Date of Birth: August 18, 1933
Date of Death: June 21, 2024
Wilfred Alexander Davis, age 90, passed away on Friday, June 21, 2024, after a courageous battle with cancer, at the Brandon Regional Health Centre in Brandon, Man.
Wilf was born in Whitewood Sask. on Aug. 18, 1933 to Hubert (Bert) and Marjorie Davis (nee Boston).
He is predeceased by his parents and his sister, June Reid.
He will be greatly missed by his spouse Marnie Somers; his daughters Janice Funk (Vern) and Colleen Penner (Warren), their mother Donna Davis; and grandchildren Laura Nickel (Patrick), Matthew Funk and Alexandra Penner. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Hugh Reid, nieces Darlene Reid and Carolyn Lahey; as well as numerous cousins.
He had an active childhood helping on the family farm, attending the one-roomed McKay School, and boarding in town for high school. He was especially close to his grandfather, Charles Davis, and cherished his memories of their times together.
He finished Grade 12 and spent four years working with his dad and uncles (Oakland Ridge Polled Herefords) developing and exhibiting purebred Herefords at sales and shows. He attended the University of Saskatchewan for four years. Upon graduation in May 1959, he moved to Dauphin, MB and began an 11-year career with the Manitoba Dept. of Agriculture as a beef cattle field representative. Highlights from those years included work related to the Manitoba Bull Test Station, purebred and commercial cattle events and the Manitoba Feeder Cattle Associations.
In 1970, Wilf and his family moved to Brandon where he became manager of Bar 5 Simmental Breeders Ltd. This was an exciting and busy time as Bar 5 expanded to two locations and he traveled to many events within Canada and the US, plus two trips per year to Europe to select cattle.
Wilf sold his shares in Bar 5 in 1978 and created Davis Livestock Services, a management and marketing cattle business, and worked for Transcon Livestock. Throughout his career, Wilf owned and registered his own cattle under the name of Twenty-Three Oaks Ltd. The herd was dispersed in the mid-1990s. Wilf returned to Bar 5 as Manager in 1981 and for the next 20 years, he was involved in all aspects of the operation while also maintaining his consulting business. Highlights from these years include attending the World Simmental Conference in Australia in the mid-1980s and judging Simmental bulls at the 1995 Perth Bull Sale in Scotland.
Throughout his long career, Wilf built a reputation as a gentleman, cattleman and ambassador of the Simmental breed and cattle industry as a whole. He was awarded the A.O. Henuset Memorial Award at the 2002 Manitoba Simmental Association and in 2006, he was presented with the World Simmental Fleckvieh Federation Golden Book Award. He was also inducted into the Canadian Simmental Association Hall of Fame in the fall of 2006. Wilf was humble about these awards and would say that the friends he made along the way were the real reward.
Over the last 29 years, Wilf and Marnie enjoyed living in the country near Carberry, Man., running Carberry Sandhills Consulting, traveling, fishing and expanding friendships in the cattle and quarter horse communities.
Wilf was well-known for his passion for fishing and earned over 100 Master Angler Awards. He spent much time enjoying numerous Manitoba lakes including Lake of the Prairies and made many trips to Wekusko Falls Lodge for over 30 summers. He generously shared his boat, time and expertise with friends and family to create memorable experiences for all.
Wilf will be remembered by his family for the example he set by caring for his parents and aunts and uncles, his encouragement and support of his children and grandchildren’s education, and how he valued recording history and spent hours working with Janice on genealogy projects. Colleen will particularly cherish the memories made on the many fishing trips she and Warren took with him. We will all miss his phone calls to check on us and the way he prioritized coffee dates whenever any of us were in Brandon.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Carberry Community Memorial Hall, 224-2nd Avenue, Carberry, MB on Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. Internment will have taken place prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Friends of Canadian Simmental Foundation or the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
Arrangements with White Funeral Services, Carberry.
