Ken Greentree
1938 - 2021
Kenneth Maynard Greentree, beloved husband of Paulette Greentree, passed away peacefully at home in Taber on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at the age of 83 years.
Ken is survived by his wife Paulette; daughter Connie (Dave) Lawrence of Brookline, New Hampshire and their sons Alexander and Aaron; daughter Karen (Norman) Trewin of Thunder Bay and Karen’s daughter Tricia DePiero and Norm's daughter Ashley (Justin) Pelto. He has four great grandchildren Nickolas, Becca, Madi and Brodie. He is also survived by his brother Lynn (Debbie) Greentree of Victoria and sister Phyllis Hueston of Manitoba.
He was predeceased by his parents Ada and Albert, son-in-law John DePiero, grandson Gary DePiero, brothers Norman (Doris) Greentree and Charles (Gene) Greentree.
Ken was born at home in the Rural Municipality of McCreary, Manitoba on July 2, 1938 to Ada and Albert Greentree. He started school at the age of five, he didn’t have far to go as the school was across the road. After leaving school he worked at the Royal Bank until he was old enough to join the military. He enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Branch and spent most of his time in school. He earned an education that was very beneficial when he went back to civilian life.
On October 1, 1960 he married Marjorie Winters and they had two daughters, Connie and Karen. They later divorced and on October 21, 1971 he married the love of his life, Paulette Giem in Estevan, Saskatchewan.
Ken worked for the cable company in Estevan, he was one of the early pioneers in this new industry. He started his own company later and installed cable in homes in Edmonton before moving to Taber in 1974 when he got a license from the CRTC. He also installed cable in Brooks, Vauxhall and Bow Island. Ken started an oilfield trucking company in later years.
There wasn’t much that Ken couldn’t do, he built our first house in Estevan by himself. In later years he designed a house that we had built in Montana and sold it when we bought a house in Mexico. He was the handyman who could fix anything. Ken learned how to install microwave towers for cable television, when computers arrived he wrote his own programs. He had always wanted to be a pilot, so he enrolled in ground school and bought an airplane before he got his license. This was just the start of his “toys”. Next on the list was classic cars that he bought and restored. Those seven cars were his pride and joy.
In 1992 we sold the cable business and went into early retirement. We bought a motorhome and travelled throughout Canada, United States and Mexico. We covered nine Provinces, fifty states, Hawaii and Alaska on cruise ships. We travelled by motorhome to see our family and friends. We made many friends along the way, looking for where we wanted to spend our winters. When we found Mazatlan, we knew this was the place. It was the weather that got us to Mexico and the wonderful people that kept us going back. We still lived in Taber where Ken enjoyed many happy years overlooking his favorite pastime.
Ken was a member of the Legion, Lions Club, Elks, Cable Television Engineers and was the Director of the Family Motor Association.
Ken will be remembered privately by his family.
If friends so desire, memorial tributes in Ken’s name may be made directly to the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 20, 5205 - 48 Avenue, Taber, Alberta T1G 1S8 or to the Alzheimer’s Society, 40, 1202 - 2 Avenue South, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 0E3 www.alzheimer.ca.