Donald Henry Eversen

As per Don's wishes there will be no service.

Donald (Don) Henry Eversen was born on November 4, 1939 to Henry and Dolce Eversen in the Spruce Bluff area which was located south east of his current farm. He grew up on the farm with his older sister, Doris, and younger siblings, Edie, Les and Ralph.  He began his schooling at Spruce Bluff School.  When Don was about eleven they moved their house north of where Dad was born to what we now refer to as the "old farm" just east of our current home. During his school years Don often missed many days of school to help out on the farm, something he really enjoyed.  He quit school and joined the work force. He purchased three cows and a bull and began his life as a farmer.  He didn't have a lot of luck that year and lost 2 of his 3 calves. His mom, Dolce, told him to stick with it and it would get better.  It did, and he has had cattle ever since. He was proud to say he had raised cattle for 63 years.  He had a variety of jobs in addition to his cattle, he began working on road construction joining the Ferguson Road Construction Crew driving a scraper buggy.  During this time he met Anna Kaplar at a dance and love blossomed. They were married on July 7, 1962. They had bought a little tiny camper, it was only about 10 feet long, and painted it red and white and they stayed in it wherever they were building roads.  They got to see many different places during this time of their lives.  Their first child, Denise, was born in November 1964 in Maidstone Hospital as they were working on a road down there and it was the closest hospital.  Her birth created a little bit of excitement for the crew trying to get them to the hospital in time. That fall, when they were finished road building, they moved up north of Waskiagon School and wintered out Trevor Rendle's cows along with Don's.  This was a very hard winter for Don and Anna and their new little baby.  There was a lot of snow and it was very cold that year. They continued on with road construction during the spring, summer and fall until their second child, Shelly, was born in August 1966.  After this they decided that perhaps they should get a more permanent home and they moved a trailer down to the old farm (east of current home).  They would continue to live here for the next 7 years. Don would give up his road construction position to continue farming.  He would go out to Northern British Columbia with his brother, Les, and brother-in-law, Garry Kaplar, and run heavy equipment to make money to keep the farm running.  Don did this for several winters before deciding he would just farm. He began expanding his herd of cattle and as he always had a love of horses, he began raising them.  He fed his cattle with a team of horses for many years even in the bitterly cold winters. Don and Anna moved their trailer just up the road in 1970 to where our current home is now and would build a house a few years later on the same location.  One thing Don really enjoyed was his first of many cattle drives, bringing the cattle home from pasture about twenty miles from our yard.  It was a big day but he loved every minute of it.  Lots of people joined in for the drive with lots of stories and laughs along the way.  When farming got tough in the 1980's, Dad returned to road construction for Clayton Construction once again driving a scraper buggy.  He was later offered a job at the St. Walburg  Community Pasture as a Rider working with Rudy Augustine.  This was Dad's ultimate job, he loved every minute of it and would often say it was the best job ever!  In 2000, Shelly and her children - Cole, Montana and Shaylyn moved back to the farm.  Don loved having his grandkids so close and shared many milestones with them.  When Don turned 65  he was forced to retire from the pasture as it was their policy at the time. On his retirement from the pasture he continued to raise cattle and spent more time with his family and grandkids.  In July 2012, Don and Anna celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary surrounded by friends and family. 
      Anna would pass away February 6, 2015. This time was difficult for Don but made easier by having his grandkids home. He began attending their sporting events whenever possible.  He quite enjoyed watching Montana and Shaylyn play basketball.  Cole and Shaylyn took a more active role in the farming operation with Don as their mentor. They worked side by side and Don was very proud that Cole is taking over the farm.  This last year has been a difficult year for Don in terms of his health, and he has spent the last 8 months in hospital and long term care. He passed away peacefully on May 24, 2021 surrounded by family. 
    Don is survived by: his daughters, Denise (Ian MacPhedran), Shelly, and her children, Cole, Montana and Shaylyn; his sister, Edie and her family; his brother, Ralph (Laverne) and his family; his late sister Doris's family; his sister-in-law, Jean and her family; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Garry (Carol), Joey (Gwen), Donnie (Josephine), and their families; and Don's late sister -in-law, Betty's  family. 
     He was predeceased by: his wife, Anna; his parents, Dolce and Henry; his sister, Doris; his bother Les; his mother and father-in-law, John and Wilma; his in-laws, Hank, Sharon, Betty and Gib, and several nephews. 

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