Obituary of Delmar "Del" Haggerty

Delmar LeRoy Haggerty of Camrose, Alberta, formerly of New Norway, passed away on Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at the age of 95 years. Delmar was born August 13, 1921, the 10th of 13 children of John and Mary Haggerty. He was predeceased by both his loving wives Irene and Suzanne. Del intermittently attended Matlock one room school until grade 8 when he was obligated to quit school and work full time on the family farm. He subsequently, if not happily farmed for almost 50 years in the Duhamel district just west of the Aberhart highway. Del was a very family oriented man, and took great pride in his children, and their numerous offspring. In 1941 he married Irene Trautman who was teaching at Matlock one room school. They had four children (Dale, Kenneth, Gordon, and Betty Anne) which they raised on the ½ section family farm. Irene died of surgery complications in 1961, and Del married Suzanne Noonan (nee Francouer) in 1963. Susanne was a widowed town girl, but gamely made the transition to the farm with her children (Jackie, Tim, Jane, Kathy and Maureen). They had two children (Cheryl and John) who also grew up on the farm. All of Del's children had the benefits of a family farm work environment. Tellingly, none of Del's children chose the farm life for a career. When Del retired from farming he and Suzanne traveled widely including trips south in the winter for several years, Hawaii and Europe as well as much of Canada. Del enjoyed a number of hobbies. He was an avid fisherman, both summer and winter, and his home-made smoker produced some unbeatable salmon. He enjoyed woodworking, and after moving to a home in Camrose set up a complete woodworking shop and produced an entire herd of rocking horses. Del started golfing when he was over 60 and became reasonably proficient with a unique trademark reverse weight shift. He was a talented harmonica player with a remarkable repertoire that was marveled at by other musicians. Del is survived by his ten children, John (Stacey) Haggerty of Leduc, Bettyann (Jory) Spinks of Leduc, Dale (Audrey) Haggerty of Warburg, Ken (Eeva) Haggerty of Toronto, Cheryl (Rod) Smith of Edmonton, Kathy Meyer of Camrose, Maureen (Dale) Lien of Edmonton, Jane Bell of Beaumont, Jackie (Louis) Mclean of Hinton, Tim (Corolla) Noonan of Edmonton; daughter-in-law Mary Ellen Haggerty; 33 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren, and sister Helen Williams of Edmonton. Del was predeceased by his first wife Irene, his second wife Suzanne, son Gordon, and grandson Peter. A Prayer Vigil was held on Sunday, October 16, 2016 at 7:00 pm from the Burgar Memorial Chapel. A Mass of Christian Burial was be held on Monday, October 17, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. from St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church. Interment will take place in the Camrose Cemetery. Memorial contributions are gratefully accepted to the charity of one's choice.