Where are they now? 1956-57 Tom Thumb district champs

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Published on Tuesday, March 14, 2017

By Rick Sparling

The Neepawa Press

This feature by local author and sports historian Rick Sparling attempts to locate and catch up with the teams featured in Sparling’s most recent book, Amateur Hockey in Neepawa: A Scrapbook.

Ray Simms taught school in the Neepawa area and was a pitcher for the Neepawa Cubs in the Golden Age of baseball. Ray married Joyce Prus. He unfortunately passed away in 2014.

Barry Deveson married Joan Bassham in 1970. They had one child and have one grandson. Barry operated a Gulf/Petro Canada service station for 35 years and worked for Integra Auto Centre & Tires in semi retirement and fully retired in 2015. He spends much of his summer months honing his golf skills at Rossmere.Barry and Joan reside in Winnipeg.

Ron Kleven married Ruth Roger and they had two boys and have four grandchildren. Ron worked for Bristol Aerospace until 2003 (36.5 years) at which time, he retired. Ron's hobbies include golf, biking and cheering on the Winnipeg Jets. Ron and Ruth live in Winnipeg.

Ray Crabbe joined the Military immediately after finishing Grade 12 and spent 40 years in various roles and command appointments throughout Canada and the world. He was posted in six of the 10 provinces and served in the USA, Germany, Cyprus and the Balkan War. He retired in 1988 as a General lives in East St Paul. He operated a small consulting business for a few years and has retired there with his wife, Brenda (Freeman) They have two children and four grandkids. 

Leonard Wabick moved from Neepawa when he was about 13 years old into Winnipeg and then to Calgary in 1976, where he worked for Reynold Aluminum for 28 years. In semi-retirement, he worked as a project manager part–time. He married Jann Bindas and they are approaching their 50th anniversary. They have three boys and six grandchildren. Len's hobby is traveling and when I made contact with him, he had just returned from Santiago de Chile. They reside in Calgary, Alberta.  

Ed Fearns married Del McBain. In 1967 and they had two boys and have five grandchildren. After graduating from Engineering at Red River College, Ed worked in Virden, where he met Del, and eventually became a partner in Progressive Contracting, a construction firm in Surrey, BC.  Ed played old timer's hockey for several years in BC and took his retirement in 2003. Ed's interests include golfing, travel and boating. Ed and Del have retired in the Shuswap Lake area. They also spend some winter weeks at their home in Temecula, California.

Lawrence Hyra moved to British Columbia in 1962, shortly after his dad (Tom) sold the pool room in Neepawa. He married Barbara Hanna in 1969 and had one daughter, one step daughter and has two granddaughters. Lawrence worked in a saw mill for 47 years and retired in 2012 in Langley, BC.

Dennis Foley left Neepawa and the chicken business to start up Trapper John’s Restaurant in the Polo Park area of Winnipeg. Dennis was involved in a few businesses before winding down 14 years at Rogers Wireless in management there. He retired in 2009. He married Linda Ostapovitch and they have three children and four grandchildren. Dennis' hobbies include golf, coin collecting and antiques. He currently resides in Winnipeg and they venture out to Mexico for part of each winter.

Homer Gill managed two teams to Provincial championships (1957-58 BB's and 1960-61 BB's) Homer was involved with other teams and kept the school hockey program going after Mr. McAmmond and Ruth Faryon left Neepawa. He was also involved in the real estate and Insurance business. Homer married Wilma Steppler and they had one child. Homer passed away in 2014.

Wayne Griffith left NACI in 1977 to work on the family farm. After they sold the farm, he worked with Tubby Cathcart in building the feed lot in Neepawa and in 1980, headed west to the Lethbridge area. Wayne worked for 17 years there running one of the farms for a farm management corporation, until they sold that unit and he moved onto Strome, AB, where he managed another farm for the same company. They sold that farm four years later and he moved into the Red Deer area to manage yet another farm for the same company. Wayne married Norma Sykes from the Cordova/Franklin area and they have two children and one granddaughter. They still live on the farm. Wayne stopped playing hockey and curling about 10 years ago, but still enjoys swimming and golf.

Vic Kostenchuk graduated from NACI in 1965 and went into the finance industry. He spent 30 years with the TD bank in various levels of management; five years in Brandon and 25 years in Winnipeg, before retiring in 2001. Vic married Janet Forbes and had four children and seven grandchildren. They spend their summers at the cottage in Sandy Hook, just a stone's throw from the golf course, which they take advantage of a couple of times a week. Vic still dabbles in some mortgage broker work and they live in Charleswood.

