Barry Sproule
1935 - 2023
It is with deep sadness that the family of Austin Barry Sproule announce his passing. Barry, as he was known to all, is survived by his wife of 58 years Lee and his children Chris (Terry), Melody and Shane. Barry was born in the farmhouse of the family homestead near Lafleche Saskatchewan on February 7th, 1935. Barry was the youngest of 10 children born to Fen and Agnes Sproule. He was predeceased by all of them.
Barry was educated in Saskatchewan and after obtaining his teaching degree, he began his career in SK in a one room school house and then Sherwood Park, AB. After that he and Lee moved to Exshaw where he taught until his retirement. Barry was an accomplished musician and entertained audiences across Southern Alberta and parts of BC with the Bow Corridor Four. His love of music remained with him throughout his life. Barry loved the outdoors and he had a great passion for fishing. He spent many of his happiest hours patiently waiting for the next bite all the while admiring the splendor of his surroundings. Barry had a keen and active mind and when he wasn’t reading, he could be found challenging crosswords or playing Scrabble with Lee.
Barry also had a strong sense of community and served on the board of the Exshaw Credit Union, the local recreation board and coached Little League Baseball. During his career as a teacher he also served as a delegate for the Alberta Teacher’s Association.
In his retirement Barry wanted to stay busy and be around people so he took on many endeavors. This included working with the Kananaskis Village maintenance crew, IGA in Canmore and later on became a Marshall at the Kananaskis Golf Course where his love of people could be indulged by the many golfers he met. This also provided Barry an opportunity to collect a large supply of lost golf balls which he happily handed out at family reunions.
The family would like to extend its warmest thanks to the homecare workers from FCSS Canmore, Dr. Mark Hawkins and our deepest gratitude to the staff at the Bethany Care Centre in Cochrane. The care and love they gave Barry helped he and the family navigate the tragedy of Alzheimer’s Disease and provided Barry a measure of dignity until his passing. Finally, a special thanks to the Exshaw community for watching over our dad.
Cremation has taken place. At Barry’s request there will be no funeral or memorial service.
