As per George’s wishes there will be no funeral or celebration of life.  A private burial service will be held at a later date.

Eulogy by Pat Monner

George Robert Monner was born in Bassano, Alberta on January 6, 1947, and was raised on a farm near Milo, Alberta.  After completing a BSc in Agriculture Economics at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, George returned to the family farm for a few years. He was not comfortable with the insecurity of farming income, and not particularly fond of the 12,000 laying hens, so after a few years, he took a job with Alberta Agriculture in Airdrie.

His job involved developing recordkeeping systems for farmers.  The very first desktop computers were just being introduced, and George helped to develop a computer program for calculating the costs of production for various types of farming operations.  In 1981, George accepted a job as a Farm Economist with Alberta Agriculture in Fairview, Alberta.  At that time, I was teaching Business at the College in Fairview and was chairing a committee to determine which brand of desktop computers to purchase for the classrooms.  The Agricultural Department at the College sent a copy of my preliminary report to the new “expert” at Alberta Agriculture for a review.  I received a letter indicating that I had probably made the right choice, but for all the wrong reasons.  The letter was signed by a George Monner, and all I remember thinking was who is George Monner and does he really want to pick a fight with me!   The first time I met him was at the meeting to address his critique of my report.  

My father was very protective and when George and I began spending more time together, he tried to pretend George did not exist.  My mother and I would talk about George, and my father would always say “George who?”  One night at an Alberta Institute of Agrologists function in Grande Prairie that both my parents attended,  George went over and introduced himself to my father and said, “I’m George Who”.  That really ticked my father, and he began to acknowledge George’s presence.  We were married on December 31, 1981.

I had an 11-year-old son when we met, and George had a 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old son.  We added a daughter to our family in 1983, and another one in 1985.  We wanted to raise our children on a farm.  George’s parents wanted us to take over the farm at Milo and my parents wanted us to move onto their farm near Fairview.  George said if I could cull chickens, he would consider moving back to Milo.  When he described what that involved, I decided staying in Fairview was our only option.  In 1986 we began development of a saskatoon orchard on 30 acres of my parents’ grain land.  George continued his career with Alberta Agriculture, and I resigned from the College to open my own accounting practice.

George retired from Alberta Agriculture in 2002 and concentrated on the fruit orchard. In 2006, my sister Gwen and George and I purchased the Fyne Spirits Liquor Store in Grimshaw.  George really enjoyed managing the overall operation of the store and working with the staff.  We hired an amazing manager, who pointed out to George on a few occasions that she really did not need him to be underfoot too often.😊   He maintained the computer systems and the security system, and also  maintained the computer hardware for my accounting practice.  He was able to convert my accounting practice to a virtual practice so  I could work from anywhere.  So between that, our  amazing manager at the liquor store, and my amazing staff in my Fairview office, we were able to spend our winters in California.  In 2018, we moved to Calgary and put the fruit orchard up for sale.  

We were a great team, and we enjoyed an amazing life together.  George was very proud of his children and their partners, and the incredible adults that they have all grown into.  Just before Christmas, he was look friends were very important to him, and he loved to keep in touch with his sister Dianne, who is still on the family farm, and his many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.  He passed away peacefully at home on January 2, 2024.

Our kids and I appreciate all the love, support, and memories shared with us since George passed.  As per George’s wishes there will be no funeral or celebration of life.  If you wish to remember him with a donation, he was a strong supporter of Operation Smile. https://www.smilesforchildren.ca