Cam Smith married Cathy Wolko in 1968 and they had two boys and have three grandkids. Cam worked for Manitoba Pool Elevators and then in sales with Nabisco Brands Ltd. for 30 years. He retired in 2003. Cam golfs during the summer and keeps busy attending his grandchildrens' sporting activities. The Smiths reside in Winnipeg.

John Birnie completed his BA and BEd at Brandon University, with a major in hockey, as a Brandon Bobcat. He taught at Selkirk Secondary School while completing his MEd at University of Manitoba. He moved to Victoria, BC and ran in several marathons, including the Boston, Seattle, Victoria and Winnipeg Marathons. While working in the Ministry of Advanced Education in Victoria, he met and married his wife Mary Jo (from Winnipeg). They had four children and have two grandkids, with another one on the way. John became VP of Northern Lights College and retired after 19 years there. They now live on Vancouver Island and winter in Palm Desert, California. His hobbies are golf, tennis, hiking and kayaking. 

Gaynor Vivian attended the University of North Dakota and graduated with a business degree in 1969.  Gaynor took over the Vivian Motor Inn at Neepawa shortly after the death of his father, George, in the mid ‘70s. He sold the Neepawa business in 2014. He also owns the Keystone Motor Inn at Brandon, MB. He owned a janitorial supply company in Reno, Nevada from 1988-1998 and now, Gaynor owns the Poplar Ridge Golf Course, near Wasagaming (Clear Lake). His hobbies include golf, when possible, and he still plays hockey. Gaynor's get-a-way is to his property in Arizona and he travels to Mexico when he can. He lives in Brandon, MB.

Glen McLaughlin worked for Dominon Bridge in Winnipeg before heading to Calgary in 1969, to work in the engineering field in the oil patch. Glen married Penny Ferris (div). He married Brenda Hayes from Brandon, MB, in 2002. He retired in 2009. Glen has two daughters and two grandkids and enjoys camping and golfing in his leisure time. Glen and Brenda live in Calgary.

Jack Tremain found his way to Red Deer, AB, where he worked in the industrial supply industry until he started up his own business, Pumps 'n Pressure Inc in 1988. He married Sandy Roth and has three children and six grandchildren. His company has eight branches across Western Canada and 140 employees and he was a finalist for “Entrepreneur of the Prairies” in 2015. Jack enjoys curling, golf and travel and continues to be involved with his business. They still live in Red Deer.

Rick Sparling worked in middle management with Eatons, Defehr Furniture, Eatons again, Linens n Things and finally in sales with Sears, where he retired in 2012. Rick has one son from his first marriage and two step children and three grandchildren from his second wife, the late Barbara Poersch. Rick’s hobbies are billiards and research/writing. He lives in Winnipeg.

Billy Crooks moved from Neepawa to Brandon, from 1964 to ‘67, then onto Minnedosa as an auto mechanic. Bill then moved into working on school buses and went on to become transportation supervisor and mechanic for the Rolling River School Division, until his retirement in 2001. He married Audery Stewart and they had two children and have five grandkids and one great grandchild. Bill played old timer’s hockey until 2006 and enjoys hunting and fishing in his retirement. They reside in Minnedosa.

Rick Howden joined the R.C.M.P directly after graduating from NACI in 1966. After training, he was posted to Saskatchewan. After retiring from the force after 28 years, he was hired by Corrections Canada and worked as an Intelligent Officer for seven years at the Prince Albert Penitentiary. He then retired to Candle Lake. Sk., until 2013, when he moved to Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island. Rick winters in Indio, California. He has two children who live in Alberta. He enjoys  good health, plays golf, tennis and according to him, life is great! Rick played hockey until he was 55, so he’s grateful to all of the coaches he had growing up in Neepawa, learning the greatest game in the world. 

Ron Bell lived in Winnipeg for a few years before heading out to the west coast, where he did some specialized boat building. He specialized in the Ferro-cement boats, which he partially built inside a room he rented. He also invented a barbecue for boats under his own brand “Force Ten”. Ron married Laurie Moss and had twins. After spending some time in Vancouver, Ron returned to Neepawa, where he ran a kite business out of the old Regent Bowling Alley location. He left Neepawa to be closer to Laurie’s parents and moved to Chesterville, Ontario. Ron was known all along the west coast for his sail making, which he did for three or four years after moving back to B.C. until he had some health issues and passed away back in 1997.