Date of Birth: September 6, 1928
Date of Death: May 2, 2018
Thomas Ira Maloney, of Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., passed on Wednesday, May 2, 2018. He was born Sept. 6, 1928 on the family farm near Coderre, Sask.
He leaves his grieving, but grateful, sons and their wives: Tim and Karen, Kelly and Alice; grandchildren, Tara (Josh), Andre (Hiromi), KaCee (Tennille), Kaitlyn (Michael), Byrun, Elliott and Marjorie; as well as two step-grandchildren, Kaitlin and Maude; great-grandchildren, Katlynn, Nick, Noah, Amelie, Alexander, Ella, Olivia, Greyson; plus many relatives across Canada.
He was predeceased by his wives, Marg in 2002 and Connie in 2014. He was also the youngest and last surviving member of his siblings.
Tom moved to the Riceton area in 1950 to work for the RM of Lajord building and maintaining roads. That move opened the opportunity for him to become the general manager of the Riceton Co-op in 1954, until he partnered in 1970 with Merle Boesch to help in diversifying Merle’s farm by adding 2,000 ewes to the business.
In 1972, Maloney Farms came into being when Tom and Marg where given the opportunity to buy the farm from Merle. This opportunity gave Tom his dream job — a farmer. A couple of years later Kelly joined him, and remains farming today with his son, KaCee. KaCee is now the fifth generation of our family to farm in the area.
Preparing for retirement led to the building of their “dream come true” in 1986, a home on the shore of Echo Lake. It was a happy home shared with family and friends while enjoying the natural surroundings of the Qu’Appelle Valley. Once in the valley, the importance of community that was always central in Tom’s life came shining through. Within weeks, he began his dive into his new community, becoming active in the Lions, Ducks Unlimited, the Historical Society and the Royal Canadian Legion. He was proud of the value these organization brought to the community, making it a better place for all to live. He was always active in curling, golf, gardening, cooking, hunting and fishing.
While Saskatchewan would always be home, he enjoyed many travels with Marg, enjoying most of all, their trips to Grapefruit League spring baseball in Florida. Later, with Connie, he skipped many winters by travelling to Osoyoos, B.C.
Dad was always innovating and creating — furniture when there was no money to buy any, “Maloney Damn Hot Mustard” (with mustard seed right out of the bin at the farm), paddle boards, go-carts, many Santa scenes in front of the house to celebrate the season, decks made out of an old grain elevator, a 45-gallon drum barbecue, a custom log splitter for railroad ties, bird feeders, sewing gloves and vests from the deer skins following a successful hunt, and of course his locally famous jerky. All this and more was done with a smiling face and lending hand. He made his world a little better for those around him just by being present.
We wish to express our thanks to the doctors and staff at the All Nations’ Healing Hospital in Fort Qu’Appelle for the comforting care they provided Dad.
This is his family’s loving goodbye. There will not be a funeral, at Tom’s request. His cremated ashes will find their rest up the hill at the farm.
Those wishing to recognize Tom’s life can make a contribution to the Fort Qu’Appelle and District Lions Club, P.O. Box 35, Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., S0G 1S0 or the charity of their choice.
God Bless Dad, all our love forever.
