ERNEST NEIL FRASER 

June 16, 1935 - May 16, 2022

It is with great sadness that the family announces the sudden passing of our beloved father, brother, grandfather and great-grandfather Ernest Neil Fraser at the Health Sciences Centre on Monday, May 16, 2022 at the age of 86 years. 

 

Neil is survived by his children Ken, Diane (Larry), Brian (Rose), Tom, his many grandchildren and his great grandchild along with his sister Shirley Morris (Gilbert), brother Tom and sister Janet Myers (Norman). He was predeceased by his loving wife Mabel, his son Robert, his mother-in-law Mary Kowalchuk, and his sisters Georgina and Melina (Mena) (Famulak), as well as his brothers Harold (Harley), Roderick (Roddie) Alex, and Donald.  

 

Neil was born June 16, 1935 in New Waterford, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He came from a loving but very humble background, and often played baseball with his brothers Alex, Don, and Harold in Cape Breton. He eventually came to work in the coal mines in Nova Scotia, he decided to move on and joined the military in 1953. He met his loving wife Mabel who lived on Matheson Ave. in Winnipeg and they were married in 1956, and had five children. He was in the military for twenty-six years, and when he retired he was a Master Warrant Officer. He was posted in Lahr, Germany; CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Gagetown, New Brunswick; CFB Shilo, Manitoba; and finally, to CFB Griesbach (Edmonton, Alberta).
 

Dad retired from the military in 1979 and moved to Winnipeg. He became a bus driver with Winnipeg Transit until 1999, the year that Mabel his beloved wife passed away. Dad loved ice cream and many a time, would get to the bottom of a pail or carton as he had “to even it out”. Apple pie with ice cream and chicken were his favourites.   

 

Some years after Mom’s passing, Dad met Jean Griffin, and they were loving companions to each other for many years.  

 

Dad loved to travel and got to experience delicious cuisine from his travels to Europe and to eastern Canada, including a trip to his roots in Cape Breton where he saw the house he grew up in. Dad fulfilled many of life’s pleasures, and was able to get his dream vehicle a Lexus that he took on his travels last year to Edmonton and Leduc, to see his daughter Diane and his grandchildren, his sisters Shirley and Janet, brother Tom and his sister-in-law Marge. 

 

Dad will always be a loving and kind person who went out of his way to help others.  

 

Dad we love you and miss you. 

 

You left us too soon.