Cyril Fransoo passed away peacefully with family July 16, 2017. He will forever be loved and remembered by his wife of 59 years, Madeleine Fransoo and sons Jerome (Heather), Gerard (Alison), Michael (Colais) and Gilles (Marti) and families. Funeral Service was held at St. Joseph Parish July 21, 2017 with Father Nestor Gregoire officiating along with Father Lavoie and Father Afanagide. My grandpa was born on a snowy night on February 17, 1935, and as he would have you know that is the same year that Elvis Presley was born. The story goes that his father spent that night sleeping in the back of a wagon outside of the hospital and woke up covered in 6 inches of snow. After a few days in the hospital, baby Cyril was brought back to the farm, where he would spend the next 62 years in the same yard. Over the next 15 years Cyril was joined on the farm by his 4 siblings, Nestor, Anne-Marie, Elizabeth and Joe. If my grandpa were telling the story of his birth, he would also tell you the legal land descriptions of every quarter section they passed on the way home, an ability he was very proud to display. As a young boy, my grandpa attended McMillan School. As a testament to his work ethics and sharp intellect, school came easily to Cyril. But young Cyril was also a trickster. In addition to scheming to lock out his teacher from the school and putting grasshoppers in the air intakes, he built skiis and a rope out of bail twine and would ski behind a horse and sleigh to school along with his brother Nestor. When his father learnt that he was skiing to school and tried to stop them, my grandpa would hide the skiis down the road so that he could continue on. In grade 9 his mother fell ill and Cyril stayed home to help with his younger siblings. When his mom was out of the hospital, Cyril decided that he was done with school and that he wanted to work on the farm with his dad, despite his teacher trying to persuade him continue on. Reflecting back on his decision to leave school my grandpa said that “if you are good in mathematics you’ll be fine without school, but if you’re poor in mathematics you better stay school”. Over the next number of years Cyril worked on the farm from spring to fall and worked odd jobs in the winter, including constructing the North Battleford post office and assembling John Deere Combines. One day while unloading a combine he got one of his fingers crushed, this would be one of three times in his life that he nearly lost a digit while on the job that I am aware of. Then in 1958 at a dance in Lloydminster, Cyril met his sweetheart, Madeleine Ayotte. Cyril fell head over heels for my grandma and married her on July 10, 1958. On his way to the ceremony with his brother Joe by his side, Cyril got pulled over by the police. Not having the lead foot that his boys have, I assume he was in a rush to spend the next 59 years with the love of his life. Fortunately, he didn’t get a ticket, although the officer held them for a little longer than necessary, and the wedding went off without a hitch and Cyril and Madeleine took off to spend their three-day honeymoon in Waskesiu. Over the next six decades Cyril was devoted to my grandma whom he referred to as his sweetheart. Once they were married it was time for Cyril to have his own house on the farm. His dad gave him a load of barley as a wedding gift, and being the entrepreneur that grandpa was, he used this to trade for lumber that he would use to build their first home. Over the next 9 years my grandpa and grandma would welcome 4 sons into their lives. First Jerome and Gerard, then came Michael in 1968 and a year and four days later, Gilles. Grandpa was a man who cared deeply about his family. Grandma, or Madeleine, - “his sweetheart” – was his number one teammate. The kind hearted and humble man that he was, he would always tell us that without Madeleine, he would not have achieved the things he did in life. In his precise and analytical words, he said that she deserved credit for “over 50%” of their achievements! He quipped not too long ago: he “always went to Madeleine for advice…. However sometimes he didn’t follow it…. But, that was usually a mistake!” They were a superb team, always having each other’s back right up until the day he peacefully passed. A great example of love, devotion, and commitment for us all to follow. His boys were very important to him as well. Cyril and Madeleine raised them to be hard working, entrepreneurial, kind-hearted, and well-intent. Beyond this, he mixed in much time for fun. From the early days, when the boys were young Cyril and Madeleine would travel with them through the Rocky Mountains to Vancouver Island to the later days where they spent around 10 consecutive years attending the Stampede in Calgary to the more recent years where his boys and their wives would visit him and Grandma in Yuma for some winter time sun; he mixed in a good dose of family fun in between farming! He always made sure he boys and their families were taken care of, whether it was a load of gravel for their farm, or agronomic and financial advice for their businesses or providing supporting words of wisdom and care during the many hardships life always presents. He was extremely proud of who his boys evolved to be. He was especially proud that all of his boys in-the-end continue to farm the land that he and his father first cultivated. Simply put, he was a proud father and he was always there for his boys. In fact, he was a model father. The accepting person that he was, he accepted into his family, with open arms, all of his daughter’s in-law. He too was very proud of them; he cherished them. He was very proud of the supports they provided to the farm and business through-out the years; to the dinners that they brought out to the field for those infamous tailgate suppers to the motherhood they provided to his many grandchildren while his sons were planting or harvesting the crops. On countless occasions would he comments on how lucky he was to have such great daughter in-laws who shared many values with him (work ethic, family values, kindness etc.) and on how great of mothers his daughter’s in-law were. And his daughter-in-law’s reciprocated this love and respect for Grandpa as evidenced by their constant care and support for him through-out the years, and especially through-out his times of sickness. They were there right until his last breathe along-side his boys and his sweetheart. As many of his coffee-shop, or Yuma friends, or other family members would know, he was proud of every single one of his 23 grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was very proud of their athletic achievements (to the many hockey, football, volleyball, swimming, boxing, and other sports players in the room); he was proud of the musical achievements (to the violinists, saxophone players and