and then dad went bezerk!
“Sam or Dave – who the christ is sam or dave – what an asinine question – how the hell am I supposed to know who sam or dave are? I don’t even care who they are – what a stupid question. I don’t care who died, they can both die for all I care. Who the hell are Sam or Dave, Sam or dave what a stupid question who writes such a question Bah!! ” then he got up and left and we all laughed so hard we could hardly breath. We never finished the game and no one won but it might of been the best game of Trivia we ever had.
STORY WITH GRANDPA:
I remember after I came from school I would go downstairs from 5 till 8 and he would tell me stores about when he was younger and about. The stores were great and I loved them. Even though i have only known him 12 years its felt like I have known him his enter life.
I am very proud of the fact that Arnie would let me drive him any where as he was usually the one behind the wheel. I thank him for his trust in me.
I will miss you “You Old Buzzard” —————–From The Robbins Nest
Rescue
The end of 1990 or 1991 Arnie borrowed an old truck to bring their things from Abbotsford to Calgary. The truck broke down near Lake Louise. This was about midnight; it was stormy and 30 below. The call came for assistance so Glen and I went to the rescue. The roads were icy and visibility poor, but Arnie needed to be rescued, He was quite relieved when we arrived and very happy to climb into my warm car and let me drive us back to Calgary.
Monthly get-togethers: When Arnie, Merna and Glen lived in Calgary we used to have great times at least once a month. It would be BBQ meals and lots of great food!! To finish the evening off we would play Tour de Force which required knowledge of everything. It was always the men against the women with the latter being victorious most of the time! When Merna and I would be able to name base ball players, the eight dwarfs, Santa’s reindeers, sport facts,etc, the men would look at each other in disbelief, shake their heads and moan. How we enjoyed those times.
Arnie and Merna have been such an important part of our family for so very long. Their love and care to my parents (Aunt Zella and Uncle Ray, and my brother Allen) is always remembered. Thank you for the Love and the Laughter,
While I have only known Arnie in his later years, I’ve heard so many tales told by him that I often feel I have a pretty clear picture window view into those other, earlier years.
Arnie welcomed me with open arms into the family and made me feel at home in his home, always.
He told me stories of Glen as a child and Glen’s … strange ways. He told tales of military life, always understating the importance of his work. (Well maybe not always – hee hee). He told tales of gatherings with friends and Merna. As well as tales of his grandchildren, his joy.
Whatever tales Arnie was telling, you could find yourself spellbound, engaged in a frozen engine or roaring at how he somehow avoided that bar fight, too.
Some things Arnie told me have been told many times and some things were secrets, kind words just for me. I will cherish all of them.
I didn’t know what section to put this in (even though I made the sections) as it crosses over many years. My Dad was always a big Edmonton Eskimo fan and this was a love that he past on to me. Together starting in the 1970s he and I would watch the Eskimos play. Back then fighting against the Montreal Allouettes in grey cups. Back then it was Tom Wilkinson and my favourite #22 Tommy Scott. Later living in Toronto we continued cheering for them with players like Warren Moon and Brian Kelly. I remember watching the Grey cup against Ottawa with the big 2nd half comeback. Then Grey Cup 82′ against Toronto we built a giant Eskimo banner on our 10th floor balcony that could be seen by the Toronto fans below (we were not very popular). We developed a tradition of very specific snacks that we would always share together at grey cup. We even watched when the Eskimos were not in it (some years).
My favourite story of my Dad and the Eskimos was from 1954. He was in the reserve Air force and for some reason (which I forget) he had the opportunity to fly to Toronto in November. His first time east of Alberta. They were in an old cargo plane that he called the “flying boxcar” and it caught fire inside the cabin over lake superior. he said it took the crew 3 fire extinguishers to put out the fire. They realised that if they had to land in lake superior it was too cold in November for any chance of survival. Following near disaster they found out in Toronto that there were some spare seats to the Grey cup for the Air Force. So off he went to see the Eskimos play in the Grey cup at Varsity stadium. I can only imagine the excitement when Jackie Parker had his famous 90 yard fumble return to win the game for the Eskimos. Based on that story, I dreamed of one day seeing the Green and Gold in a Grey cup with an exciting ending. In 2005 I got my wish – My ex wife, Melissa and I went to the game. Edmonton and Montreal again, just like the 1970s, except now it was Calvillo vs Rick Ray. It was an exciting ending with the Eskimos winning in double overtime. I called my Dad who was watching the game on TV and we shared a small celebration over the phone. We never did watch another Eskie Grey Cup together, as they have not made it back since then, but when they do I will always remember watching the Green and Gold and the Grey Cup with my Dad.
well there is so much I could say, I was a property mgr and Arnie came to my bldg. Gateway in Abbotdford, and rented a suite. Enentually Merna came out and they settled in and that was the first that I met them. They were very friendly and many times would get together in evenings and play table games and we all smoked our brains out the suite was just full of blue smoke, when me and Larry called it an evening I had to say we have to get out this door really fast cause we will set the smoke detectors off. They moved back to Calgary and I so sad to see them drive away. But one day few years down the line in a different bldg. I managed Well guess who shows up the Popes looking to rent in my bldg.but only after phoning head office to find out where we were now. So they moved in and every thing was great until one morning I was doing bldg. work came upon Arnie arranging his work tools in his van, but in going back thru the inside doors to retrieve more of his tools and I noticed a tool box he left sitting on floor so off I go around the corner and now he comes back and notices his tool box missing and well there some profanity but he realizes its Helen as I forgot to move my wash bucket. So comes around the corner and he says dam casper and does not know if he should be mad or laugh it off. From that day forward my E-mail address is casper__ 30 @hotmail.com. agreat guy and loved both him and Merna and you cannot find better people then them.