Edward "Alex" Alexander McQUEEN

Edward Alexander (Alex) was born March 6, 1936 and passed away surrounded by his loving family on September 18, 2019.

Alex was born in the Peel township of Ontario, near Arthur. He attended S.S. 18 country school until grade eight and then attended Arthur High School.  He was a good student and athlete but knew he wanted to do something more. In early 1953, with $20 and a pack of smokes in his pocket, he decided to venture west with a friend by sneaking onto a boxcar of a train and hitchhiking their way to find work. Their first job was working on construction of the SWP elevator in Eyebrow. He later made his way to Eatonia and worked for a local farmer. After returning home that winter he found himself back in Eatonia the next spring. It was here that he met the love of his life, Edith Thomas, whom he married on October 26, 1955 and shared nearly 64 years of marriage. Mom and Dad went back to Ontario for that first winter but he was summoned by letter to go back to work for an Eatonia farmer the next spring. The twins Don and Ron were born a year later and the family spent the next eight years in Eatonia where Alex also worked at 3 Star Service GM Garage. It was here that his love of vehicles was fostered. They moved to Saskatoon in 1965 where he became a brand inspector with Saskatchewan Agriculture. A year later, the family moved to Elrose as he landed a job with Myers Land Cattle Co. in Hughton selling feed. Alex was recruited to work as a territory manager with Top-Line Feeds in 1972 and Dean was born the next winter. The family moved to Swift Current in the summer of 1973. Another move in 1975 meant putting down roots for good in Rosetown where he became a partner and sold vehicles and farm equipment with Epp Chev Olds. He eventually became dealer principal before selling out and moving over to Western Sales in 1983. He then ventured into the special crops business with Elders and Xcan Grain as the prairies region manager and he was proud to have played a part in promoting the growth of pulses and processing on the prairies. It wasn’t long until the appeal of car sales reeled him in again and he joined Mann Brothers in 1994. He tried to retire a couple of times but could not sit still very long! He couldn’t get away from the car business as he ended up delivering vehicles for Mainline up until the time that he was forced to go on kidney dialysis in 2015. Dad was also active in the cattle business partnering with a number of friends along the way including Bill McQueen in Bar 25 Feeders, Tony Hill with their Belgian Blues and Cecil Hunter.

He was a Wheeler Dealer, to say the least, winning many North American Grand Sales Master awards and trips with GM and John Deere. Mom could never get too attached to her vehicles as Dad would sell them quite regularly right out of her garage and possibly without telling her. One of his colleagues says he could sell ice in the arctic. Farming became a part of his life in the 80’s and he loved the spring and fall seasons. He bought and sold land much like he did with vehicles as he was always looking for a deal. He would say everything is always for sale.

Some of his favorite memories included picking up his own car off the GM assembly line in Oshawa, selling 10 vehicles at once to a local lottery winner, a season of custom combining in the US, summers at Turtle Lake, winters in Victoria, moose hunting trips, fishing trips to Besnard Lake with the Eatonia gang, CFR and NFR rodeo finals and travelling to Australia to visit Dean and Lori after Breaden was born.

He loved his family and enjoyed the many trips they took, especially those back to Ontario to visit family and friends. He always loved to follow his boys in their sporting adventures and was as excited as the kids were when it came playoff and provincial time.

Papa was especially proud of his grandkids and great-grandkids and hearing about their latest school or sports activities and he always made sure they had cookies or ice cream at nearly every meal.

Alex was a part of the Lions club in Eatonia, served on the Elrose minor sports board, was a Boy Scout leader, volunteered for Meals on Wheels and did charitable work for the Kidney Foundation.

Alex is survived by his wife Edith; sons Don, Ron and Dean (Lori); grandchildren Dawna Lee, Braeden and Rylan and great-grandchildren Leighton and Hudson. Alex also leaves behind his brother Jim (Helen) and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents John and Hazel, his in-laws Arnold and Hazel and Arnold’s second wife Eva, his brothers Ken and Don, his sisters Margaret and Elizabeth, his sister-in-law Nora, his brothers-in-law Delwyn and Peter and his daughter-in-law Carol.

At Alex’s request, there will not be a funeral. A family graveside service followed by a come-and-go tea at the Rosetown United Church will be held on Monday, October 14, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.

Donations in Alex's memory may be made to the Kidney Foundation of Canada Saskatchewan Branch, 1 - 2217 Hanselman Court, Saskatoon, SK, S7L 6A8 or the Rosetown United Church, P.O. Box 506, Rosetown, SK, S0L 2V0.