ARTHUR (ARTIE) HENRY MASON

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ARTHUR (ARTIE) HENRY MASON August 6, 1914 February 16, 2008 With sadness in our hearts, we bade farewell to Artie on Saturday, February 16, 2008, at Calvary Place Personal Care Home at the age of 93 years. He has been reunited with his parents, Art and Bertha, brother Norman (Annie), sister Edna Mackie (Harold), sister-in-law Ann Mason and brother-in-law Ian Watt. Remaining to forever cherish Artie's memory are his sister Gladys Watt (Len Cann); brother Phil Second World War veteran; numerous nieces and nephews; as well as great and great-great nieces and nephews and friends. Uncle Artie was raised on the family homestead in the Mulvihill area and farmed there until 1956 when his parents sold the family farm. Upon leaving the farm, he and his parents moved to Winnipeg where they resided with Gladys and Ian. Artie worked on highway construction, was breakfast chef on the CNR passenger train that travelled from coast to coast and then Canada Post from which he retired in 1979. Sports were a favourite past time for Uncle Artie. He was a season ticket holder of the Winnipeg Jets from beginning to end. Before the Jets, he was a supporter of the Winnipeg Junior Jets and even did road trips to Flin Flon and Estevan to cheer them on. Artie was a fan of the Blue Jays and the Gold Eyes and as a young boy played baseball. He was an excellent catcher and this excellence earned him a spot playing with the men's baseball team throughout the Interlake. He also enjoyed watching the curling games. Artie enjoyed playing cribbage and entered many crib tournaments. He was the holder of a perfect cribbage hand, which is a score of 29. He enjoyed fishing and bowling and acquired some rewards for these sporting events. Artie's true passion was his violin. He purchased his first violin by way of trading a pony for the violin from the late Jim Bruce. At the age of 10, he was playing music at the Friday night school dances. At family gatherings, Uncle Artie could be found with a group around him and he would entertain them with his music. Uncle Artie played Happy Birthday and some other tunes at his brother Phil's 90th birthday in October 2007. He has been known to play his violin at gatherings with his fellow lodging companions at Lions Manor, Beacon Hill Lodge and Calvary Place. The piece of music that was his favourite to play was Over the Waves by Andy Dejarlis. A Celebration of Artie's life will be held on Wednesday, February 27 at 11:00 a.m. in the Westwood Community Church, 401 Westwood Dr. We want to extend our sincere thanks to ALL the staff at Calvary Place PCH. Words cannot describe the care and compassion the staff had for Uncle Artie during his stay with them. This compassion was even more noticeable during the last weeks of his failing health. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Artie's memory to Calvary Place Personal Care Home, 1325 Erin St., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3R6 or the charity of one's choice.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 23, 2008