Charlie Ing of Breton passed away in Rimbey Hospital on Thursday, May 31, 2012. Charlie is survived by his sisters Dorothy Buchanan, Violet Matthews, and Myrtle Carson, as well as his son-in-law Darcy Doble, numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and friends. He was pre-deceased by his daughter Karen Doble, parents Richard and Louisa Ing, brother Walter Ing, sister Marion Lidgett and the spouses of his siblings (of these only Evans Carson survives).
Charlie was born to Richard and Louisa Ing in Kirriemuir, Alberta in 1918. When he was seven years old he moved with his parents to South Cooking Lake. He lived there until February of 1933 when he, his father and his brother Walter moved to the farm near Breton on foot, driving the cows ahead of them from South Cooking Lake. The trip took 7 days and seven nights. The rest of the family followed the next spring.
He worked in the sawmills until World War II started. Charlie and his brother Walter were called into the army about 1940. Charlie liked to recall how the train he was travelling on to Ontario was derailed, so he arrived too late to go with his unit to Europe. Instead Charlie was deployed to Jamaica, where he spent the war as a military chauffeur. He definitely felt that the derailed train was a blessing.
After the war, Charlie worked again for Anthony's before they closed down the mill and the village of Antross was dismantled. Then he went to work for the Pearson Brothers mill in Breton. In 1952 he got into the oil patch, working on trucks in Leduc, then Camrose, Red Deer, Lacombe, etc., wherever he was needed. He worked at Fox Creek, Swan Hills, Whitecourt, and Valleyview on pipeline, construction and maintenance.
Charlie met and married Mary Boudreau while working in Red Deer. On June 10th 1965 they adopted Karen. Later he and Mary divorced. On April 5th 1985 Karen married Darcy Doble. Darcy and Karen lived in Lacombe, Alberta.
In 1973 Charlie went to work for Miller Western Lumber Company in Whitecourt. He said it was really a good place to work at the time. He retired and moved to Breton in July 1983. Charlie enjoyed gardening and satellite TV, but he especially enjoyed fishing.
My great-great grandparents Robert and Ruth Ing have 600 descendants but Uncle Charlie was the last male in our family with the old Buckinghamshire surname of Ing. So his passing marks the end of an era.
Charlie enjoyed the annual Ing family reunions near Breton, where he had the opportunity to visit with family and friends. At the reunions he had the honour of bestowing the medals on the winners of the horse shoe pitching competition. He died at age 94, and will be buried in the Breton Cemetery.