Born: May 13, 1924, Wishart, Saskatchewan - Passed away: May 15, 2022, Okotoks, Alberta; aged 98 years.
Andrew is survived by his wife of 70 years,
Anne, sons, Edward (Debbie) and John (Reina),
five grandchildren: Stephanie, Michael, Sean,
Jana, Paul and great-grandsons, Luiciano and
Tristan.
He was pre-deceased by his parents, seven
brothers and four sisters, four nephews and
granddaughter Amy.
His talents and interests were eclectic,
intertwined with a 40+ year career in the Alberta
and International oilpatch, which saw him rise
from ‘roughneck’ to ‘Operations Vice President’
with duties in Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, the
Arctic, Algeria, Iran, South Africa, the USA and
Japan. He worked for Brinkerhoff Drilling and
Loffland Brothers Drilling, however the vast
majority of his career was with Westburne
Drilling (and it’s earlier incarnation, General
Petroleums Drilling (GP)). He was recently
honoured with a ‘Seven Decade Old Timer’
ribbon by the Calgary Oilfield Technical Society.
He was a seaman (WW 2 veteran), a rigger and
an executive. He was an ‘A-1’ checkers player,
an ‘A-1’ cribbage player and a whiz at Sudoko.
He was a skilled woodworker and seemed to
excel at anything he put his mind to. He was
a carpenter, welder, luthier (started at age 80),
musician, blacksmith, tinkerer, beer-can salt
and pepper shaker maker, clockmaker as well
as a formidable poolshark. He built sets and
props for 15 Dewdney Players productions,
including an 8 x 32-foot stage extension. His
vast talents extended to almost everything –
except stock market trading!
A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:30 pm
on Sunday, May 22, at the Snodgrass Funeral
Home at 200 Woodgate Road, Okotoks.
