Roy Hammergren

1924 - 2017

Roy Ernest Hammergren, loving husband of the late Thelma Hammergren, passed away peacefully surrounded by his children in Taber on Thursday, July 20, 2017 at the age of 93 years.

  A private burial was held at the Vauxhall Cemetery prior to the funeral service.

 A Celebration of Roy’s life was held at Knox United Church, 4929 - 50 Avenue, Taber on Saturday, October 7, 2017 at 2:00 P.M. 

 Left to celebrate his life are his children Wayne Hammergren of Scandia; Eunice (Lloyd) Szigli of Taber and their children Shane Szigli (his daughter Skyla), Angela Szigli, Kyle (Shelly) Szigli (their children Jordan, Logan, Janah, Tova, Valkyrie and Freya); Shauneen (Syl) Carlin of Taber and their children Cory (Rachael) Carlin (their children Bella, Ava and Connor) and Kimberly Carlin. He will also be fondly remembered by the second love of his life Glen Horrocks, sister-in-law Norma (Elgin) Grant, brothers-in-law Toby (Esther) Orsten, Paul Novak and numerous nieces and nephews.

 He was predeceased by his loving wife Thelma; sons Terry and Rock; sisters Dorothy Parker, Vera (Mel) LaPointe, Pearl (Joe) Rollman; brothers Stan and Eric Hammergren; sisters-in-law Shirley Novak, Helen Borchers and Betty Orsten.

 Dad was born in Calgary on March 21, 1924. He was raised in Scandia by his parents Gunnar and Hildur Hammergren along with his three sisters and two brothers. There are many stories of life on the Scandia farm that will be passed on for generations to come. Such as ranching gophers, hockey on the outdoor ice, driving to family dances in the back of a wagon with heated stones to keep them warm, and crossing the frozen river to get to dances. 

 In 1948 he met the first love of his life, Thelma Orsten and they were wed on May 14, 1950. They first lived in Scandia, Lomond and Brooks before their dream of owning their own land came true in 1955 when land came up for sale in Hays. They made the big move to Hays in the fall of 1958 when they moved the family into the grainery and the grain onto the ground.

 Dad and mom raised their five children in Hays and their time there brought great joy. Going dancing, active with their children in 4-H, hockey and baseball, spending time having coffee with friends and community involvement were a big part of their lives during the thirty one years they lived in Hays. Farming and raising cattle were also very important to dad and sometimes, while driving, he would spend more time looking at the crops than the road. Commenting on how great so and so’s crop was.

 In 1989, dad and mom made the big decision to retire and move to Taber. They bought a home in Heritage Estates where he would live until he was ninety one. You couldn’t quite take the farming out of dad though, as he would still drive out to the farm to help his son Rock or to Scandia to help his son Wayne. While in Taber they made many more friends and were regulars at KFC “The Chicken House” and after mom’s passing A&W, McDonald’s and most recently Tim Horton’s were regular hangouts for dad. He loved coffee time and a chance to share a story or make someone laugh.

 Dad was always there for us even at the drop of a hat. He loved to tease and his smile was so contagious. He adored his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and loved to make them laugh. Health and happiness for them was so important as well. He was often asking how they were doing. 

 Dad had many sorrows in life as well. He lost two sons, Terry at just nineteen years of age in 1972 and Rock in 2012. He adored all his children and losing two was almost too much to bear at times. In 1998, the loss of our mom was very difficult for dad. She was the love of his life and meant the world to him. They were seldom apart and their love for each other was known to anyone who knew them. But joy was to come again for dad when Glen Horrocks asked if she could join him at the senior’s dance in Lethbridge. This was the beginning of another amazing love and friendship for our dad. She was his second love and for fifteen years they were always there for each other. Not a night would go by when they didn’t talk on the phone to say goodnight. We would like to express our fondest gratitude and love for all that Glen has done for dad over the years.

 Dad’s love for life was apparent to anyone who knew him and was often described as the life of the party. Often you hear of people living to ninety three or more and you know they had a long life, but never know if they had a good life. Our dad had an amazing life and will be remembered by many. This saying says it all for us “ My dad didn’t tell us how to live, he lived, and let us watch him do it.”

 If friends so desire, memorial tributes in Roy’s name may be made directly to the Canadian Diabetes Association, 204, 2323 - 32 Avenue NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 6Z3 www.diabetes.ca.