Linus Bernard Meyer

The family made several moves around the area before settling on the farm north of Sintaluta.  Linus worked at various jobs before eventually joining his brother Clare farming north of Indian Head.

Linus was a favorite uncle to his numerous nieces and nephews.  He was a talented small engine repair man and enjoyed carpentry as well.  He received great joy from helping others and was always willing to lend a hand.

Linus also became well known and made a lot of friends through the Curling club and the Elks of which he was very active member. Linus loved curling and was active in men’s, mixed and seniors leagues. He travelled to many bonspiels in Saskatchewan and travelled out to BC to curl as well.  Another past time he enjoyed a lot was playing cards with friends and family.  

He will be missed by his many coffee buddies, various friends he made throughout the years and the restaurant staff that got to know him.

Linus was a determined man!  He was proud of the fact that he regained his independence after a heart attack in 2012.  Although he needed care for a short while, after this he was able to resume living on his own right up to a few short months ago when he returned to live in Hayes Haven.  

Donations in memoriam may be made to the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan, 200 - 4545 Parliament Ave, Regina, SK S2W 0G3 or The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Saskatchewan, 1738 Quebec Ave Unit 26, Saskatoon, SK S7K 1V9 or St. Josephs R.C. Church, Box 68, Indian Head, SK S0G 2K0.  

Uncle Linus Meyer by Joe and Colleen.

Uncle Linus was called either “Uncle” or “Uncle Linus” by many of the family. He was born at the family home in the Balcarres area on July 27, 1933. When he was about 12 years old, the family moved from Balcarres to Sintaluta. They brought several pieces of farm equipment along with 6 horses, 2 colts and 30 head of cattle. Uncle Linus, his brothers and dad walked the entire way herding the animals. This happened to be during the drought years when grass and feed were scarce.

He worked at many jobs over the years and there was always a story to be told about each one. The ones we remember the most is when he helped with putting up commutation towers throughout the province when he was younger, working for “Fox” construction in Indian Head driving truck and heavy equipment, and farming in the Indian Head area until he retired. He had other jobs but these are the ones he talked about the most. He always seemed quite handy with small engine repairs and enjoyed working on them.

He always found pleasure in playing checkers and card games with his nephews and nieces in our younger years and is something we all remember well. He was always happy to see us and spend time with us.

He spent one summer helping Loreen repair and paint fence boards. As the project was approaching its completion, he commented, “Now what am I going to do now that I’ve worked my way out of a job?" That just gave them all more time so they could go for day drives with him since he really enjoyed that a lot. They would either be checking out crops or traveling grid roads while he reminisced with lots of stories. Usually on those days, they would not make it home for supper but that was ok with him as K.F.C, Dairy Queen and The Ice House, were all great in his books. More times than not, we think he just loved the drive; the company and it helping the day fly by for him.

Over the last 13 years John, Loreen, Uncle Linus and Aunt Francie, up until she passed away in September 2011, spent a lot of time together. Aunt Francie required daily home kidney dialysis treatments, where Loreen and Uncle Linus were the ones helping her with that every day. She had to go to Regina General Hospital for her major kidney dialysis every week. After John was involved in a serious car accident, he too had many appointments in Regina and so all of John’s and Aunt Francie’s appointments were arranged for the same days in order to cut back on traveling. Uncle Linus at that time did most of the driving with Loreen stepping in when needed. During this stressful period and with the amount of time they all had to spend together, a special bond formed between them all.

Uncle Linus occasionally spoke about a few things, one of which was his brother, Leonard’s motorcycle, when they were younger and still at home. He said he would use it to run around the farm and to get his chores done because ‘Leonard didn’t use it anyway.’

He walked 2 to 4 miles regularly and would always work a coffee break in where he could so he could spend some time with his friends and catch up on the latest word going on around town. One of his favorite sayings was, “There is always time for coffee.” Many people commented that he must be one of the healthiest people in town because he was seen walking all the time or so it seemed.

Uncle Linus was quite pleased that he had purchased Aunt Francie’s house, finally becoming a home owner after spending years boarding with relatives. Although it did not last too long he was still proud and happy about it.

He was fussy about how clean things were, whether it was the house, yard, garden, garage or car. He kept things clean and neat all the time and was very proud of this fact. Every place he ended up at got a thorough cleaning inside and out.

If he had trouble with something, he would sleep on the problem and usually had a solution when he woke up the next day. He stated this all the time and it seemed to work well for him.

He liked gardening and would often check out other gardens on his walks to see how well they were doing compared to his. He was always willing to spend some time chatting about gardening with anyone willing. He usually referred to flowers as being weeds. He liked teasing Aunt Francis about her flowers in the yard as being weeds.

Uncle Linus had a heart attack and it had weakened heart enough that it was only ran at an idle and he had to slow down. Since there was enough damage to his heart he could not have heart surgery and was just going to have to live with his heart the way it was. Even though his recovery was not easy, it did not stop him from doing things, it just took longer. The doctor recommended that he go into a home because he was concerned that all the added strain of taking care of himself and his home would not be good for him. Uncle then lived in Hays Haven Seniors Home in Indian Head for some time, and he was extremely happy that he was the only one who was well enough to leave Hays Haven and live on his own again.

Uncle also battled Cancer which caused him to lose an ear and part of his face, which had been covered with a graft. He spent several months going to the cancer clinic in Regina for treatments. He healed well from that but as a result his face drooped on that side and he was very self-conscious of that. At first, he did not want to go out in public much and he complained that that area was cold all the time but he gradually got over it and was willing to go for cruises and eating out again.

He eventually moved back to “Hay’s Haven” where he then went through the isolation that “Covid 19” created and he seemed lonely and a little confused. When the Covid 19 virus was discovered at Hays Haven; it affected most of the staff and residents. Uncle was moved to Broadview hospital where shortly after he was diagnosed with Covid 19. After he started having complications, he was moved to the Indian Head Hospital. At first, he accepted treatment but then after a few days he started refusing treatment. He told the doctor that he was tired of fighting to stay alive and it was time. The doctor respected his wishes and he was provided with pain medication and was left to pass peacefully. Uncle Linus will be missed and we will carry him in our hearts daily. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic and restrictions, he died alone and this pains us deeply.

I am sure everyone here today has stories about Uncle Linus and if anyone would like to share, please come up and share it with us.