Vanc Mathison was born August 3, 1944 in Dodsland, Sk., to Arnold and Annie (Biddy) Mathison. He was the oldest of 6 boys. They were an active farming family in the Plenty community. He attended school at Plenty, Sk. until graduation. After graduation he moved to Saskatoon and entered SIAST Kelsey Carpentry program.
Upon completion of school he worked in various locations within Saskatchewan, Pelican Narrows, Prince Albert, Uranium City and Saskatoon. This is where he met the love of his life Ilene Leffler. Vanc lived next door to Ilene’s friend where they met one day while she was at her friends. It took him 10 days to muster the courage to ask her out. He and Ilene were married July 12th, 1968. They lived in Saskatoon after they were married until June of 1969 when they moved to Calgary for work.
This is where they started their family. They had 2 children in Calgary, first Shelley (Troy Hittel), followed by Kim (Ivy). This grew to include 4 grandchildren Sara and Joel Hittel, Andrew and Tyler Mathison.
During the years of raising a family they moved back to Naicam, Sk., living for a year at the Leffler farm. In 1976 they bought an acreage 6 miles north of Naicam where they raised their children. Vanc worked with Ilene’s brother Bob building houses, in and around the Naicam area. After a few years of this he went into finishing carpentry. He was an amazing cabinet maker. In 1986 he then started working for Cropper Motors trucking machinery. He worked there up to his retirement in the spring of 2006.
After retirement, Vanc and Ilene spent several winters in Yuma, Arizona with many Good Sam friends from northeast Saskatchewan area.
Vanc was an avid gardener, and berry picker (highbush cranberries in particular he had a secret spot for this). He would pick till the job was done, if you needed more pails he would go home to get more. Vanc also loved to fish. He spent many an hour on a lake. He was keen to teach his children and later grandchildren the ins and outs of fishing, then followed by cleaning and cooking up the catch. During his retirement years, Vanc went back to woodworking, particularly scroll work. He would spend hours in his shop making wonderful items, which he would lay out on a table and share with grandchildren and children. He loved sharing, teaching, and helping. He passed away peacefully at Newmarket Manor on April 2, 2020. He will be missed, rest in peace.
Due to current social restrictions, the family has decided to have a small private memorial at a later date.
Memorial donations may be made in Vanc’s name to a charity of one’s choice.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of G Vanc Mathison Thursday April 2nd 2020..
Death notice for the town of: MELFORT, Province: Saskatchewan