CHRISTOPHER HAYWARD

Condolences & Memories (4 entries)

• …there are some beautiful people who have walked this earth, and Christopher was one of them… We met a few times earlier, but got to know each other well when Kyra and I were in love and lived together. Turns out most of our friends were friends in common, and I had been to one of his “carpet” parties without knowing it was his. I used to see him at the backstage security entrance at folk fest, which he ran with his characteristic charm and elegance. Those who knew him well know of his famous mushroom soup, the recipe of which he kept secret, and after helping him make it several times {because he would never share the recipe}, with him showing me a new, little detail each time, I announced that I thought “I got it now, Robbie”…and in typical Christopher style and with great kindness and generosity, he said “there is one more thing”, hehe! It was so typical and cool that he held a crucial element back, to see if I was deserving of knowing it…it was a kind of nut from Dino’s that he would both grind up and also put bits of in the soup, in secret when nobody was watching. That soup became one of my specialties, famous even, {I’ve always called it Christopher’s Mushroom Soup in tribute} and we joked that it was “heart attack soup” because of all the butter, cream and Parmesan cheese…but if you’re reading this and missing that soup, the trick is to sauté mushrooms in heaps of butter and salt and pepper…for five or six hours, no less…until the mushrooms are tiny, delicious nuggets of flavour. Christopher had a saying that eludes me at the moment, but it was really nice to read his brother’s memories here; it helped explain why he turned out to be such a remarkable person. I hope Tiger Lily gets to hear some of the beautiful stories about her mother and grandfather one day…because they were both very special and unique humans…sigh…there are some beautiful people in the world… - Posted by: Michael ManyEagles (Friend/former son~in~law) on: Sep 15, 2025

• About Topher – the early years. He disliked being called Chris, and preferred being called Christopher. After one discussion on this I started calling him, ‘Topher’ about age eight or nine. It worked between us, though Toperisms (sayings) appeared later in his life. For the most part we grew up in the old west end of Winnipeg, having moved from BC in the late 50s. Very few people would rent a house to a family with three young boys so the house at 876 Lipton needed a lot of work, I seem to remember Dad shovelling the old wallpaper off of the wall. That place quickly turned into a loving home. To put a notion of the time, when we lived at 876 Lipton, there was a junkman that used to go up the back lane (horse drawn cart) trading and swapping, In the summer there was the vegetable man that likewise was with a horse drawn wagon up the front street peddling his ware (and yes the women came out of the houses to buy. And to put it in perspective, there was the iceman on a straw covered wagon up the front street, for those that still had iceboxes. It was a treat in the summer for Christopher and me to be able to grab a couple of ice chips to suck on I cannot remember whether we did have an icebox or not. We were raised with church on Sunday (Our Grandpa Hayward was a minister) We were taught to respect people, give up our seat to an elderly, watch our Ps & Qs, and to mind our manners, and of course, a good work ethic. In the event we forgot, we were reminded…. Christopher got away with a lot more being the baby of the family (the youngest of three boys. It is safe to say the Dennis was disciplined the hardest, me the next hardest, and Topher, seldom. Growing up, Christopher and I were not only brothers, but best friends being about a year and a half apart in age. We did most everything together for about the first 14 years of his life. It was not unusual for us to put together a lunch and then bike from the old west end to the zoo at Assiniboine park. The old Macs theatre on Ellice at Sherbrook offered three movies for a quarter – it hardly mattered what they were, mostly westerns, and a theatre of happy screaming kids. We ten pin bowled at Empress lanes from 9am on Saturdays until noon (a dollar I think) Roller Skated at the Saints roller rink. Biked at Monkey Speedway (Oman’s creek) and tobogganed there in the winter (yes we were outside both winter and summer) with hot chocolate and a fat boy after. We maintained Tribune paper routes from a young age, with Dennis starting first, bringing in me, and then Christopher, so even from a young age we paid for a lot of our own adventures ourselves. Some of this went into savings for events such as Christopher and I putting on an anniversary party for our Mom and Dad. We even had someone at an LC buy us a little woven basket containing three or four bottles of champagne (we were about ten at the time) – I think two of them made it to the party. We bought a new carving set for them at one of these events. Some of our savings went into buying pennants (little triangular flags) from each place that we visited during two weeks of holidays that Dad packed an amazing amount of stuff into. We learned how to play chess at a young age ( I think Grandpa Hayward taught us) We were always fairly easily matched, and could win over most adults after a few years, Being three boys, we had our hand in the kitchen as well as in the workshop. We learned how to use a hunting knife, filet fish, fairly young and learned how to shoot. We went from wolf cubs, to boy scouts, to Air Cadets, as was the day (though Christopher missed out in the latter. Christopher and I both swam a lot, passing all Red Cross levels, including receiving the Bronze Medal (lifeguard level) – He later met Donna while he was a lifeguard at Miami beach where her family stayed in the summer. We did and learned a lot, thanks to our parents, and our own ethic. Somewhere about when Christopher hit 14, that a different world opened up. I ended up, at that time with a grade nine education, and Christopher, a grade seven education. Christopher left home when he was 14, myself at 15. It was the late 1960s. We somewhat went our separate ways, I worked up north in the bush a lot, hooking up with Christopher occasionally, in Winnipeg, and elsewhere. Though I remember hitchhiking out to Vancouver to look for him when he was 15 as Mom was worried. Amazingly so I found him, and he was fine. That was the early years. - Posted by: Bruce Hayward (Brother two of three, Christopher was the youngest) on: Feb 20, 2016

• There will be a celebration of life on his birthday starting at about August 26th, 2014 in Ozzies (downstairs) Osborne Village Motor Hotel) - Posted by: Bruce Hayward (brother) on: Jul 20, 2014

• One large coffee with five cream! Just one of the wasys I will remember Chris along with his big smile and sparkling eyes! - Posted by: susan (friend) on: Apr 19, 2014