Obituary of Donald William Blackwell
Donald William Blackwell of Red Deer, AB passed away peacefully in his own home with family at his side holding his hand on May 26, 2025, at the age of 91 years. There was a gentle thunderstorm booming outside his open window as he exited this world listening to the last lines of “Green Green Grass of Home”.
Born in Saskatoon, SK, Don grew up as the youngest in a family of 7 children with 4 sisters and 2 brothers. (His oldest brother, Freddy, sadly passed away of tuberculosis at the age of 15 when Don was only 2.) His mother’s family immigrated to Canada (Saskatoon, SK) on the ship just ahead of the Titanic in 1912. (Yikes! That was close!) His grandfather originally came alone to Canada from England as a representative of the W H Smith Book Company. (Ironically, he was NOT representing the famous Blackwell Book Stores.)
In the family, Don was the quiet observant one. He constantly supported his mother who was progressively becoming blind. He helped much with domestic duties such as cleaning the house and doing the washing on an old ringer washing machine. He wasn’t big on playing sports but did enjoy ice skating & badminton. He attended Westmount and Pleasant Hill public schools and did high school at the Saskatoon Technical Institute.
Don’s father immigrated from England when he was 17 and eventually worked as a train engineer for the Grand Trunk Railroad and, later, as a baggage master for the CPR Railway in Saskatoon. Don always fondly remembered family trips on the train from Saskatchewan through the mountains and onto Vancouver. This was followed by a ferry to Vancouver Island to visit his mother’s relatives in Victoria. There they swam in James Bay or picnicked and listened to band-shell concerts in Beacon Hill Park. Don chuckled that his father often bowed out of these trips so he could stay home and smoke cigars … otherwise forbidden when the family was around.
From that time, Don became a lifelong fan of trains. He took his first job with the CPR, at the age of 20 and worked for them for 3 years. He loved that, as the Superintendent’s Secretary, he actually got to travel on the trains frequently. He was saddened when that job ended.
Don then joined the Royal Canadian Air Force which turned out to bring good fortune. According to Don, he walked into the officer’s mess in Sasktaoon one day and saw a young petite blue-eyed blond sitting and swinging her legs. He instantly said to himself “That’s the one for me.” It was love at first sight. This beautiful lady in the Air Force Reserve was, of course, his to-be wife and lifelong companion, Lois. (Lois claims she only dated him, at first, because he was one of the few young men around who already had their own car. Good thing you bought that Chevy, Don!)
Don & Lois continued to date, and he would pick her up every Friday from her rural job as a one-room schoolteacher and catch a movie in Saskatoon together. (No wonder he always liked to go to the movies for the rest of his life.) They were eager to be married and did so on the very day after school ended in June of 1956.
As part of the RCAF, Don was known for his trustworthy, calm, collected and steadfast demeanor. He became a Sergeant. His organizational skills were much in demand, so Lois & Don moved locations frequently in early years with their first two children being born in Saskatchewan.
A real highlight of his military career was when Don was posted to work for NATO in Fontainebleau, France for 3 years. (He was even cleared for ‘Top Secret’!) Don said he really enjoyed the almost constant visits from family afar, everyone not wanting to miss the opportunity to stay with relatives near Paris. There they explored Europe, taking their kids on frequent camping trips with a tent and station-wagon-style car. (Perhaps their love of camping started there.) He said that Lois was so sad that she cried when leaving Europe to return to Canada.
Back in Canada, they landed in Red Deer where child #3 & #4 … and eventually #5 were born. They moved briefly to Winnipeg where Don trained personnel at the University of Winnipeg … but were soon back in Red Deer where they found their “family home” and spent their remaining days together.
The love of camping still sparked, Don’s large family traveled and camped much in their tiny 17-foot Scamper trailer pulled by a small Dodge Rambler car. Often Don’s brother, Ray, came along, too. (This was in a time when very few people had trailers or RVs.) The family never let a limited budget stop them from exploring the world well beyond their doorstep.
They took that little trailer everywhere. More often than not, they sought mountainous terrain such as Banff & Jasper, but sometimes they would explore areas such as the Okanagan or northern places like Barkerville. Fairmont Hot Springs was regularly on the agenda, too. They drove out to Expo ’67 in Montreal for the World’s Fair for Canada’s centennial celebrations, camping in an empty field across the bridge which had been turned into a makeshift campground. They even ventured south of the border to places such as the Hoover Dam & The Grand Canyon.
