MacIndoe, George, of Edmonton, formerly of Vulcan, passed away peacefully at the Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton on July 16, 2018 at the age of 98 years.
George, sometimes called Scotty, was born in the village of Lomond, Alberta. He was the only son of William and Elizabeth MacIndoe and spent his early childhood on their homestead at Wheat Centre (located north of Enchant, Alberta). In 1923 they moved to a farm in the Vauxhall, Alberta district. He received his schooling at New West, the nearby rural one-room school, and also in Vauxhall. George helped his father on the farm before serving in the Canadian Army from 1941 until 1946. During the first six months of 1946, he served with Operation Muskox (the largest military exercise ever held in the Canadian Arctic).
In the fall of 1947, he went to work for Claes Birck, who owned a service garage, electric power plants and a theatre in Vauxhall. Here George worked on his technical training and obtained his papers in three trades: first class Journeyman motor mechanics, Journeyman electrician and Journeyman motion picture projectionist. He was employed in all three trades simultaneously until he moved to Kemano, B.C. in 1966 to work as an electrician at the Aluminum Company of Canada’s hydro-electric generating station there. In 1973 he began working as an electrician with British Columbia Hydro at the W.A.C. Bennett dam near Hudson Hope, B.C. He remained there until his retirement in 1984. After spending a couple of years checking out retirement life in Victoria and then the Okanagan Valley in B.C., George decided to settle in Vulcan, Alberta to be near his sister and brother-in-law, Christine and Henry Hansen who were farming in the Ensign district near Vulcan.
George had been using holiday time to help Henry during harvest for several years and he continued helping with harvesting during the early days of his retirement. He enjoyed all things mechanical and electrical and was happy to be puttering around in Henry’s shop. He and his 1973 yellow Dodge Dart were a frequent sight around town. Alternatively, he often could be found on one of his motorcycles exploring a country road somewhere. He also rode his 3-speed bicycle on a two mile round trip in the town of Vulcan to get his groceries and his mail until he finally had to quit this activity at the age of 94 and move to the Peter Dawson Lodge. In 2017, he moved to a nursing home in Edmonton near his niece, Jean Brown.
George is survived by his sister Christine Hansen, niece Jean (Rob) Brown, nephew Craig (Laurie) Hansen, great-nephews Jack (Lauren) Hansen and Tom Hansen, and great-nieces Emily (Paul) Brown, Katherine Brown, and Mary Hansen. George was predeceased by his parents William and Elizabeth MacIndoe and brother-in-law Henry Hansen.
Funeral Service will be held on Monday, July 23, 2018 at 1:30 pm at Vulcan United Church, Pastor Henry V. Friesen officiating. Interment Vulcan Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in George’s memory to the Vulcan County Health & Wellness Foundation, Box 28, Vulcan AB.
Arrangements in care of Vulcan Funeral Home. Telephone 1-403-485-2633. E-mail condolences through www.vulcanfuneralhome.ca.
I believe this is little Scotty, my mom, Jessie Macintosh (nee MacIndoe) cousin. My mom is still alive and living in Terrace BC. She is 98.
It was such a pleasure to have known such a wonderful man. Our family sends our deepest condolences.
Our thoughts are with all of you,
Paul, Donna, Julie, and Lisa Faber
Thank you so much for your kind words and condolences. They are very much appreciated.
My father Ross Williams and ‘Scotty’ became good friends when they both worked for Alcan at Kemano in the late 60’s and early 70’s. They maintained their friendship after Scotty moved to Hudson Hope and my father later retired. I got to know Scotty myself during my university days when I worked at Kemano in 1970 and kept in touch ever since. We used to visit with him in Vulcan whenever we travelled from Edmonton to spend a week camping in Waterton, and exchanged Christmas greetings for many years. Scotty was a wonderful, unique and interesting man. Our lives were made better by knowing him. Sincere condolences to family and friends.
Thank you so much for sharing your memories and condolences with us. It means a lot to know others will miss him, also.