Obituary of Finlay Morrison
With heart breaking sorrow, the family of Finlay “Neil” Morrison announces his passing at the Red Deer Regional Hospital in the early hours of September 11, 2024, at the age of 90 years.
Neil was born in Saskatchewan to Peter & Freda Morrison. He was raised on the family farm and attended a rural one room school where his teacher was his mother. He moved in with his grandparents in Yorkton for his high school years.
He went to work for Bowman Brothers (now Acklands) in Humboldt, SK, in 1954. It was there that he met the love of his life, Darlene, who he married in 1956. They were together for over 60 years until her passing in 2016. Their love story was epic, and he wore his wedding ring with pride until his passing. He would visit her resting place everyday while he was in Canada.
Together they raised three children. Son Darwin and daughters, Dawn and Wanda. He was exceptionally proud of his children and active in their extra-curricular activities. He had countless hunting and fishing trips with Darwin and would help with harvest with Wanda whenever he could. Neil and Dawn would get together for hockey and football games and hours on the phone, couch coaching those games. They spoke three times every day.
Over the years, they lived in six different communities, moving the family to Alberta in 1970, when he accepted a position as a District Manager with Versatile Ag Products. Later he joined Melroe, working in the Ag area and he then transferred to the Bobcat Skid Steer Loader Division where he was asked to be Western Canadian Manager and then Canadian Regional Manager, a position he held until his retirement in 1997.
Neil and Darlene spent many winters in Mazatlan, Mexico, and travelled the country coast to coast. After Darlene’s passing, Neil returned to Mazatlan for the winters, preferring to work on his tan and read, rather than endure the cold Canadian winters. He loved Canada and was a proud Canadian. He always said there was no place better than Canada in the summertime.
Neil leaves to mourn his loss, his son Darwin (Helen) of Kamloops, BC; daughters Dawn (Dan) of Mazatlan, Mexico, and Wanda of Wilkie, SK. Neil was so proud of his eight grandchildren, Neil (Cassandra), Becky (Matt), Layne, Tegan (Kurtis), Kyle (Denee), Breanne (Torstein), Reid and Jordan. Neil was also blessed with thirteen great grandchildren, adoring each of them. Ryden, Blake, Kaleb & Kinlee (who were born on his 78th birthday), Finlay, Emry, Jetlan, Odin, Lennex, Bexly, Keldan, Stian, and Foster.
Neil is survived by his brother Peter (Katherine); sisters-in-law Muriel, Estelle, Karen, Cheryl, Joan and Diane; brother-in-law Richard; as well as many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents Peter and Freda; parents-in-law Stan and Lois; brother Albert; as well as brothers and sisters-in-law Clayton, Ron, Alvin, Lyle, Stanley, Dallas, Melody, Gail, and Evelyn. He also leaves to mourn his “Mexican” family, who he loved so very much, Laura and Gustavo Leal; their children Adriana (Ezequiel), Gustavo Jr (Stephanie), and mom’s namesake, Darlene (Efren) and three more great-grandchildren, Zoe, Ian, and Gustavo III. They shared a great love for Papa Neil.
Dad taught us to always put family above all else, to be kind, to lend a hand without expecting anything in return, and to never be ashamed of tears. He was a loyal Saskatchewan Roughrider fan (even the boot to his artificial leg carried their logo), and he never missed an Oilers game if at all possible. He would suit up in his jersey, hat, and settle down to watch the games. He looked forward to crib nights with his friends at the Sierra Michener condo complex where he resided.
The family wants to thank Vicki and Garry Hall for watching over him. They also wish to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Dr. Allyson Cornelis, Dr. Affan Tahir, the nursing staff in the ER, and unit 22, for their compassion shown to our father and for the excellent care he received.
It was Dad’s wish to not have a funeral service, and his ashes will be placed with Mom in their niche at the Red Deer Cemetery. Thank you to all for your cards and calls. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, www.heartandstroke.ca, or to the Alzheimer’s Society, www.alzheimer.ca. Condolences to Neil’s family may be emailed to meaningful@telus.net. Please indicate Morrison in the subject line.
“Meet you on the moon, Dad”
Arrangements in care of
Meaningful Memorials Funeral Service
A locally owned cremation and funeral provider
serving Red Deer and all of Central Alberta
587-876-4944