Mr. Neil Blackett of Rockhaven, SK passed away on Monday, August 15, 2016 at the age of 83 years. Neil William Blackett was born January 7th, 1933 in Wilkie. He was born to Bill and Nellie Blackett. Neil had one older brother, Howard. Howard passed away at the age of nine. Neil attended Swathmore School until Grade 8. Neil used to tell the tongue in cheek stories of walking to school uphill both ways. He talked of either walking or taking the horse to school for the four and half mile journey. He often shared stories of how the older boys would take turns going to the school early in the morning to light the fire. Once he was done Grade 8 he began his farming career. On the Blackett farm you would find cattle, sheep, chickens and everything else you would expect to see. In his later life, Neil was not a fan of anything associated with sheep meat, as they sold the best product and kept the not so good meat for themselves. Needless to say, mutton was frequently served at their table. In February 1964, Grace LeBlanc nee Bohse was in the hospital for prenatal care at the Notre Dame Hospital in North Battleford. An English nurse named Anne caught her attention when Grace saw the nurse’s last name, “Blackett” on her name badge. Grace started to ask this nurse questions as her mother, Flora Bohse, was a Blackett as well. Eventually this English nurse gave in to an invite to go to the Bohse farm to meet Flora. The nurse was hesitant about going on her own so she convinced her travel companion, friend and co-worker, who happened also to be named Anne, to go with her to meet Flora and her family. After meeting and comparing genealogy it was determined that there was no relation between the Blackett women. The two Annes were from England and they had planned to only stay in Canada for a year and then move on to New Zealand. Then they met two cousins, Neil Blackett, Flora’s nephew and Shurman Bohse, Flora’s son. They both fell in love and got married. Anne and Neil were married June 26th, 1965. In 1997, the two Annes made it to New Zealand with Neil as their travel mate, but only for a visit. Throughout the years Neil and Anne did their share of travelling, returning a couple more times to New Zealand. Neil would laugh as he talked about his brother-in-law, Dave and his crazy driving habits while visiting in New Zealand. They liked to visit casinos in the states and you were sure to hear about the ones in “Nevader”. Anne shared stories of how Neil would never ask for directions. They would spend hours driving around lost. Anne would tell Neil to ask for directions but he would never do that, so she would get mad and tell him to stop the car. She would get out and ask the first person she saw how to get to where they were going. She would get back in the car and tell him where to go and they would be on their way in the right direction. Neil farmed with his dad and they shared a yard. Neil shared stories of how his dad could be quite stubborn when it came to making changes and advancements on the farm. He told how he would have to methodically convince Bill that the idea was Bill’s to begin with before the change would happen. Once Bill passed on, Neil found that he required hired hands to help on the farm. Some came and went but others became more frequent and also became very good friends. Since Neil was unable to have children of his own, he always imagined finding a young man that he could help start up farming on his own; someone he could eventually pass the farm down to. In 1993, Lonnie Alm started to work for Neil in the fall. Neil must have found the right man for the job as in 1994, Lonnie started to rent land from Neil. This eventually grew into a partnership. In 2000, Anne and Neil purchased a house in Battleford. It was intended that Anne and Neil would move to town and Lonnie, Marianne and the boys would move to the farm. Well, Neil just couldn’t see himself living off the farm and the move to town never happened. The following year, Lonnie and Marianne built a home in the same yard as Neil and Anne. The boys, Brendan and Lance were a welcome addition to a farm that hadn’t had children living there since Neil was a boy. Brendan recalls going with Papa to town for coffee at the Pioneer elevator. The old dodge never went over 30kms. Papa would say, “Well, we can’t get back home too early or we will have to do some work then.” Neil cherished his time with the boys and watching the boys grow. He taught the boys the most useful tool was a hammer as a hammer could fix anything and if a hammer couldn’t fix it, get the duct tape! There were a lot of “good used” parts in the shop. When they replaced a part on a piece of equipment, the old part was always saved and placed in a box marked as “good used”. He never threw anything away as you never know when you might need it. Lance told a story of how one day, Brendan, Papa and he were riding in the truck. Papa had the radio set to the country station. Lance flipped it to a station playing modern pop music. Papa flipped it back to country. Lance flipped it back to pop. This went on for some time until Papa finally relented, turned his hat sideways and started busting a move to the song Dynamite. Neil was a creature of habit. From taking a nap every day on the floor after lunch, to going into town every Thursday to do the same run; Anne hairdo, groceries, lunch at the co-op with Anne Bohse and maybe take in some casino play before heading home. 2010 was a bit of a rough year. Anne was dealing with some health problems and needed to be close to town. Neil then had his first major heart attack that winter. The need to be in town was stronger at this point as Neil was not able to drive. They had stayed with Stephen and Melissa for a short time and eventually a house came up for sale on 19th street. This was ideal as Stephen and Melissa’s home was about the same distance as Lonnie and Marianne’s home was on the farm. The Bohse boys gained a customer for lawn care and they all took turns cutting the grass, cleaning the eaves and helping where they could. Melissa became very close to Neil and Anne. She spent a lot of time with them travelling to Saskatoon for appointments and cherished this time and always will. She took pride when Neil would say she was a good driver! When Melissa was unable to drive Neil to Saskatoon, Lionel was always prepared to step in and get him to his appointments. Neil was always very appreciative of anyone who was able to give him a hand when he needed it! Once Neil was able to drive again, he began commuting back and forth to the farm a few times a week, staying overnight for a night or two. He eventually started joining the coffee row crew. He quickly made it part of his daily routine, meeting the other retirees at the coffee shop. If only these men could run the world, as I am sure they would have solved every world problem! He was again a creature of habit. Lots of times