CHARLES E. RUSSELL (RUSTY) MCLAUGHLIN

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CHARLES E. RUSSELL (RUSTY) MCLAUGHLIN Our irreplaceable husband, father, brother, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, great-uncle Rusty passed away at 8:15 a.m., September 27, 2007 at the age of 81 years, 8 months, 24 days after a courageous, exhausting eight year struggle with Emphysema. He was predeceased by his parents, Jack and Regina McLaughlin; his sisters, Evelyn, Margaret and Ruth; niece Nicole, nephew Phillip, great-niece Jennifer; In-laws, Marie-Ange and Louis Hebert; brothers-in-law, Jimmy, Cliff, Ron, Alex, and Johnny. He is survived by his life partner and wife Pamela Mela (nee Hebert); sons, Wayne, Shawn (Sharon), Kerry (Phyllis) and daughter Sharleen Sam (Gerry); grandchildren, Clayton, Jordan, Leigh-Ann (Tyson), Tanner, Amanda (Matt), Kody, Brittney and Tyler; twin great-granddaughters, Olivia and Kennedy; siblings, Gladys (Donald), Edith, Audrey, Bruce, Norma (Rudy), Gerald (Jeannette), Donald, Irma (Jack) and Gordon (Pat); brother-in-law Jule, sisters-in-law, Lorraine, Irma and Teri; numerous nieces and nephews, many of whom were so very close and special to him, and you do know who you are. Rusty was born on January 3, 1926, in McCreary, MB. Being the oldest boy, meant many responsibilities were thrust upon him at a young age growing up in a family of 13 children in the Depression. Unfortunately, he was never allowed to be just a little boy, have a Christmas or a birthday celebration and as a result when he grew up he was never comfortable with those types of celebrations. People often mistook it for indifference' but it was never that. He learned to shoot a rifle when he was 10 by watching his own Dad. He had his own trap-line at a very young age and gave his Mom the majority of the money he made selling his pelts, thrashing, cutting wood or any other odd job he could muster up. Signed up for the army at 15, got busted and discharged for being underage, then reenlisted again and went overseas with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. He landed in England, then saw action in France, Belgium and Holland and eventually crossed the Rhine to see action in Germany as well. He began work with the CNR in Transcona in 1948, first as a labourer, then a burner and finally became a Welder by trade. Rusty married Mela on May 22, 1948. Most times he juggled three jobs to support his family. The most interesting one of course was taking book. One of his greatest enjoyments was deer hunting, but it was not entirely for pleasure. Any animal that was shot was eaten in our home and supplemented our food supply for the year. Due to ill health he retired in 1980 and became the family go-to-guy. You could tell him anything or just bounce an idea off him and get his honest gut reaction. We have lost our partner, our daddy, our joy, our pop, our storyteller, our political cynic, our does word searches with a ruler , our calls Grandma boss and human vice , our 8 pillows for one person , our toots and blames it on anyone nearby , our chocolate bar giver, our dog re-namer, our unborn baby gender guesser , our hairstyle critic, our frank-truth teller, our wire-stripper, our tin can finder and crusher, our team leader, our room at the end of the hall, our lovely guy, our sports aficionado, our advice giver (when asked), our pony player to name but a few. We would like to thank Drs. Marsh and Pilat and the wonderful staff on N3 East at Concordia for all the kindness and compassion that they displayed towards our' Rusty. Lastly we cannot thank Denny James, great-nephew, enough for tending to all the final arrangements. Words cannot express the amount of compassion he displayed towards our family in our time of need and sorrow. He truly exemplifies the word family'. Thank you so much Denny. We think of our Dad as a down to earth guy, Just plain like the sea, the wind and the sky, We think and we know he has gone from our side, But we think of our Dad with the utmost pride. In lieu of flowers, if desired, a donation can be made to a charity close to your heart. A private service was held. Glen Eden in care of arrangements, 338-7111. P.S. I bought a new toaster.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 06, 2007