MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - About 1,400 people of all ages attended a memorial service for renowned cowboy poet Bryn Thiessen at the Hillock Arena southwest of Sundre on Saturday afternoon.
A longtime Sundre-area resident, Thiessen passed away Jan. 16 at the age of 63. He was known throughout Canada and the U.S. for his humorous and insightful poetry depicting ranch and farm life.
Ben Crane, a longtime colleague of Thiessen, said his friend will be warmly and fondly remembered by many, many people.
“He always valued people,” said Crane, who addressed the crowd and performed several musical numbers during the service. “I knew him for more than 40 years and he always valued people. We travelled together and shared many stages. He was a very close friend and a very good friend.
“We know that we are going to visit with him again and think of the stories we will tell.”
As well as being a cowboy poet, Thiessen was an author, preacher, pastor, teacher, columnist, speaker, rancher and horse-trainer. He was also a devoted Christian and a pastor of the Cowboy Trail Church in Cochrane.
Ceremony MC and Bergen Church pastor Rob Holland called Thiessen a well-loved and fondly remembered person.
“There were many areas where impacted people in their lives,” said Holland. “He was a dear friend to many of us. We got to witness the investment Bryn had in our community, in family and around the world.
“Everyone of you here has a Bryn story so let’s take a moment to share those with one another. Heavenly Father we thank you for the lives he touched, what he did for many.”
John Watton, a family friend and relative, gave the eulogy during the service.
“Bryn will be missed,” Watton said. “With his passing on January 16 to be with his Lord and Savior, there’s a big hole in the unfolding tapestry of Western Canada. His absence is felt by anyone who met him. He was one who remembered people and uplifted people.
“He was one who never quit a task, who thrived on adventure, and whose spirit is too big to fit any sort of category.
“He was one who dwelt upon this earth to simply give himself away and who perhaps can only be explained in one way: Bryn is, well, Bryn.”
Family members, including Thiessen’s father Clancy, also spoke during the service.
“As a father you don’t normally plan to give a tribute to your own son, but I am privileged that I can do it,” said Clancy, who shared several stories of Bryn’s younger days.
Members of the Cowboy Trail Church, as well as other musicians, performed during the service.
Wes Cummings was one of the hundreds of local people who attended Saturday’s memorial service.
“Bryn certainly left his mark on everybody,” said Cummings, who knew Thiessen for many years.
A brochure handed out at Saturday’s memorial service included a portion of Thiessen’s poem Down at the Creek, which reads: “So we can meet at the creek, waiting there at the Master’s feet, for the water and the shore are but one open door to the One that we seek. Jesus waits at the creek.”
- RELATED: Bryn Thiessen obituary
