Wray Earl Vines of Gowanstown passed away at Royal Terrace, Palmerston on Thursday, April 6, 2023, in his 93rd year.
Husband of Phyllis (Reichard) Vines. Father of Ron & Ellen Vines of Listowel, Ken & Esther Vines of Fordwich, Nadine & Doug Routliffe of Kitchener, and Brian & Judith Vines of Palmerston. Grandfather of Alicia & Shawn Smith, Ryan & Danielle Vines, Zachary & Taylor Vines, Christopher and Robbyne Vines, Amy & Bobby Whittaker, Ashley & Joe Whitton, Chad & Heather Routliffe, and Seth Routliffe & Sara Smith-Knox, and great-grandfather of Emerson, Ayda, Winston, Wyatt, Lila, Lawson, and Hailey. Brother of Phyllis Klein of Hanover, and Harold & Lieta Vines of Leamington, and brother-in-law of Ruth Vines, and Irene & Everett Zurbrigg. Predeceased by his parents Earl & Ethel (Bridge) Vines, brother Eldon Vines, and by his brothers-in-law Alvin Klein, and Earl Reichard and his wife Elva.
Wray was born in the homestead farmhouse in Wallace Township on September 3, 1930. He attended the old one-room schoolhouse known as Doan USS#5, just west of Mayne Corners. He quit school in grade 8 to work on the family farm. Wray had future aspirations of taking over the farm, and building a legacy as a family farming pigs to chickens, and finally to a dairy operation.
Wray began with a part-time job at the local Kurtzville feed mill, to help earn the down payment toward the purchase of their family farm, at which time he met his soon to be life-long partner, Phyllis Reichard in 1949. As time moves forward, prior to this matrimonial adventure, Wray and 3 friends took a tour to western Canada in 1952 to experience a summer grain harvest season in the Swift Current area. Interesting fact, as folklore has it, Wray and his friends woke up in the flat grainfields just cruising along. He didn’t drive anymore that day and was glad it was flat. The adventure came to a close and the group came back to Ontario where Wray asked his bride-to-be to marry him. They got married in a little white church in 1954 called the Palmerston United Missionary Church, and Wray’s cousins put the first carpet down the aisle of the church for their wedding. For the first two years from 1954-1956 they lived upstairs at the home of Lloyd Faust, just 2 farms away, prior to moving back to the home farm in 1956.
Wray and Phyllis also enjoyed travelling Europe, from England, Switzerland, Holland, France, and Germany, on some bus tours and some organized farm tours. They even toured Italy and ended up for a week in Israel. Family life continued with many more adventures before the retired farmers moved to a newly built house in Gowanstown in 1988 where Wray lived out his remaining years.
Our family would like to thank the Palmerston Hospital and the staff at Royal Terrace Nursing Home, Palmerston for the exceptional care, and the neighbours who have been like family during this time!
Visitation was held at the Palmerston Evangelical Missionary Church on Monday, April 10 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. where the funeral service was held on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. The service was livestreamed and the link is available on the funeral home and church website. Interment in Fairview Cemetery, Listowel.
Memorial donations to Palmerston Evangelical Missionary Church, or Evergreen Christian Ministries (Stayner Camp) would be appreciated, and may be made through the Eaton Funeral Home, Listowel.
Online condolences may be left at www.eatonfuneralhome.ca
