Obituary of Noel Lockhart

Noel Lockhart of Tofield (formerly Strome) passed away peacefully on April 2, 2015 at the age of 94 years. He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Yvonne; children Brad (Susan), Denise, and Darren; grandchildren Ryan (Terra), Carly and Megan; great grandchildren Easton and Sean; his sister Esther Monson and many nieces and nephews. Noel was born on December 1, 1920 to William and Jenny Lockhart at Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. He immigrated to Canada with his parents and two older brothers James and William in 1923, where they resided on land purchased north of Strome in the Wavy Lake District. He became an older brother to twins Sam and Esther shortly after arriving in Canada. Noel attended the Wavy Lake School from grades 1 - 9. He and his family attended church services at the Wavy Lake Hall until transportation made it possible to attend Killam Baptist Church. He married Yvonne Johanson on November 7, 1959. They spent their first winter living in the Killam Baptist Church manse and then moved out to the new house he built on the farm in 1960. Noel was happiest living and working on the farm. He began farming at the age of 17 and this became his lifelong career until he harvested his last crop in the fall of 2005. Although not formally trained, he was blessed with a mechanical aptitude that enabled him to fix almost anything, often with a bit of improvising. He was also good at carpentry and used those skills wherever he could help out. Many happy times were spent with good friends and neighbors in the community. His Christian faith was of utmost importance to him and this was reflected in how he lived his life. Due to failing health in 2011, he and Yvonne moved to Providence Place in Daysland, AB where they resided until May, 2013. Further decline resulted in a move to the Tofield Long Term Care Centre. He resided there until his final move on April 2 to life everlasting with Jesus in whom he had placed his faith and trust many years ago.