Obituary of Odin Aasen

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Odin Aasen, a longtime resident of the Peace River area, on Saturday, August 27, 2022, at the age of 81 years.  He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.

Dad was the 2nd born to John and Esther Aasen on January 7th, 1941, in Edam, Saskatchewan.  When he was 6, he developed rheumatic fever and spent 66 days in the hospital in North Battleford, about 40 miles away from home and family. He was told to stay indoors and not exert himself when he returned home from the hospital, but he'd had enough of sitting around so he would sneak out his bedroom window to play outside. Dad collected a bounty on gopher tails and crow’s feet at a young age for spending money. The family moved to Dawson Creek in 1951. Shortly after, he started his paper route which was the largest in Dawson Creek. Later, he drove the Orange Crush truck making deliveries to Silver Sands in the Pine Pass and to FSJ over the railway trestle when the Taylor bridge collapsed. He finally got his Chauffeur’s license at age 16.

As a teenager, Dad loved to play baseball, swim, play hockey, hunt, and spend time with his friends. When he met Mom, their first date was very memorable. They sat around a campfire toasting marshmallows, and when Mom's caught on fire she waved it around to put it out - but it flew off the stick right onto Dad's new jacket and burned a hole in it. He must have really liked her to get a second date! Dad married our mom, Bonnie Torgrimson on August 30, 1963.

Dad started his farming career as a parts man, then moved into equipment sales, and finally bought into the dealership as a part owner. His passion was farming, and it got too hard to continue with both, so he sold out, but continued to sell equipment alongside farming in 1980. He loved designing things and tweaking them to make his farm work easier; he got quite creative in his later years by adding steps to the machinery for easier access so he could still operate them all and be a fully functional farmer. He looked at problems as a challenge to solve. He would think long and hard before starting any of his projects. His love of horses was well known; he started with saddle horses, many of which he broke himself, then branched into heavy horses and Welsh ponies for the grandkids. He also tackled the cow/calf business, which lasted for almost 30 years until 2008. He combined his final crop in 2021 and loved every minute of it.

When the grandkids started arriving in 1992, Dad said if he'd have known how much fun they were, he'd have had his grandkids first! The highlight of his day was picking up whichever kids were around and going crop checking with a bowl of popcorn. This is where the grandkids would get their first driving lesson, at a very early age - how to steer the truck. He taught all the kids how to drive by the age of 10 so we and the grandkids could help move equipment from field to field faster.

Dad won several tropical vacations throughout his years selling equipment. They travelled to Venezuela, Jamaica, Hawaii, Mexico, Arizona, Cuba, and Dominican Republic - this trip was a winning raffle ticket he got for Christmas!  Dad and Mom bought a holiday trailer in the 90's and spent a lot of time camping with family and friends. Moonshine Lake was a favorite family spot, and they also took road trips with friends up the Alaska Highway and to Yellowknife.

Dad was known as a hardworking and honest man. He loved his family, farm, livestock, and equipment. When we were kids, a rainy day was an excuse to sleep in - but Dad always had "plans" for us. He would make sure we were all awake early - we think he was just bored and didn't want to sit and listen to the rain by himself! Dad taught us several lessons over the years; never give up on your dreams, if you love what you do then you are successful, if you want something you have to work hard for it - and Dad lived by these principles until the end. Mom and Dad had a clipping they kept on the wall “work isn’t really work unless you would rather be doing something else”.

In 2014 Dad was given the dreadful cancer diagnosis. He fought a long and hard battle, always staying positive as he went through his treatments. During one of the last of many hospital stays, we were able to surprise Dad with a special visit from his new twin great grandsons. His face lit up as they entered his room and he grinned from ear to ear - one of his proudest moments.

He was predeceased by his brother Victor, sisters Darlene and Cheryl.

He leaves to mourn his loss; wife Bonnie; children Liane (Bob), Deanne (Brian), Lisa (Tim), Dean (Holly); 10 grandchildren; and 3 great grandchildren.

At Dad's request, there will be no service.

Very Respectfully, Reynars Funeral Home and Crematorium