Donald Francis Pander of Olds, AB passed away on Saturday October 3, 2020 at the age of 77. He is lovingly remembered by his wife, Shirley, his 3 daughters, Michelle of Saskatoon, Brenda (Stacey) Bleile of Rockyview, and Jeanette (Maury) Jackson of Kindersley, seven grandchildren, his brothers George, Wayne, and Gerald, and his sisters Margret (Leroy) Seeley, Anne (Doug) Silversides, and Gloria (Robert) Doucette. He is predeceased by his parents and two sister-in-laws Carol (Wayne) and Lorna (George).
Don was born in Regina, SK to Frank and Lily Pander and was the third of seven children. He was raised on the family farm southeast of Glenavon. Don learned to play hockey on a pond with cousins and neighbours and went on to play with the Glenavon Pipers in their glory years (1960-1965). The Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame inducted all players of his team.
He married Shirley in 1967 and in the 1970s three children joined the family. After 30 years working as an instrumentation technician with Dome/Amoco at Empress then the Kerrobert station he happily retired at the age of 55. Don and Shirley spent 13 years camping and travelling and then settled in Olds in 2011. In the next 22 years he devoted himself to his family helping his daughters, grandchildren, and son-in-laws with many projects such as deck building, renovations, electrical work, furniture building and farming. He spent the summers gardening and winters curling, reading, watching football and building puzzles.
Due to Covid restrictions, a Private Family Service for Don was held at Heartland Funeral Chapel on Saturday, October 10 at 2:00pm. The family would like to thank the Olds ambulance, paramedics and fire crew for their care. In lieu of flowers, donations in Don's memory may be made to the Olds Curling Club via etransfer to [email protected] with message box reading in memory of Don Pander. Condolences may be made to www.heartlandfuneralservices.com
