FRANCIS: John Philip (Phil) Wiseman Francis of Battleford, Saskatchewan passed away on Sunday, July 10, 2011 at the Battlefords Union Hospital. Phil was born on August 1, 1913 in Battleford, Saskatchewan to John Francis and Lucy Francis (nee Turner Wilson), expatriates of Norfolk, England. He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Laurie Jean Francis (nee Macpherson); nieces Linda Dustan Selinger (Patrick) from Brandon, Manitoba, Marilyn Francis (Detlef) from Qualicum Beach, B.C.; great-nieces Leanne Dustan from Ottawa, Ontario, Lisa Dustan from Montreal, Quebec and Lori Dustan Lafond (Darrell); great-great-nieces Ayla, Riley and Maya Lafond from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is survived by extended family in the counties of Oxfordshire, Suffolk and Bath in England. He is also survived by his brothers-in-law, Stanley Macpherson of Vancouver, B.C. and Fred Macpherson of Edmonton, Alberta and many nieces and nephews and their families including Charlene, Tony, Timothy, Michael, Patti, Stewart, Hugh, Barbara, Laurie, Morag, Margo, Donna and Karen. He was predeceased by his youngest brother Lloyd who was killed in action in Normandy in 1944, his brother Manley in 1976 and his sister-in-law Margaret "Peggy" Francis in 2001, his brother Tom in 1999; his sister Margaret Bridgeman in 2009 and his brother-in-law Octavius "Jack" Bridgeman in 1968. Phil enjoyed robust health during the majority of his life until the last four years. Phil served with the RCAF in WWII, first as a flight instructor in Canada and later as a spitfire pilot overseas. In recognition of his skill and courage, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and is mentioned in several published historical accounts of WWII flying missions. After the war, Phil and Jean were married on January 11, 1946 in St. George's Anglican Church in Battleford and, he joined in partnership with his brother Tom on the Francis family farm. He continued to farm until his 87th year. From 1950 to 1952, however, his love of flying called to him and he and Jean moved to Lac La Ronge where he was employed as a commercial "bush" pilot with Saskatchewan Government Airways. He flew Beavers and Norseman aircraft and spoke affectionately about his flying adventures during those two years. Until a short time ago, he continued to read voraciously on a wide variety of topics. His skills and abilities were varied and many. He enjoyed meeting people and he enjoyed learning about new things throughout his life. He continued to drive a vehicle until early 2011 and over the years, he and Jean traveled many miles within Saskatchewan, Manitoba and to British Columbia. They would often travel on very short notice, enjoying the countryside on a beautiful sunny day. He was the backbone of the family; a voice of calm and reason, a positive, gracious and compassionate gentleman, in every sense of the word, who continued to see the good in everyone he met. He was a risk taker and he had an adventurous spirit and a wonderful sense of humor. He would meet people with enthusiasm and as though he had been waiting a week to see them. Phil's first vehicle was a 1940 Plymouth that was affectionately called "Josephine." The car was sold many years ago and is now refurbished and red in color. He enjoyed the music of Vera Lynn "the WWII sweetheart of the forces" through the years. Among his favorite songs were the "White Cliffs of Dover." He was an avid sports enthusiast, and there would have to be a good reason to miss watching a football or a hockey game, especially when the Saskatchewan Roughriders or the Toronto Maple Leafs were playing! Phil was a member of Toastmasters and a life member of the Battleford Masonic Lodge, and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #9. Phil and Jean built a home in Battleford in the late 1970s and then moved to Ridgepoint Place Condominium in 1993 where they made many precious friendships of long standing. Phil will remain in our hearts as captured in the saying, "it is not the first or last date that matters; but all the happy days between." The following heartfelt words were included in the eulogy written and delivered by Great-Nieces Leanne Dustan, Lori Dustan Lafond and Lisa Dustan at Phil's Funeral Service held at St. Paul's Anglican Church on July 15, 2011: "Good afternoon, on behalf of our family, we would like to thank you for coming today to mourn the loss of such a beloved, wonderful man who will be greatly missed, but also to celebrate his long almost 98 year life. We are Uncle Phil's great nieces and we are honored to be able to speak today about Uncle Phil; a man who was known as an outstanding pilot, a farmer, a carpenter, a mechanic and a philanthropist, and today, will be honored as a husband, friend, brother, uncle and grandfather. Our grandfather Manley, Phil's brother, passed away when I, Lori was six weeks old, Leanne was 21 months old and Lisa was not yet born. While he had the opportunity to meet Leanne and I, neither of us had the chance to know him. While Manley could never be replaced, Uncle Phil took over the role of grandfather for us in the Francis family. Uncle Phil grew up on the family farm west of Battleford in the municipality of Battle River. He