guitarists!); he was proud of their academic achievements (to the lawyers, business, agriculture, and health students, teachers, economists, and policy-makers), and lastly he was proud of his farmers and farmers-to-be. He was proud because it was he and his “sweethearts” influence that we so instrumental in the successes of his many grandchildren. He took pride in the opportunity that he provided to his grandchildren. He took pride in seeing his strong, respectful values shine through his grandchildren. In his own words, it was he and his sweethearts that deserves “more than 50% of the credit” … MUCH more than 50%... for the opportunities and successes that his grandchildren have had a life. To that we say, thank-you Grandpa. Beyond his immediate family, he was also a very strong and caring family man. He was proud of his whole extended family and more importantly he was proud to call them, his. He visited with them often, whether it was trips in his early days up to the “Peace River region”, or the many visits in the sun in Yuma, or the many visits locally around North Battleford and the lake, or the fun times working side-by-side and together, he loved the time he spent with you. I know this because of the many stories he shared with us; he was always positive, proud, and grateful to have the “team” he had on his side. In addition to being devoted to his family and friends, Grandpa was a lifelong businessman. His entrepreneurial spirit was on display throughout his whole life and was something that he excelled at. Grandpa began his entrepreneurial journey in a rather unique way. After getting married he bought a fridge and stove from Sears on credit. At that same time, he attempted to get money from banks to start a herd of cattle, but every bank turned his away. So Cyril loaded up the fridge and stove and headed down to Niagara Finance where he borrows against the appliances once again. This initial loan lead to Grandpa opening a dairy which he operated until 1973. Although he was not in love with cows, Grandpa was always willing to put in hard work if he saw an opportunity. At the same time Grandpa was buying farm land and growing his grain operation, which his sons continue on to this day. Grandpa was a farmer to his core and even had a license plate on the front of his Mercedez that said “born 2 farm”. One day while driving a case one way, Grandma came out to tell Grandpa that a real estate agent had called to see if Grandpa wanted to buy a ¼ just west of where ILTA Grain currently operates along highway 4. By 3 o’clock that afternoon grandpa had got a mortgage at BMO, bought the land and had the transfer executed. Today we call that a ¼ “Omillan’s”. This is just one example of Grandpa jumping on an opportunity when it presented itself. Beyond the farm, Grandpa sought to become further involved in the grain handling business. In 1979 he planted his first crop of lentils and would eventually become a special crop agent for All State Grain. Grandpa saw great opportunity in the special crop business and as it developed he decided to open a cleaning facility. In 1987 Parkland Pulse was opened and over the next 25 years the business ballooned in size within the province and around the world. When the business was solid in 2012, the Leader Post called Cyril a “pioneer in the Western Canadian special crop industry”, a very fitting description. Overall this was a chapter of Grandpa’s life that he took great pride in. randpa also passed on his entrepreneurial spirit to his children and grandchildren. Grandpa knew that there is no greater freedom than working for yourself, and this is a belief that he certainly impressed upon his sons and their children. And lastly, Grandpa was a community man, and a very social person. Beyond taking good care of his family, he saw it as his duty to make the world around their bubble a better place. Grandpa provided employment opportunities for many through his entrepreneurialism. He was a fair man who treated many of his employees just like family; he viewed their success as his success. Further to this, Grandpa was involved in a long-list of community groups throughout his days. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus; he was on many agricultural boards (for example he was the President of the Battleford Milk Producers and the Chairman of the local wheat pool committee, to name a few); he was involved in different political campaigns as a candidate and as a campaign manager; and he was a trustee for the St. Joseph Church throughout his life. Beyond being on formal committees and boards, Grandpa’s smile, kindness, and outgoing personality added to the community around him. He was well known at the local coffee shops in North Battleford and Yuma, Arizona as a frequenter. Anytime that I was with him he always smiled at people and people always invited him to sit down with them for breakfast. His smile and positivity was contagious. This will be missed by not only his family, but by his many friends in near and far away places. Grandpa was also keen on passing wisdom, often by way of saying little sayings. For example, he firmly believed that there were two types of people in this world, leaders and followers, the question being which one do you want to be? Cyril certainly chose to be a leader and engrained that into his sons and grandchildren. He would also say that to many good men rust out and don’t wear out, or that too many good men die in bed. The lesson being, don’t be lazy work hard, something that Cyril certainly portrayed. But above all, Grandpa was an advocate, an advocate for his community, for his friends and most of all for his family. Grandpa was proud of everyone in his life that he was always telling people about their accomplishments and what they were doing in their lives. IF I ever told grandpa something good that happened in my life, he always took such pride that he immediately shared it with whoever was around. What grandpa wanted more than anything was to see his sons and grandchildren be successful in whatever they were doing. And that is perhaps grandpa’s greatest legacy. The people he left behind and their accomplishments and aspirations, and the feeling of pride that he instilled in all of them. Pride in a job well done, and a life. A special thank you to Kinght of Columbus 3rd and 4th Degree Honour Guards and all who attended or sent good wishes and intentions for Cyril’s Celebration of Life service. Thank you to Trevor Watts and staff at Eternal Memories for their support and professionalism. Thank you to Dr. Reed and staff at St.Paul's Hospital (Dialysis Unit). Memorials donations can be sent to St. Paul's Hospital Dialysis Unit 16320 20th Street W, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0J5 or Canadian Cancer Society 101 - 440 Second Ave. N, Saskatoon, SK S7K 2C3.
