Weldon Edward Henke

Weldon Henke of Calgary (previously California) passed away peacefully after a short illness January 22, 2022 at the age of 85 years. Dad was born in Calgary and raised on the family farm near Nightingale, AB. He was the middle of five children. There were many interesting stories of the boys and their antics growing up on the farm tormenting one another and others that came to visit! He went to Mt. Royal College in Calgary for his education which would direct him to his eventual career in the communications industry. He married Barbara Johnson from Hussar, moved to Edmonton and had Leah and Shelley. He worked for Alberta Government Telephones in Edmonton, then Valleyview. From there he and his family moved to Hemet, California where Barbara had close family members and where he furthered his career with General Telephone (GTE) for many years. Dad remarried and moved to Newbury Park, CA., and worked for Verizon in Thousand Oaks where he eventually retired. He specialized in microwave towers and was part of the beginning of the fibre optic movement. His career was very important to him and he was proud of his achievements. Dad was good at everything he did. His main hobby later in life was his wood-working. We have many momentos built by dad which we will cherish. Shelley came back to Alberta in 1980 and Leah much later. In 2014 we brought dad back to Canada to be with his large extended family. He moved into the Beverly Estates Midnapore independent living residence in Calgary. His brother and sister-in-law were residing there as well. Eventually his sister and spouse arrived too and the three of them were able to reconnect. They were always close at heart, but Dad lived so far away from them most of his adult life. Once he lost his siblings, he moved to Grand Seton Village. There he became the resident “Bingo Caller” and was proud of that title. He had only been living there for a short while when COVID hit. Rather than being on lockdown, he spent two months in Drumheller with Tom & Shelley. He so enjoyed this time having happy hour with his beloved son-in-law Tom, being around Tom’s family who always treated him as their own, and spending time around the firepit with all the friends he had met over the past years when he would visit from California. He also looked forward to his Thursday night pub nights at Hudson’s Pub in Calgary with family more than ever and would always be ready to go wearing his black leather jacket! Dad had a special great-nephew, Garrett Labillois who would go see dad every Saturday night. They shared a very special bond together watching movies and talking politics. Dad was thrilled to be able to really get to know his grandchildren and great-grand children. This was rewarding to everyone involved and the memories created will be held in our hearts forever. Weldon is survived by two daughters, Leah Tabaldo of Calgary and Shelley (Tom) Samuel of Drumheller and step-daughter, Melissa Ramirez of California. Grandchildren Casie (Dale) Tracey, Carli (Neil) Haley, Spencer Samuel, Stephanie (Anthony) Tabaldo & Nicole Tabaldo all of Calgary. Great-Grandsons Lachlan & Mackinnon Tracey and Hudson Haley of Calgary as well as numerous nieces and nephews he loved with all his heart and who were so good to dad, including him in many of their family functions. Dad was predeceased by his parents Alfred & Marcella Henke, brothers Gerald & Emmett Henke, Sisters Marjorie Lowe and Angela Huget and sister-in-law Leona Henke.

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