was part of one of the original families to homestead and farm in the Prongua district. He was the oldest of five children and the last surviving child of John and Lucy Francis who came from Norfolk, England. Four other children were born to the couple following Phil, namely, Margaret, Tom, Manley and Lloyd. Phil helped his father with chores from the time he was old enough to trail behind in the furrows, stomping on the sod as it was turned over by the walking plow. He attended school at Prongua, Cleveland, Lindequist, and Battleford. He was out of school for a short time to help on the farm after his father became ill with pneumonia and later tuberculosis. He returned to school, attending St. George's College, an Anglican Boarding School in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for three years. Following his graduation from Grade 12 in 1932, he went north to Goldfields to work in the mine in order to earn enough money to get his pilot's license. Phil served with the Royal Canadian Air Force, as a flying instructor and a spitfire pilot. He returned home in late August of 1945 and had enlisted to go to Japan, but found out on his arrival back in Canada that the war was over and peace had been declared. In recognition of his skill and courage, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and is mentioned on several sites on the internet and in several published historical accounts of WWII missions. Following the war, he persuaded Miss Laurie Jean Macpherson of Prince Albert to marry him. She was his "Jinnie" and he was her "Red", and on January 11, 1946, she became his bride. Phil joined in partnership with his brother Tom on the Francis family farm to farm their father's land until retirement, aside from the two years he was employed with Saskatchewan Government Airways as a Commercial Pilot in Lac La Ronge, Sk. How do you describe a life that was long and well-lived, by a man so respected and admired by his family and in the community? He was a man who would always greet you with a smile and a handshake or a hug, and if you were lucky, his hearing aid would whistle, to which he would exclaim, "it only does that for the good looking ones." He was something special to each of us; his most exceptional relationship was that of husband, sidekick and best friend to Auntie Jean or his "Jinnie" for 65 years. He was a licensed mechanic and was always interested in how things were built. This carried over the opening of our gifts at Christmas and our birthdays where he could be found sitting with Uncle Tom discussing the fine details and mechanics of the newest toy we had received. He was issued a private flying license at the age of 72; took a course on how to thatch roofs in his 80s and, bought his first computer and was connected to the internet in his 90s. He was also active in the antique car club. Our summers spent here in the Battlefords' would always include rides in the Model T with Uncle Phil during "Those Were The Days." Here are some other things you may not know about Uncle Phil; he was a skilled self-taught carpenter, electrician and plumber who could often be seen with a pencil behind his ear and a tape measure close at hand. He was a fine athlete and a great dancer. He was an excellent tour guide with an incredible memory of the land, and he loved to take long drives with Auntie Jean inspecting the crops. We have many good memories of driving around the Saskatchewan countryside with Uncle Phil and Auntie Jean to check and see what was going on. His knowledge of crops was not transferable to flowers, however; he referred to all of them as geraniums! In January of 2011, he established an endowment fund in the Soils Archive in the Soil Science Field Research Facility at the Grains Innovation Laboratory, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan entitled "The Francis Brothers' Soils Archive" honoring he and his brother Tom Francis who farmed close to Battleford, Saskatchewan from 1945 to 1999 on the farm established by their father in 1905. In closing, an excerpt from his DFC citation states "at all times displaying a fine fighting spirit, skill and devotion to duty. In our own citation, we would add "kind, loving, patient, honest, easygoing and intelligent; a true gentleman with a gentle soul. He was one of a kind and the world will be a better place because he was in it. He will be dearly missed."Interment took place at Veteran Section ~ Town of Battleford Cemetery, Battleford, SK. Memorial donations are requested to Heart and Stroke Foundation. CARD OF THANKS The family extends heartfelt thanks to the many kind friends and acquaintances who have gone the extra mile to help, Doctor Tootoosis and Doctor Morton and the kind staff on Ward 3 Â鶹´«Ã½AV at Battlefords' Union Hospital, the Co-op Cafeteria Staff, Bob Mackay for his superb solo "The Day Thou Gavest": the Venerable Reverend Peter Yeung, who officiated the funeral service at St. Paul's Anglican Church; Jim Ramsay for his piping at the interment and, the Ladies Auxiliary at St. Paul's for providing a wonderful lunch. A special thank you to Bob Mackay and the staff at Battlefords Funeral Service for their exceptional help. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
