George Wilson signs a copy of his book "Memoirs of an Engineer" which he finished writing when he was 103-years-old - Date/Photographer unknown.

13 February 2013

Lost One of the Really Good Ones'

Wetaskiwin Alberta - Wetaskiwin has lost a historical link to its past. George Wilson, who became a first time author last fall when he published his book "Memoirs of an Engineer" at the age of 103, died 9 Feb 2013. He was 103.
 
His funeral was held this past Monday afternoon.
 
George was an integral part of the Wetaskiwin & District Heritage Museum, according to its president and CEO Sylvia Larson.
 
"George was a valuable and reliable source of local historical knowledge for the museum as we developed our exhibits and researched various subjects and themes," wrote Larson in an email to the Times.
 
"When he was unsure of something, he would search his exhaustive scrapbooks and his diary.
 
"For someone who could vividly remember and describe the celebrations on Main Street Wetaskiwin at the end of the First World War, he was a seemingly never-ending connection to the past and constant friend and supporter that we will miss considerably," said Larson.
 
Wetaskiwin Mayor Bill Elliot echoed those sentiments.
 
"Our community has lost one of the really good ones," he told the Times.
 
"He was active right to the end," said Elliot, who recalled the inscription George wrote in his book for the throngs of fans who lined up twice this past winter to purchase the book.
 
"It said, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it at 103, said Elliot. I mean, what a great quote."
 
A life-long railroader, who was known as the oldest living steam locomotive engineer in Canada, George's book is filled with stories from the bygone era of travel.
 
His love for the railway extended beyond 22 Dec 1972, when he retired from the Canadian Pacific Railway.
 
Following the death of his wife in 1997, and with his encouragement of his son Don, George began building model trains.
 
"He began work on a particularly large model based on the terrain and tunnels around Field, B.C.," wrote Larson.
 
"It is complete with several tracks, hand cast plaster rocks, a small town, and trees made by George, himself.
 
"When he moved from his apartment, he donated the whole setup to the Heritage Museum where children and adults, alike, enjoy it to this day.
 
"He often came into the museum during special events, run the train, and chat with the visitors delighting in telling stories to the children."
 
Former Wetaskiwin mayor Dorothy French, recalled George had the ability to treat everyone he met with dignity and respect.
 
"The special quality about George was he was such a gentleman," said French, who knew George for many years.
 
"He spoke to people, and had such dignity, he was just a very special man.
 
"He was very knowledgeable about the importance of having the railroad here, and that's why the community got started in the first place," explained French.
 
At the age of 90, George was the first person to be named Wetaskiwin's Pioneer of the Year in 1999, the same year as the International Year of the Older Person.
 
A friend and fellow worker, who also became a Pioneer of the Year Award recipient, Cec Colwell, recalled the friendship that dated back to 1951 when they worked together.
 
"George was an awful fine guy, a hard working guy."
 
"I remember he came in, and all they had was a D10. He was going out on a work train, and it was colder than a well digger's nose."
 
"I had a guy in the day before that went out on the same train, and he cried and beat his gums. He said there's a 1200 in there, and I want to run that one, it has windows and doors in it. The D10, all it had was canvass for doors, and on a cold day it could be pretty cold."
 
"The difference was George got the D10, hooked up the work train, and away he went, and never said a word. George did his job and did it well."
 
"He was an excellent engineer, but he was a good friend, too."
 
Jerold LeBlanc.

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada