Esmond Allcock celebrated his 108th birthday in Kerrobert last week and he is officially the oldest man in Canada.
Joan Janzen
of The Crossroads
Esmond Allcock, the oldest man in Canada, celebrated his 108th birthday on Jan. 26, 2018, at the long-term care facility in the Kerrobert Hospital, where he resides.
The occasion will be marked in history, as Kerrobert’s mayor designated this day as Esmond Allcock Day, in honour of the centenarian’s birthday.
Esmond moved into the long-term care facility in 2015, having previously resided in Pioneer Haven since he was 102 years of age. It was at that time he purchased a new car and drove it until he was 103.
A one-time neighbour of Esmond’s said, “It was not uncommon to hear Esmond start up the snowblower to clean the neighbours’ driveways following a storm, before the rest of us were up. And he was 95 at the time.”
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Born on a farm between Moose Jaw and Regina in 1910, Esmond worked at numerous odd jobs, until he followed in his father’s footsteps and “wound up farming.” He retired at the age of 60.
When asked what’s his secret to a long life, he replied, “The doc put me through all the tests about a month ago and he couldn’t find anything wrong.” And then continued to explain his longevity by saying, “I met my wife. She was a sweetheart. She straightened me out.”
Famous for his story telling, Esmond began to describe how he and his wife met. “I saw her across the room at a dance in Kerrobert. I hadn’t met her yet, but I told my cousin ‘That’s the girl I want to marry.’ So I turned on my Irish charm and we got along all right. We were married 72 years and never really had a quarrel.” The couple had three daughters and three sons (two of whom are deceased).
As for hobbies, Esmond used to love to hunt but now he settles for a good game of rummy. His daughters, Linda Forsberg and Chere Lehne, said their dad never misses watching a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game on TV and enjoys face time with his family on his Ipad.
“Dad raised us kids with high values,” his daughter Linda said. “Be honest, fair, keep your word and always be on time. He’d always say being on time is the necessity of businessmen and the courtesy of kings.”
Linda’s sister Chere added, “And we were never allowed to talk back to our mother. And if Mom ever wanted something, if he could, Dad would make it happen.”
“Every summer our family went to the lake for a week, and every winter dad would make a skating rink for us.” Linda said. She added, “He was a man of faith; he prays for all of us every day. I think that’s why he’s still alive. He has 71 direct descendants and 67 of them are living.”
As Esmond sat and enjoyed all the attention at his party, his daughter straightened his shirt. “I might as well take it off,” Esmond said with a twinkle in his eye, “I have a better one underneath.”
“Why is Dad living so long?” Linda paused before answering her own question. “I think God knows we need him.”
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