Obituary of Ken Dingman

Obituary Kenneth Earl Dingman April 12, 1925 - November 22, 2016 Kenneth Earl Dingman was born to Clifford and Lillian (Pass) Dingman on April 12, 1925 in Sylvan Lake, Alberta. In 1929, at the start of the Great Depression, he moved with his parents and younger brother Harvey, to the Sunrise-Baldonnel Community. Kenneth enjoyed his childhood on the family homestead and in the fall of 1931 was in first grade and one of only eight children which comprised the entire roll call of the newly opened Sunrise School. Later his brother Harvey, sister Lillian and youngest brother Terry also began their education at the little Sunrise School. During the 1940's Ken spent summers helping his dad on the farm, and like a lot of young fellows in those days, spent winters working in local Logging Camps. Soon Ken purchased land near his Dads' farm in the Sunrise area which he later sold before moving across the Beatton River. In 1952, Kenneth set up his homestead in East Cecil Lake, colourfully referred to by the Community as "Dogpatch." This is where Ken made many lifelong friends, enjoying farm life and his hobby of working with bobsled horses. After Kens' father passed away, his mother enjoyed spending wonderful summers at Ken's place, picking berries, making delicious home cooked meals. Mrs. Dingmans' pies and cakes were legendary to next door friends and neighbours and contributed to Ken's nickname of "Skinny" to all those closest to him. Ken loved the outdoors and in later years enjoyed summer road trips in his motor home, spending time travelling to Southern Alberta and North to the Yukon. Another hobby in his Golden years was collecting John Deere miniatures and vintage Memorabilia, which grew over the years to be an interesting and vast home museum. In 2005 he gifted his John Deere Collection to the Fort St John Museum. Skinny's coffee pot was always on, with Bailey's Irish Cream in the cupboard, the "good stuff" he would chuckle as he set it on the table. He loved to "string a yarn", share old stories and tell a good joke... he was fair game, often taking a good poke at himself followed by hearty laughter at his own expense. In 2006, and now in his eighties, with some trepidation, Ken made the move from East Cecil Lake , first to the Elks' Sunset Home, and then to the newly opened Peace Villa Care Home. Once there, his spirit proved resilient and he cheerily told everyone how much he enjoyed his retirement there and he was appreciative of the wonderful care he received from everyone. For the past 10 years, since moving to town, Skinny always looked forward to his John Deere themed ice cream birthday cakes, personalized and delivered by the great girls at the FSJ Dairy Queen. He celebrated with friends at the Peace Villa , and got a kick out of seeing the slogan on the cake "Nothing runs like a deere", with his friends saying that was coined for him as Ken kept going despite all odds. The family would like to extend a Very Special Thanks to his kind friend Lyle Meek, who tirelessly visited Ken many days a week, taking him on excursions, coffee outings, and keeping his spirits up as his sight and mobility started failing him. Yet right to the end, Ken's humour was intact and he never failed to "keep on the sunny side." Ken was a colourful character and that's what we will remember, and there will never be another exactly like him. Ken was predeceased by his father Clifford (1972) his mother Lillian (1989), and brothers Harvey (1984) and Terry (2003.) He is survived by sister Lillian(Dingman) Huk of Leduc, Alberta, and numerous nephews and nieces, their grandchildren and great grandchildren. As Ken wished , there will be a Cremation with interment to follow at the Cecil Lake Cemetery . A Celebration of Kens' Life was held on Saturday, December the 3rd at 2:00 pm., at the Cecil Lake Christian Fellowship Church. In lieu of flowers, donations gratefully accepted and directed to the Ft. St. John Hospital Foundation Peace Villa Fund. Cemetery Details Cecil Lake Cemetery Cecil Lake, BC, Celebration of Life DEC 3. 02:00 PM Cecil Lake Christian Fellowship Cecil Lake, BC, CA, V0C 1G0 Services