Foxdale Cemetery History Excerpt

The following is an excerpt regarding the Foxdale district cemetery from Our Harvest of Memories, a locally compiled history book:

The Foxdale Cemetery

The people of Foxdale decided there was a need of a cemetery so a committe was formed. The land was obtained from Mr. Dick Coles. The land was fenced, planted with grass and tress. Flowers were planted all around the front. A committe was elected E. Earby, F. Strube, and R. A. Coles.

Bill Henderson was appointed to care for it.

The plots were marked and sold. The centre was laid out for a little chapel. An arch was made by Mr. Edwin Earby Sr. for the gate. The name chosen by Mrs. Earby Sr. was "St. John's Cemetery". This and the date was painted on the arch. This was later knocked down with a truck rack and never replaced.

The first resident laid to rest was Mrs. Hecker. Since then many residents have been laid to rest there. Mr. Bruce Henry now has the paper and the Ladies' Club look after the up keep of the cemetery.

Residents laid to rest here are:

March, 1939 -- Mrs. M. Hecker
May, 1939 -- Mr. H. Henderson
November, 1938 -- Mr. J. Kurz (moved later from Sturgeon River)
February, 1941 -- Mr. E. Clausen
May, 1944 -- Mr. T. Henderson
January, 1948 -- Mr. E. Terrel
May, 1948 -- Mr. F. Winkler
March, 1954 -- Mr. P. Wall
November, 1962 -- Mrs. M. Henderson
July, 1964 -- Mr. D. L. Coles
December, 1969 -- Mr. W. Henderson
July, 1970 -- Mrs. M. Wall
May, 1975 -- Mr. G. D. Gunn
November, 1977 -- Miss J. Henderson
March, 1978 -- Mrs. F. Coles
May, 1978 -- Mr. R. Lovgren
April, 1980 -- Heather Fay Coles
August, 1981 -- Mrs. A. Kurz
January, 1982 -- Kelly Muller
June, 1982 -- Mr. E. Schmidt

Mr. Dick Coles and R. A. Coles is more precisely Mr. Richard "Dick" Alexander Coles and the land was obtained in 1938 from him. F. Strube was Fritz Strube. Mrs. Earby Sr. was born Martha Johnson.

During my visit to the Foxdale Cemetery 6 September 2009, I found markers for everyone except Mrs. M. Hecker. But noticeably, it was only the eastern side of the cemetery had any grave markers. So while the cemetery is a good acre in size, it seems only a quarter of the space has been used when judging by the 30 grave markers.

Source: Coles, Cathy, ed. "The Foxdale Cemetery." Our Harvest of Memories: Foxdale, Sturgeon Valley, Silver Cliff, Three Creeks, Rayside, Rich Valley. Shellbrook, SK: Shell River North Book Committee, 1983. pp. 32-33.