Frederick Goodyear Charles

Frederick Goodyear Charles was one of 6 children born to Frederick and Alice Charles. Fred Jr. was born on Sept. 25 1924 near Ochre River, Manitoba. He grew up on the family farm on the edge of the Riding Mountains and received his primary education at Banks school. After school, Fred worked on various farms and then went to work in the Northwest Territories in a mine. Fred enjoyed the North and told of times he went kayaking and fishing on Great Salve Lake during his stay there. When Fred’s parents bought a farm near Gladstone, Manitoba, Fred also moved to the Gladstone area. He worked at the blacksmith shop in Gladstone as an apprentice after he took a welding course in Winnipeg at MIT.  Later, Fred purchased the welding shop from his former employer, Mr. Fleck and continued that business for a number of years.  Fred also purchased a farm around that time. (The northeast quarter of section 21-14-12 W, about 4 miles southwest of Gladstone.) Fred enjoyed mixed farming- raising grain, hogs and cattle for many years. Fred enjoyed sharing his farm with family, as siblings and their kids would come out and spend time at the farm during the summer months. Fred’s Mother also lived with him on the farm for a number of years. As years went by, he got rid of the livestock and rented out the land, but he continued to have a desire to live on his farm as long as he could. He was happy to sell his farm to a young family (Scott and Stephanie Elias) who would raise their children right next door to his old farm house. Fred delighted in interacting with kids and took a real shine to the Elias children as well as their dog, Odie.

Fred was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing.  Later in life he continued to hunt deer and go fishing at local fishing holes.  He welcomed family and friends to come and hunt on his land as well, and Fred was eager to share his catch with neighbors whom he thought might enjoy a fresh fish.

Fred was a bachelor, but he definitely was not a hermit.   He went to town almost every day, and would be at the bakery or the hotel restaurant to enjoy some food, coffee and conversation with other local folks. On Sundays he would make the trip to Austin to the Hilltop restaurant, or to Neepawa to one of the restaurants there.

After breaking his leg in Feb. of 2017, Fred was no longer able to live on his own and so he moved to Centennial Apartments in Gladstone where he could have home care workers help him out several times a day. Fred enjoyed living in that community of neighbors for a few years.  When his health deteriorated further, he moved to Third Crossing Manner where he resided until his passing on Aug. 22, 2022. 

  Fred was a part of the community of Gladstone for about 70 years. He saw a lot of changes since he first moved to the community. He also saw a lot of people come and go from this community over the years, but family, friends, neighbors and community members are the richer for having known “Freddy”.   Fred was predeceased by his parents, Fred and Alice, and by his siblings Vauda, Wes, Reg, Evelyn and Reta. He is survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

Fred’s family and friends want to express gratitude to the staff of Third Crossing Manor and the home care workers who provided so much help to Fred in the last years of his life.  They would also like to express appreciation to Scott and Stephanie Elias who helped Fred in many ways and allowed him to live on his own, in his house on the farm that he cherished for as long as was possible.

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