Obituary of Victor Wheat

Obituary Victor Wheat was born March 29, 1943 in Tixall, Staffordshire, England to Charles and Edith Wheat. He was the sixth son and youngest of their eight children. Though life during WWII was difficult for large families like theirs, the Wheat children grew up on a large estate where Dad was a farm worker and Mom was a master at making ends meet. Life for this rambunctious bunch was filled with misadventures in the woods, and abandoned stately buildings. Vic's love of the outdoors, mischievousness, sense of fun and ready laugh were rooted in his early life in England.At the age of 15 Vic became an apprentice to a local bricklayer. Later he went to college to obtain his "City and Guilds" certification as a qualified bricklayer and stone mason. It was here that he was awarded the "Silver Trowel" as top student.Vic and Mary were married in the UK and came to Canada in 1971, traveling by ship and train to Fort St. John. Their three children; Becky, Rachel and Tyler were born in the Fort St. John hospital.Vic's first job in FSJ was a building project in the Matthew's Park area, where he tackled installing curbs and gutters. His main responsibility was the corners as no one else could calculate the angles. Pipelining became Vic's second career in the early 1980's out of necessity when masonry work was not available in the winter. Guys that worked with him appreciated that he was easy going, good humored and that he ran a good crew - as long as you didn't make the same mistake twice and were always on time. Vic's intolerance for tardiness is a thread that ran through his life, whether he was giving kids a ride to hockey practice or picking up people for work.In 1974 Vic joined the Lion's Club and so began 20+ years of service and happy times for the "Member from Fish Creek". Vic held many positions in the Lion's Club and was an active participant in the outhouse races, the Fall Fair and Jam-Can curling. Vic was honored to receive the Melvin Jones award which is the highest level award that can be given by your peers.Vic loved any outdoor activity, especially working in his veggie garden. He spent many hours relaxing with the dirt, tackling the slugs with a salt shaker and mowing the lumps out of the unlandscaped yard. His love for the outdoors took him on several camping misadventures, a 3 week trip down the Coppermine River in 1982, and a fishing trip to the Queen Charlotte's in 2006. Some other adventures included parasailing, body surfing, roller coaster and many other well enjoyed activities.Despite his small size Vic lived life large, loved his family and respected his friends. He has left a legacy of fine brickwork and stonework throughout the city of FSJ and the homes within it. His legacy will forever live on in the hearts of the ones he loved. Services