High River Town Councillor Bruce Masterman is remembering former High River Fire Chief and life long resident Oliver Perry.

Perry passed away Monday, February 25 at age 99.

Masterman says Perry was counting down to hitting his 100th birthday this July.

"99 years old, many of us have the pen he issued last July when he turned 99, the pen says "99 Looking for 100." And he didn't make the 100. He'd issued the pen for the last several years, and with every pen I hoped he would make the next number."

Masterman, says if you'd ever stopped by Perry's shop on Centre Street, near 5th Avenue, you'd know he was a bit of a pack rat.

"I remember going in there one day, his truck was parked out front and I needed some lead weights to hold some duck decoys down. He reached into a barrel, or little bin and pulled out these pieces of lead and he said "Would these work?" And they worked fine for many, many years."

Masterman says Perry was a bit of living history.

He says Perry would tell stories about his time working on the Stampede Ranch west of High River for Calgary Stampede founder, Guy Weadick and his wife, Florence LaDue.

Masterman says for the rest of us, they're names in a book that we know about, but "Perry actually knew them."

So far there's no word on specifics for his funeral or any type of public memorial service.

Read More: Former High River Fire Chief Oliver Perry Passes

 

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