Celebration of life upcoming for Merkle

Times Photo submitted Merkle Family

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

When Tony Merkle passed away Jan. 19, 2024, he left an unparalleled legacy of family and community involvement that’s well worth reflecting upon. Merkle was 96, and given the fact that he arrived in Taber as a teenager in 1942, he most certainly held seniority as one of the town’s most enduring citizens. His daughter, Valerie Merkle Basque Herron, wrote an eight-page tribute in honor of her father and submitted it to the Times along with a photo retrospective, and these excerpts are courtesy of that submission. A Celebration of Life at the Taber Community Centre will be held on the afternoon of May 4.

Merkle was born on Feb 1, 1928, in Sokolovac, Yugoslavia; the third child of Anton and Katarina. At the age of two, along with his mother and older sister Theresa, he immigrated to Canada to join his father who had arrived earlier. The family settled in Regina in the basement of his Uncle John’s with his uncle, aunt and cousin Frank living upstairs. “Two years later Uncle John’s family moved to Barnwell, so (the Merkle) family took over the rent and moved upstairs,” Herron recounts. “It was the time of the Dirty Thirties, and jobs were hard to find. Like most, Dad’s family lived on relief (they called it the DOLE). His mom always grew a garden of flowers and vegetables, and she would load up the little wagon and send Dad and Theresa down the street to sell them. People didn’t have much money, so the kids had a hard time selling the goods. Any that were left over they ate before they got home and ‘got bawled out.’”

The family migrated to Taber in pursuit of medical aid for his fathers’ failing health and stayed at their Uncle John’s farm. Tony began working where workers were needed at the time: either in the fields or in the cannery. “He began as a beet-worker during harvest, learning a new way of life – hoeing and topping sugar beets. Working with soil, seed, and sun remained Dad’s lifelong passion,” Herron said.

Herron said that at that time, there was a German prisoner of war camp in Barnwell, and due to the war and a shortage of workers, the prisoners labored in the fields and were put to work at the cannery. Tony spent two summers at the cannery working with them for a wage of 18 cents per hour. He moved up to 21 cents when he learned to run the capping machine. When Tony was 19, his family purchased their own farm, which was situated a half-mile south of where the CASE dealership is now. His father died the following year, and Tony continued to farm the land. In 1952, he married Irene Feko they started a family. Pamela Anne was born in 1953, Valerie Ruth in 1954, Karen Rose in 1956, and then there was a miscarriage. Lorelei Joan was born in 1959, Daniel Harvey in 1961, Mark David in 1962, and Anthony Nicholas in 1964.

In October of 1965, Tony and Irene sold the farm to his sister Theresa and purchased the Taber Taxi business and a house in town. A new baby, Jarilyn Elizabeth, was born in 1966. “The taxi business was truly a family affair, involving both parents as drivers and the older kids to dispatch,” Herron said. The business grew and eventually a prospect for a bus service opened in Grande Cache. “It was a big decision, but my parents sold the business and prepared to leave. As it turned out, at the last-minute Dad’s bid fell through – so now there was no reason to move.”

By the time Sarah Rene joined the family in 1975, the three eldest children had moved out on their own. “The most awesome thing ever, that I could say all my life – Tony Merkle – he’s MY DAD!” Herron said in her tribute. “He was one of those special people—the kind of dad everyone wishes they had. A man with very humble beginnings who endured an extremely hard and lonely youth. A determined self-starter with the strength and courage to tackle life head-on. He let nothing prevent him from setting and achieving a multitude of goals, becoming a pillar and a father to the community – as well as to his own large family. At the age of 74, ten years post-retirement, he was fitter than at any other time in his life! He played slo-pitch for the senior men’s team, and he rode his bike at least four miles every day. He had a regular work out regime and devoted all free time to his life-long passion of gardening.”

Tony gave himself to the community – and proved to be a citizen worthy of recognition. His face and name graced The Taber Times, he was involved with the Kiwanis, and even threw his hat in the political arena. “In 1976 he was named Taber’s Citizen of the year, and in March 2002 he was inducted into Taber & District Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions as a builder in Taber’s sporting community,” Herron said. “Sports were always a great passion of my father’s. By the time Dad was married he was involved in refereeing and managing hockey, laying a foundation of a solid history in Taber’s sporting community.”

In 1976 Tony and Irene moved from the brick house on 52 St. to a more modern one at what used to be the outskirts of Taber, and where they lived until this past summer, Herron said. “For all intents and purposes, this was ‘home’ to all of us – a gathering place where so much love and laughter spilled over and the true definition of family could be found. It housed a multitude of special occasions and spur of the moment get-togethers rich in humor and tolerance and understanding and forgiveness and always affection.”

Herron said her father was “utterly dedicated to his backyard. He turned the entire yard by hand, digging with a spade and flipping the earth. He cultivated the soil carefully, and created a massive compost area where he recycled long before it was a normal practice. He tended his plants like they were his very own offspring – making certain they had sufficient exposure, water, nutrients, and TLC. And his efforts were ALWAYS rewarded with a bountiful crop that could

feed many of our families and friends throughout the growing season.”

Tony had a long history of contributions to ‘the gift of life,’ donating his first pint of blood to the Red Cross at the age of 18. “He went on to give 79 pints by the age of seventy, but because of his medication, he was refused the 80th donation. It really disappointed him that he couldn’t do this one little thing anymore, especially considering how fit he remained,” Herron said. He dedicated 10 years to the volunteer fire department and 14 years to the volunteer ambulance service in Taber. “He took his responsibilities very seriously. He would leap up and race to the fire hall at the first sound of the siren – not taking the time to put on shoes or a coat. And sometimes, he would come home devastated by what he’d just been part of. He was never hardened by any of his experiences, but grateful for the safety and health of those near and dear to him. His greatest fear was to encounter a loved one in trauma.”

“We had a fire in our house when I was five-years old, a little incident with purple gas and a furnace. My baby sister Lori was still in the house, it was in flames, and entry to the front door was blocked by fire. Like you would see in the movies, my father burst through the kitchen window and stepped into the smoky, burning abyss. Moments later, he emerged

from the fiery door with the baby carriage. He had saved her life! That memory still breathes life into all my fairy tale endings. Being witness to such events shapes one’s perception of the word ‘hero’.”

Herron went on to include a long list of her father’s accomplishments over those 96 years, and it’s an amazingly diverse list that speaks to a full and meaningful life. Perhaps most importantly, she concluded with this: “Sincere and loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather for over 70 years. Present and devoted husband to Irene Feko Merkle of over 71 years.”