Alex Manchur died peacefully at the age of 90 in Kelvindel Lodge, Kelvington, Saskatchewan on Saturday, February 21, 2015. He was born on a farm on February 23,1924 east of Gilbert Plains, Manitoba. His parents then moved to the Watson area in 1927 where they purchased a quarter of land. He learned to milk when he was 7 years old. As a child he woke at 7 am, ate oatmeal and drank some milk, helped to milk a few cows, turned the milk separator, fed the skim milk to the pigs, herded the cows on the road allowance until 8:40 then walked 3/4 miles to Green Meadow School. Alex quit school at age 15 because he wanted to farm and enjoyed ploughing with horses. He described himself as a farmer and jack of all trades. He grew malting barley and bountiful wheat crops on his farm near Daphne, Saskatchewan. He repaired and serviced his own machinery, learned to weld and constructed cabs for his combine and tractor. He also fabricated a grain dryer and field sprayer. For several winters he worked at Boyko's Lumber Yard in Watson where he built kitchen cabinets, installed furnaces and sharpened saws. Though he only had a grade eight education he could add long figures in his head and kept meticulous farm books, documented transactions and kept lists of births and anniversaries.He was so organized he even attempted to write his own obituary a few years ago. As a young man Alex bought a fiddle for $5.00 and taught himself to play Ukrainian and country tunes. One of his favorite tunes was the Orange Blossom Special. He said music was his medicine. He credited his brother Nick as being the better singer. Alex related an incident when he was just a kid. A boy insisted on giving Alex a dime because he wanted to be Alex's friend. Alex said he wished he never accepted the dime and regretted it all his life. He bought his very first car in 1945 in Toronto and passed his driver's test there. Alex had a very soft heart. He loved his "Bossy" , the matriarch of his small herd of cattle. At milking time he would call her and she responded obediently. One evening Alex was in a hurry and shouted, "Will you hurry up!" Old Bossy picked up the pace and ran. Alex was never a hunter but just for fun he pointed his finger at two geese flying overhead and said," Bang, bang! "Both geese dropped at the same instant. They had flown into a power line. Judy remembers him rescuing a tiny bush rabbit when he was cultivating. In 1967 Alex constructed a new house for himself and Hazel. Once he retired from the farm in 1986 they were able to vacation together in the USA, western Canada and Hawaii. Alex loved golfing. At age 89, though he could no longer swing a club, he drove the golf cart and pulled the flags for Judy. When asked by his grandson for some sage advice he simply said " Be honest." Not only was he an example of honesty he was extremely generous to those he loved. Alex was predeceased by his wife Hazel ( Badduke ) of 52 years, his parents Lukie Manchur and Anne ( Hyshka ), 5 siblings Metro, Mary, Rose, Nick and Helen and his dear companion Anne Stinka. Remembering him are his daughter Judy Wytrykusz ( Lorne ) of Kelvington and son Wayne Manchur( Lois ) of Prince Albert. Grampa Alex was dearly loved by his 8 grandchildren, their spouses and 9 great grandchildren.