KAMSACK — About 130 guests, including family and friends, celebrated the 100th birthday of Jack Leis of Kamsack during a reception at the Ukrainian Catholic Hall on April 4.
The 100th birthday was celebrated over the Easter weekend with 15 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren, among other siblings, family and close friends in attendance. The event included a slide show, a come-and-go tea and a family supper.
Jack Leis was born on April 9, 1926, the seventh of 14 children, to Jacob and Anna Elizabeth Leis, and was raised on a farm south of Runnymede.
He married “the love of his life,” Florence Leis, on Oct. 10, 1948, and the couple had five children: the late Caroline (Phillip) Rezansoff, Clifford (Nicole) of Kamsack, Lillian (Kenny) Koroluk of Kamsack, Edie (Kevin) Sellick of Calgary and Lorne (Laurie) of Kamsack.
According to a brief biography, Jack worked hard all of his life, primarily within his passion of farming at Runnymede. He also worked in Ontario in a logging outfit and helped to erect many buildings in the Kamsack area, including a TD bank building, the Parkland Evangelical Church, a grain elevator and Mert’s Confectionery at Pickerel Point at Madge Lake.
He moved to a house on Windsor Avenue in Kamsack in 1960 while continuing to farm in Runnymede, until he fully retired at 84 years old.
Jack continues to live independently at home, with zest and a love of life, enjoying precious moments with his family, playing board games, and sharing laughs, the biography says. He continues to keep busy shovelling, snow blowing and cutting grass for himself and his neighbours.
Now hard of hearing, he was interviewed recently with the assistance of his son Clifford of Kamsack and granddaughter Niki Leis of Australia.
“If you knew everything I went through,” Jack exclaimed when asked what he credits his long life to. He immediately began to relate an often-told story of the time he was pulled up by the teeth of a stone picker and dropped in a pile of stones, resulting in little more than a few scratches and bruises.
“I should not have survived that,” he said.
He came through that and several other incidents during his life, including a broken leg.
“I believe God helped me then, and in all the other incidents,” he said. “A strong faith.”
Jack said that in his youth, he had been a bit of a daredevil but had “gotten away lucky.” He taught himself to play harmonica and guitar, but “always worked.” As well as farming, he did some electrical work and carpentry.
He described an incident when he was courting his wife, who had lived across the river from him, and one time, to visit, he, riding a horse, got the horse to jump a fence, and then swim about a half mile across the flooded river.
“Hard work” is what contributes to his long life, said Clifford, who explained that he had been able to cut 35 cords of wood while in his 70s.
Clifford explained a rule that his sons had to live by while growing up. They had a curfew of 11 p.m., and if they were an hour late returning home, they were woken an hour earlier the next morning to make up for missing the curfew.
Asked who had kept his driveway clear of snow this winter, Clifford said, “Jack.”
“I enjoy being outdoors,” Jack said. “I don’t like being inside.
He was an avid hunter and fisherman.
Asked about his diet, Clifford explained that throughout his life, his wife had used a cast-iron frying pan, and it had been his habit of using bread to sop up the grease in that frying pan, which he enjoyed eating.
Mostly, he ate home-cooked meals. He never smoked or drank alcohol.
His great passion was hunting, Clifford said.
Currently, he enjoys playing crokinole with Niki, who is visiting from Australia for a couple weeks.
On the occasion of his 100th birthday, Jack received several congratulatory messages from notable persons, including the Canadian governor general and prime minister, but was especially pleased to display a framed copy of the message and photo that he received from King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
“My wife and I are so pleased to be able to wish you a very happy 100th birthday,” the King’s message says. “May your celebration be filled with joy, fond memories and the love of family and friends. We send you our warmest good wishes.”
“I had problems, but I always came out on top,” Jack said. “I’m still looking forward. If there’s something to do, I’m willing to do it.”
