ADRIAN DURAND

1935 - 2012

Adrian Leonard Durand, passed away peacefully in Taber with his loving wife Shirley Durand at his side on Friday, January 6, 2012 at the age of 76 years.
Relatives and friends are invited to Prayers at the Southland Funeral Chapel, 5006 - 48 Avenue, Taber on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 5:00 P.M.
The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, 5009 - 48 Avenue, Taber on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 10:30 A.M. with Reverend Vincent TuanHa Celebrant.
Besides his loving wife and best friend of fifty years Shirley, he is survived by his children Glen (Crystal) Durand of Hanna and their children Michaela, Brendan, Tanner and Janay Durand;Linda (Rod) Jones of Coalhurst and their children Samuel,  Mackenzie, Dalmeny Raine and Malachi Jones; Dale (Susan) Durand of Leslieville and his son Blaine Laughlin (his mom Colleen Laughlin)and Jason (Jessica) Durand of Preeceville, Saskatchewan and their daughter Melissa Durand. He is also survived by his sisters Cathy (Bill) Dacyshyn of Edmonton, Laurie (Gerry) Luciani of Calgary and Rose (Pat) Matsuoka of Innisfail; brother-in-law Rayford Johnston of Hanna as well as numerous, nephews and other relatives.
He was predeceased by his parents Leonard and Agatha Durand; sister Mavis Johnston.
Adrian was born at Isley, Alberta on December 26, 1935. He married Shirley Buller on November 21, 1961. They moved to Bashaw in the spring of 1962 where they bought a farm that needed to be cleared and they spent countless hours clearing bush, picking roots, farming the land and milking cows. During their time there they had four children. They eventually rented the farm land out and Adrian went to work for C.N. Rail as a brakeman and then conductor in Mirror, Alberta. He excelled at learning the rule book and made many friends with the work crews. Adrian enjoyed taking the boys to hockey and later became a referee of their league as well. He then decided it was time to keep the kids busy as they were growing up and needed more to do than hockey. He decided to quit working at the railroad and sold the farm at Bashaw to purchase a larger farm in the Spondin area, north of Hanna, where he and Shirley had been raised. The time spent on the farm at Spondin was a definitely a family affair, some of our best memories were of the children riding in the back of the truck in the pasture checking the cattle on a warm sunday afternoon. Adrian was a very active part of the community and was always interested in all sports. He became involved with baseball and went as far as studying the rule book and becoming a very active umpire for the league. Adrian and Shirley would spend many weekends travelling around umpiring the games as needed. The Spondin women’s team had a special place in Adrian’s heart and after the death of their coach Greg and star player Marilyn, it felt like the end of an era to Adrian and the team was like a big family of special friendships to both Adrian and Shirley. His ultimate number one sport that he played was men’s curling. He always played to win but always believed it was more important to be a gentleman and built many life long friendships through all his bonspiels. He won a truck load of trophies and prizes over the years but cherished the trophies that Shirley had put on display for him. Also during his time on the farm in Spondin, he spent many falls with Jason working at the Veteran Auction Market unloading and sorting cattle until the fall run was finished. In 1985 they sold the farm as the boys were finishing school and moving on in their lives and dad was ready for a new challenge. He opened A & S Feeds in Hanna where they sold cattle feed and supplements, pet food, cattle gates and supplies. They enjoyed being in contact with the rural people still. They eventually sold the store due to a lack of hired help and went on to deliver mail on a rural route for three years until he retired. Adrian and Shirley later moved to the Lethbridge area to be close to the medical services that they required. This allowed them to be closer to Linda and Rod as well as Jason and Jessica and their families. Adrian and Shirley enjoyed several winters going south to the warm sun of the southern states. It was on one of these trips that they came home with an extra passenger, the four legged kind and his name was Mootch. Adrian was never the lap dog type, but that all changed and everywhere he was you could expect to find Mootch.
The most important thing to dad was his faith and his family. He always made time for all his family and believed in getting together on a regular basis no matter what. Adrian instilled in his kids that there is nothing more important than keeping connected and making time to be together. He was also very diligent at attending church and was always an active member of the church, whether it was flipping flapjacks or burgers with Knights of Columbus, doing building repairs or singing in the choir, he could always be counted on to help out.
Dad your suffering is over now and we know you have found peace in heaven and we will love you until we meet again.
If friends so desire, memorial tributes in Adrian’s name may be made directly to the Canadian Cancer Society, 317 - 10 Street South, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 2M7 or to a charity of one’s choice.