Merle Menard (Gadsby)

So, there I am, gone! At the ripe old age of 85, felled by old age, mostly.

I was born in Souris, MB on October 13, 1933, and called Eleanor Merle. My parents Lucy and Angus Gadsby, my brother Don, my son-in-law Dennis Field, and my love and best friend, husband Laddie (Leo) travelled this road before me.

Here I mention the ones I leave behind, my beloved children Landa (Dennis) Field, Cameron, Lexiss (Tom) Jefferson and Michael (Kathy); my grandchildren: Keith (Wendy) Field and Landen (Melissa) Field, Madeline (Luke Watts) Jefferson and Mackenzie (Allison) Jefferson, and Jakob (Kristina Conlin) and Samuel Menard. Also at last count four great grandchildren, Leo, Kaydence, Halle and Charlie.

Also, my brothers Brian (Merle) Gadsby, Bob (Leona) Gadsby and sister-in-law Thelma Gadsby, along with various nieces and nephews.

It seems my life revolved around sports. In my high school days, track & field, baseball and basketball (Manitoba Junior Champs, 1951 (Ravens); in my 20s, baseball – Ramblers, (Manitoba Champs, 1955 – inducted into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame, 2008); during my 30s and 40s it was curling (Saskatchewan Playdowns twice and Manitoba playdowns twice). In my 50s and 60s, it was golf, which included many tournaments and club play. Steinbach and Carmen were very good to me prize wise and the best of all was winning the Women’s Senior Championship at Rossmere.

Along the way I met and married Laddie, my love and friend, we were married for 37 years. We lived in Winnipeg until 1963. Laddie worked for CN which sent us to Saskatoon for eight years until 1970 when they transferred us back home to Winnipeg.

Laddie and I produced four great children, Landa, Cameron, Lexiss and Michael, each of whom is my favourite child. They grew up to be wonderful adults who love and like each other and with loving families of their own. His last anniversary card to me stated “We have a strange and wonderful relationship. You’re strange and I’m wonderful” … he was correct.

After stopping my athletics, I took up reading with a vengeance, working my way through Munroe Library and now that I am gone their circulations numbers will drop drastically! Knitting, rug hooking, crossword puzzles and gardening occupied much of my time.

I was the library clerk at Miles Macdonell Collegiate for 18 years, retiring in 1993. Laddie and I travelled much of the U.S. in our winter driving holidays, which sometimes consisted of a search for golf courses. Summers took us camping with the kids at Falcon Lake.

In 1993 following Laddie’s death, I travelled with Lexiss to Malaysia/Hong Kong, and to Greece; with Landa, Lexiss and Madeline to London and Paris; with Thelma to Portugal/Spain/Morocco, and to Alaska/Japan/Russia/South Korea/China. Most recently, Landa and I drove over most of the U.S. west of Tennessee, leaving only the eastern states to explore. There was also a memorable trip with Michael and the boys to Yellowstone area. Every Sunday during football season Cameron and I would travel to the living room to watch the Bombers do their thing.

Much to my surprise, I found myself singing in the band at Gordon King Memorial and writing songs and the odd poem in the early 2000s thanks to Lexiss. It has been a great experience.

So, there you have it – and what more could you ask of a life lived as the best you could do?

To my beloved children and grandchildren: “If you ever need me, I won’t be hard to find. Just look into the corners of your mind”.

Services to be held 2 PM Dec 5th 2018 at Gordon King Memorial United Church 127 Cobourg Ave Winnipeg, Manitoba. At Mum’s request, in lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or Diabetes Canada.