The couple took advantage of Don's RCAF discount flight privileges to make frequent family trips to Vancouver Island ... although sometimes flying with "economy seating" in cots on a Hercules aircraft. They enjoyed many Christmases in Nanaimo & Victoria, forming strong connections with Don’s large and very welcoming extended family there. (There is a story that one year their flight was so last-minute that the then family of 6 arrived unannounced to stay with his sister, Joyce’s family. Easy to accommodate all 6 of us, right?)
After retirement from the military, Don & Lois took advantage of the break, taking the then 5-child family on a Caribbean Cruise. (Quite an accomplishment for a larger family on a smaller income … but Don’s precise budgeting skills always allowed them to save for and do the things they really wanted to do … and travel was always at the top of the list.) This, perhaps, sparked Don’s love of cruise ships, and he and Lois were eventually to take many extended cruises to a multitude of unique places in the world.
Local adventures were in the mix, too. When kids were a little older, Lois & Don scrimped and saved to buy a fixer-upper one-room cabin on Jarvis Bay at Sylvan Lake. The whole family (later including grandchildren, too) enjoyed ‘lake life’ there, often inviting friends & relatives. Le Chateau Don-Lo provided great fun for decades, even though there was no running water and only an organic toilet. Campfire singalongs, canoe or pedal-boat adventures, horseshoes and sand-bag toss games abounded … and no one ever got hurt playing lawn darts, either.
After the military, Don took a job as a City of Red Deer Transit Bus Driver which he also saw through to his 2nd and final retirement. He was known as the quiet, cool & professional driver whose feathers could never be ruffled. School bus antics and chatty passengers couldn’t distract his eyes away from the road and he kept a stellar safety record, always prioritizing the wellness of his precious cargo. He even took the Gold Medal one year at the City of Red Deer bus-driver’s rodeo!
Don still enjoyed riding the bus as a passenger post-retirement. One of his favorite activities with grandchildren when they came to stay was taking them on a city bus excursion to a downtown coffee shop, having a cookie together, and then riding the bus home.
Final retirement at 65 brought a chance for Lois and Don to really start their travel abroad life. A train trip across Canada was definitely a highlight for Don plus numerous van trips across Canada, too. They also travelled internationally to places like South America, Mexico, USA, and Alaska, and overseas including Southeast Asia, the Baltic (Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Germany), Britain & Ireland … and the list goes on. They would often travel with family, friends, or relatives.
Local trips to Canmore or Fairmont Hot Springs were often in the mix. Another favorite trip taken several times was catching the Amtrak to San Diego, California with Don’s brother Ray & partner Wilma. There they would rent a little room on ‘doggy beach’ and simply enjoy the warm climate and local activities. Lois & Don also kept fit with clogging dance, mostly so they could attend International Clogging Conventions abroad. Don was an active volunteer in the community, including serving in the kitchen at the Golden Circle Seniors Resource Centre.
In his late life journey, he enjoyed going for ice cream, lunches and suppers with family, drives in the country, trips to the mountains, movies at the “cheap theatre”, walks or scooter rides in the dog park and musical and community events. He was still a continuing regular at St Luke’s Anglican Church. He also attended the Adult Day Support Program 2-3 times a week for several years, taking the Action Bus to get there.
Don will be lovingly remembered by his two sons, Tim (Kelly) Blackwell and Rob (Melanie) Blackwell; two daughters Terry Ann (Alfredo) Calderon and Suzanne Blackwell (Wayne); granddaughters: Jessica (Brad), Rachel, Hannah, Trisha; grandsons: Andrew, Brian (Kaitlyn), Brandon (Sydney); great-grandson, Chase and by his older brother Ray Blackwell (Wilma). He was predeceased by his son David Blackwell (youngest & 5th child) and wife Lois; sisters Joyce (Gordon) Frith, Gladys (Tommy) Virtue, Doreen (Orville) Opheim, Dorothy (Lorne) Ames; brother Freddy as well as by his parents Fred & Laura Blackwell.
A Memorial Service will be held at St Luke’s Anglican Church, 4929 – 54 Street, Red Deer AB (Ven. Noel Wygiera presiding) on Saturday, July 5, 2025 at 11:00 am. A casual sharing of memories reception will follow.
With so much gratitude for the infinite support of so many, the family asks that In lieu of flowers, you consider “giving back”. Memorial donations may be directed to:
St Luke’s Anglican Church at https://www.oldchurchrd.com/
Adult Day Support Program (run by Family Services of Central Alberta) at https://fsca.ca/adult-day-support-program/
Condolences to Don’s family, or better yet the sharing of your favorite stories, may be emailed to meaningful@telus.net. Please indicate “Don Blackwell” in the subject line.
Arrangements in care of
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Funeral Service
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