John was born in 1921.[1] His parents were George Alfred Odgers and Marie Ann (Poitras) Odgers. He married Elizabeth (Spenst) Odgers. He passed away in 2022.
John moved to Cold Lake, Alberta in about 1960. He got a job working for the town as a form layer putting in the first sidewalks. He then was employed till retirement with DND, where he worked as a carpenter for the CE (Constrution Engineering) section at 4 Wing Cold Lake.
He met his wife Elizabeth Spenst[2] in Cold Lake, Alberta while she was working in the Five Star Restaurant in 1963. He married her in 1965. He built a house on the outskirts of Cold Lake beside Elizabeth’s parents. He stayed there for a few years, before moving into town. After his wife passed, he moved back to his hometown, Cochin, Saskatchewan, where he built a cabin across from Murray Lake. He always loved to live amongst the trees and in the wilderness.
His passion was the Lord, fishing and camping. He was always one for a story of the good old days, how life was, the things he’d seen and done, and the places he lived. Sometimes you were left wondering if some were actually true. He was full of life and smiles; always joking and poking fun. He said he enjoyed the dirty thirties, maybe because he was young, but he said it was always good times. His stories included where he grew up in Cochin and his first car, which was a Chevrolet Coup with the wooden wheels; his first house, and of course how he had to walk two miles though the heavy snow to get to school and back. Everyone he chatted with got a story or two of the good old days, and those stories now will live on in our hearts and memories of him.
Reminiscing the Army Days
In 1946 after being in the army for approximately seven months, John received a letter for his medical discharge and he decided to take it even though he didn’t have the medical issue stated. After he was out, the army found it was a mistake offered him to rejoin at an officer level but John declined. The mistaken discharge was for his bother Joseph Odgers.
After John was discharged he made his way from Vernon to Edmonton, Alberta and then to North Battleford, Saskatchewan. He was dressed in his Sunday best army uniform which didn’t offer much protection from the very cold weather of North Battleford. After reaching North Battleford, he had to walk home to Cochin, which was about a half day walk in winter weather.
John Odgers with parents in the 1926 census record of Saskatchewan, Canada.[4]
John Odgers was interred at the North Battleford Municipal Cemetery, North Battleford, North Battleford Census Division, Saskatchewan, Canada.[5]
Notable Ancestors
Ancestors of Royalty
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