Albert Henry Block
May 31, 1945 – December 27, 2023
78 Years

Albert was born and raised on the family farm in the RM of Prairie Rose near Jansen.  His education was at the Prairie Rose and Horton School, then a short stint at Lanigan Central High School.  His stories from school life were very entertaining from being in charge of lighting the fire every morning to playing war at recess time.  Dad was more of a hands-on guy, so education wasn't his thing, so off to work he went to Saskatoon for a bit, then to the mines in the area, where one story is that they fired him but the guys kept him hidden for a week underground and kept feeding him!  Then it was off to Regina where he did some labor jobs and house construction.

He had many stories from his younger years and his adventures with Ralph, Flloyd and gang causing trouble in Leroy, Wynyard, and areas from this era.  I really wish I could have recorded a few, because some of them are legendary, but better not mentioned in this write up... most of you know a lot of them.      

In 1969 he became a dad, and shortly after we all moved to Coleman, Alberta, where he worked in the Fernie Coal Mine.  In 1971, Dwight came along and shortly after we moved back to the family farm at Jansen.  Dad farmed in Jansen and Leroy, as well as working at Crawfords in Wynyard.  He enjoyed working at the plant, coffee time I think was his favorite time - that way he could hassle the women in the coffee room and pick on Paul and George daily... way too many stories to even start bringing up.  After a number of years in the plant, he moved on to driving truck and delivering the frozen product to stores and restaurants.  He had a class 1 but no experience at the time so I remember him bringing home the truck and trailer and practicing backing up between the grain bins until he nailed it.  The delivery job was perfect for dad since he could visit with everyone and tell his stories.  I think the route should have only been maybe 5 hours but he could easily spread that to 10 or more by just visiting.  He really liked the city runs because that way he could go shopping at Princess Auto and had a trailer to haul the loot back.  His time at Crawfords, then Plains Poultry and now Lilydale was totally enjoyed. He made so many great friends there and had a great time with everyone at work or across the street at the bar after work.        

Dad was a hard worker but also liked to play hard.  Our summers were spent at Fishing Lake, where you might catch him siphoning purple gas out of the truck for the boat just to keep all us kids happy.  We loved being pulled behind the boat on the home-made tube or water skis.  He was also a bit of a pyro and all the kids would come to our campsite every night to wait for Mr. Block to light the fire, which also involved a jerry can of gas to make sure it lit up and was a good show.  He would sit at the fire until the wee hours telling stories, humming into his comb for music, and his laugh could be heard on the other side of the lake, I think.  In the wintertime, dad loved to go snowmobiling and build some monster sleds.  I remember when he widened the ski's on that Polaris the first time and tried to go through the bush trail at Briske's.  He never drove slow, so when the skis hit the trees on both sides and he landed up 50 ft in front of the sled… “well you know, f^#, maybe they shouldn't be that wide" and back to the old shop to shorten them a few inches.  He loved poker derby’s at Edgebrook and Jansen and always had a good time at them.  He also was one of Jansen Jets biggest fans and drove the hockey bus on trips when Ralph couldn't do it.  Driving the bus wasn't his favorite thing to do since he couldn't party with the team on the way back from the games.  Lots of good memories of hockey trips and dad sitting on the opposite side of the rink causing trouble that Elmer would have to use his stick to get him out of the rink.. or the bus being delayed an hour after the game while the cops sorted things out in Raymore.         

Needless to say, dad was a very colorful person and everyone that knew him enjoyed their time spent with him, and everyone has a favorite story that he told them or a memory of something he did since he was a kid at heart until the very end.  I know everyone has heard about how he put the dryer vent in the house with the shotgun, and the dog kept sticking its head in the hole.... he kept that gun for making holes.  When we got the trailer, he did the same thing to put the power in.  So if the porch is ever moved off the side you can see the buckshot in the aluminum siding on the south side.  A few years back when he was building a shed for Dwight, he used the shotgun to make the hole in the roof for the chimney as well.    

Dad also had a heart of gold and when mom passed away and her husband Steve wasn't sure what to do, dad told him to come stay with him till he figured it out. They were best friends till Steve passed a few years back and great company for each other.

Albert is remembered and going to be greatly missed by his two children, five grandchildren, and one great grandson:
Roxy and Jamie and their family: Rachel (Kevin), Cameron, and Travis (Alexis) and their son Braedan;       
Dwight & Niky (Nicte) and family Melly and Leon (Coco);

Brother: Harry (Sharon) and family;

Sisters-in-law: Eldene Block, Betty Breitkreitz, Norma Lissell, Arlene Lowen, Marilyn and Irvin Dueck, and all their families; as well as many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his brothers: Alan and Norman; and his parents Ewalt and Martha Block.  

The family would like to thank the Leroy Ambulance as well as Humboldt District Hospital for the great care they gave dad.             Memorial donations in Albert’s memory may be directed to Humboldt & District SPCA. A Celebration of Albert’s Life will be held later. Please check FACEBOOK OR MALINOSKI & DANYLUIK FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORIUM Website for details or call 306-682-1622. 

Funeral arrangements were entrusted to
Malinoski & Danyluik Funeral Home & Crematorium
Phone: 682-1622