Obituary of Morris Theodore Thompson

Morris was born in Provost, Alberta on January 26, 1944 to Ted and Paulette Thompson. When Morris was two years old they moved to the homestead of Paulette’s uncle, and that farm was Morris’ home for most of his life. When he started school there were no buses available to come that far out of town so he lived with his grandparents, Elisa and Leo Lanson, in Provost for grade one. Then he attended Kilo School, which was about ten miles north of home, and later finished most of his schooling in Provost. He quit school in grade nine and started farming with his dad. He bought his first land in 1964 and eventually bought the farms of both sets of grandparents. It was a way of life that he enjoyed and did well at. In 1966 Morris married Sharon Early, and they were blessed with two children, Rob in 1966 and Maureen in 1968. Morris was a people person. He liked friends to come for visits and he often visited them, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning! He really enjoyed the gathering of neighbors for branding days, taking turns helping each other work with cattle. He could strike up a conversation with strangers in restaurants or campgrounds. For many years the family went on camping trips, taking in the Calgary Stampede, family reunions and other excursions. For approximately the last thirty years he and Sharon camped at the Ponoka Stampede for the week of festivities. It was the highlight of each summer for him. There he made many new friends. He was a prankster and joker, as many of his old friends can attest to. He could tell some whoppers, just to see how long it took for the story to circulate through the coffee shop. But if you watched his face closely, pretty soon his eyes would get a twinkle and you would know it was all B.S. Morris greatly enjoyed hunting, going on his first “big game” trip in 1971 with friends and coming home with 2 large bull moose between them. He hunted geese and ducks if relatives and friends came for that purpose, and made several more trips to northern Alberta for moose, but his main enjoyment was hunting deer near home. He was very proud to bag a Whitetail buck that measured 180 and 6/8 inches which was entered in the Boone and Crockett record book. He always enjoyed playing cards, almost any kind (except canasta!), and he made sure to teach his kids and grandkids to play crib. For many years friends and neighbors gathered for whist tournaments, and he and a group of friends had regular poker games throughout the winters. Although not one to demonstrate his feelings Morris loved his family. He was proud of his kids and their accomplishments. He was very happy when Rob decided to come home and take up farming, and proud of Maureen for her technical talents. Happy is an understatement when he became a Grandpa, twice! He took Cody along to ride in the tractor and he taught Megan to drive at a very young age and showed her how to spin donuts in the field. As soon as the grandkids were old enough they went along on the RV trips with Grandpa and Grandma, especially to midways. Morris and Sharon moved to Provost in 2011. He continued to help on the farm until poor health forced him to stop, after which time he still drove out to supervise. He enjoyed most afternoons and evenings with his coffee buddies at the A&W where most of the staff called him Grandpa. Morris passed away on April 21, 2022 at the Provost Health Care Centre at the age of 78 with all his family at his side. He will be forever loved and missed by his wife of 56 years, Sharon; son Rob (Karen) and their children Cody and Megan; daughter Maureen; sister Marlene (Dave) Mahoney; niece Deanna (Shane) Steptoe and their sons Blake and Brett; nephew Sean Mahoney; aunt Irene Scammell; several cousins and in-laws. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Ted and Paulette and parents-in-law Harold and Daphne Early. It was Morris’ request that there be no funeral service. In lieu of flowers, donations in Morris' memory are gratefully being accepted to: Provost Hospital Auxiliary Fund P.O. Box 126 Cadogan, Alberta T0B 0T0 Provost Cemetery Fund P.O. Box 449 Provost, Alberta T0B 3S0