he knew what was happening with Stephen at work before he could tell him because he heard it on coffee row. Most winter months, on the weekends after he had his coffee meeting, he would stop at Stephen and Melissa’s on his way home and would visit with Stephen in the shop. Sometimes for a few hours, discussing the week’s events or talking about old tractors and such. Neil settled into town life well but didn’t care to admit it. This was evident when his trips to the farm became less frequent. This will be the first harvest Neil missed since he was 15 years old. In 2012, Neil had lady luck on his side and it wasn’t at the casino. He was in Wilkie watching Lance’s hockey game when he suddenly fell over. He had suffered a massive heart attack and was technically dead. All the right people were there. A registered nurse, an EMT and an ambulance driver and because most hockey rinks are now equipped with portable defibrillators, Neil’s life was saved. Not only was Neil a farmer and traveller, he was a curler, hunter and collector (of many things) but nothing gave him greater joy than watching the boys play hockey. He was their biggest fan. If Neil had not been in Wilkie that night and would have been anywhere else, he would not have survived. Because of this, we have requested that memorial donations be made to The Wilkie Community Centre. Neil was also a dog lover. He often shared stories about their dog Tammy. He talked about the things she did and how smart she was. He often talked about how later in her life they were giving her a heart pill a day. Whenever he visited the Bohse home you were guaranteed to see one dog on his lap and asking the other if she was jealous. Neil was always a calm man and never seemed to get excited about anything. You were always guaranteed to get a laugh out of him. He wasn’t just a farmer. He was a husband, father figure, Papa, cousin and friend. It is clear that Neil was a smart man who loved life. One day this spring, when he stopped by Stephen and Melissa’s, Melissa was using all her might to start the lawn mower. He stepped up and they tried everything. Nothing would work. When they finally gave up, she said Stephen will most likely come home and start it right up, to which he replied, “But, at least we tried.” He was so right! Another cherished memory. Until we meet again Neil, we will miss you and hold onto you in our hearts forever. It was an honour knowing you!
This was sent from Sue Southwell nee Blackett, Neil’s sister-in-law from England:
I first heard about my wonderful future brother-in-law in 1965 when he married my dear sister Anne. Although we did not meet until 1994 I always felt I knew him and we had regular conversations on the telephone. In 1994 he very bravely, but happily, drove the three Blackett sisters all the way to Vancouver Island and back. On the journey he introduced us to other members of his family who lived in and around Vernon in the wonderful Okanagan Valley. It was during this visit I realised Anne had chosen a husband in a million. After this visit he developed a friendship with our other brother-in-law, Dave, from New Zealand. Anne and Neil spent several holidays with Dave and Freda in New Zealand. During these visits he had to develop new driving skills with having to drive on the left hand side of the road. My husband, Josh, did not meet Neil until 1998 when we made our first joint visit to Canada in 1998 when we travelled west again to Vernon. We, of course, visited lots of interesting countryside and he introduced us to the early history of Canada and we really enjoyed visiting the many museums and heritage sites, and hearing interesting tales from Neil and his relatives in Vernon. But the best museum of all was Neil’s farm with its wealth on interesting farm machinery going back over several decades. We repeated our visit in 2007 and again travelled west but with some differences this time including a few days in the Cypress Hills, which was one of the places Anne wanted to visit again. Our last visit was fortunately last year, which coincided with Neil and Anne’s 50th Wedding Anniversary. It was also the time when we discovered more about Neil’s mother and father and their origins in England. It was a big surprise that just before Neil’s mother left for Canada she lived and worked in a village just to north of where we live, only five miles away. And there were many photos of her and the house where she lived in Great Smeaton, so that we will be able to find it someday. We both felt privileged to have known Neil. He was one of the kindest, gentlest and thoughtful people we have known. We will miss chatting to him on the telephone but we will treasure the times we have spent with him and the memories we have of him, especially from last year. Thanks Neil for being the best brother-in-law we could have wished for. You will not be forgotten.
The following was contributed by Jean Bohse Cooper, Neil's Goddaughter:
Anne and Neil have always been a presence in our family’s life growing up. They would come over for all special occasions, especially Christmas and often for no particular reason at all, for just a visit. He would sit down and play a board game with us and I clearly remember him being quite competitive with the game Ants in the Pants. Neil was always full of kind words and definitely adhered to the rule of: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. Hmmm, maybe that’s why he was always so quiet around me as I got older! But I digress… Because I have lived in the USA for the last 20 years, we have not seen each other as frequently as many of you. On two occasions, my husband Nicholas and I met up with Anne and Neil in Yuma, Arizona and Palm Springs, California. It was so nice to see them, to see family. I know they really enjoyed that break from the cold winter and feeding their always hungry travel bug! We would have a long Christmastime phone call every year to catch up on all the news. I appreciated our talks and visits more than they will ever know. I love hearing all these wonderful stories of the life Neil painted while he was here. He left a lasting impression on all of us. He knew full well that our time here is very short and that we should all live it without regret, making the most of every opportunity. We are all better people for knowing him.
The funeral service took place on Monday, August 22, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at the Battleford United Church, Battleford, SK with Reverend Janice Trost officiating. Interment followed at 4:00 p.m. in the Rockhaven Cemetery, Rockhaven, SK. Memorial donations in memory of Mr. Neil Blackett may be made to the Town of Wilkie for the Wilkie Community Centre, Box 580, Wilkie, SK S0K 4W0. Condolences for the family may be left at www.eternalmemoriesfuneral.ca. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Nicole Welford of Eternal Memories Funeral Service and Crematorium.
