Culbert
Family History presents a memoir of Ivan Hector Culbert (3 August 1918 - 21 October 1979) written by
his son, Phillip Myron "Phil" Culbert.
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| Ivan Culbert, age about 5 months. Photo courtesy of Phil Culbert. |
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| Birth announcement published in the Exeter Advocate on 15 Aug 1918. |
Ivan, the third son of Myron and Effie, was born and raised in Lucan, Ontario on Poplar Farm, the Culbert family homestead, built by hand for only $900.00 in 1899 by his grandfather Richard Culbert.
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| Ivan Culbert, 1929, age 11. |
He,
along with his 5 brothers, worked very hard with their father and mother on the
family farm and after completing grade school in Lucan he attended H.B. Beal
Secondary School in London.
He left high school after completing his Grade 10 to start work in Cossey’s Dry Goods store on Dundas Street in London moving in with his older brother Kenneth in an apartment above a store just down the street from where he worked.
One day in late December 1939 during his lunch hour from where he was
working and at the young age of 21, he enlisted in the R.C.R. ( Royal Canadian
Regiment ). Thirteen days later he
boarded a train with 39 other new recruits for Montreal and then on to Halifax
where he set sail for England on Jan 28, 1940.
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| Ivan Culbert (far right) bids farewell to his parents, Myron & Effie Culbert before heading off to war. His brother, Mel Culbert is in the background. This photo was taken in January, 1940. Ivan's family wouldn't see him again until 1946, when he returned from overseas with his war bride, six years later. |
He saw further action throughout the war in France including Normandy and the fierce fighting he encountered in the Italian Campaign where he was wounded by shrapnel and was sent back to England to recover in hospital. During the war he submitted many articulate articles and pictures to the London Free Press that were published of his action during the war in Italy, France and England.
It was back
in England where he met my mother, Elvira Hutchings, daughter of Elizabeth Hutchings of Ystalevera, Wales, U.K., where she was
serving in the Royal Navy in the W.R.E.N.S.
They would marry near the end of the war on Sept. 8th 1945 in
Chichester, England.
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| Ivan Culbert & Elvira Hutchings on their wedding day, 8 Sep 1945, in Chichester, England, just days after the end of WWII. Photo courtesy of Vicky (Culbert) Schloendorf. |
After the war, in early 1946, he returned to Canada with his new bride where they settled in his home town of Lucan where he would open a bakery, grocery and dry goods store and raise their first 3 children Vicky, Ian and Phillip.
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| Ivan & Elvira Culbert's first three children c1951. Left to right: Vicky, Ian, Phil. |
He operated his store in Lucan along with my mother until 1955 when he sold it and moved the family to Owen Sound, Ontario where he managed the Singer Sewing Machine store for 2 years and where his youngest daughter and my sister Christine was born. He had actually started working for Singer Sewing Machine in their London store the year prior to his selling his Lucan store. He left Singer Sewing Machine Company in 1957 and moved the family to London where he secured a job as a guard and later Corrections Officer at the Middlesex County Jail where he would work until a severe stroke that caused permanent speech impairment sidelined him from working there in 1969 at the age of only 51.
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| Middlesex County Courthouse, London, Ontario. Ivan worked as Commissionaire of the courthouse, following a position as guard and Corrections Officer in the jail at the back of the building. |
During most
his years working at the County Jail he also took up house painting part time
which he would do after his shifts at the County Jail and on weekends to earn
extra money.
As his wages at the County Jail were average at best for the day, the extra income from painting certainly helped him manage household finances as well as supporting a family of 6. Every summer growing up we would go on holidays for a week or so to a cottage in Lakeside that he would rent and we had such a great time as a family during that time. Before we moved to Owen Sound in 1955 Mom and Dad had owned a cottage in Lakeside which we went to as often as we could so it was nice to continue that tradition when we moved to London a few years later.
As his wages at the County Jail were average at best for the day, the extra income from painting certainly helped him manage household finances as well as supporting a family of 6. Every summer growing up we would go on holidays for a week or so to a cottage in Lakeside that he would rent and we had such a great time as a family during that time. Before we moved to Owen Sound in 1955 Mom and Dad had owned a cottage in Lakeside which we went to as often as we could so it was nice to continue that tradition when we moved to London a few years later.
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| Fun at the cottage, 1954. Left to right: Ivan's niece, Dana Culbert; daughter Vicky; Ivan; sons Ian and Phil. |
After a long
recovery from his first stroke which also left him unable to ever drive again
he was eventually given a job as a Commissionaire at the Middlesex County
Courthouse.
However, another devastating stroke took his life in 1979 at the
young age 61.
He never
knew what retirement was, having died so young; however, he did leave a lasting
impression on all of us kids what a strong work ethic meant which is a
tradition that I certainly continued for my entire business career as well as
my siblings.
He also
visited every Legion wherever we stopped along the way as I went and did my
sales calls and he would sit in the Legion chatting with fellow vets while they
each enjoyed a pint! He absolutely loved it!
Dad flew
home after our trip with many great memories of our time together as did I and
it is something I will never forget having spent that time with him. That was the last time I saw him as it was
only a few months later that he passed away. God bless him!
Dad is
buried in St. James Cemetery, Clandeboye, near Lucan beside his wife and my mother Elvira who
predeceased him by two years.
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| St. James Cemetery, Clandeboye, near Lucan, Ontario. Ivan & Elvira's final resting place. |
IVAN HECTOR CULBERT'S FAMILY TREE:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-grandparents)
Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (grandparents)
Myron Manford Culbert & Effie Pearl Taylor (parents)
Ivan Hector Culbert
Descendants (Children):
Victoria "Vicky" (Culbert) Schloendorf
Ian Richard Culbert
Phillip Myron Culbert
Elizabeth Christine Culbert (1955-2020).
As a child, I remember trying to teach him how to read and write again - he was always so patient.
ReplyDeleteNo presents could be opened Christmas morning until my dad, came back home with Bompa.
I was always intrigued by the scrapbook he created of his time in the war. I would spend hours looking at the pictures and listening to him describe what was going on in each picture. He always told me stories about the camaraderie he had with the other guys and their antics and didn't dwell on the war part of it. He did tell me one story about killing a German soldier as the picture of this soldiers's wife was in his scrapbook, along with a scrap of parachute. This was likely the soldier shot down in the plane that uncle Phil spoke about.
I used to spend a lot of time with him in his apartment. I would often spend the night and listen to his snoring and the loud ticking of his wind up alarm clock. I still think of him every time I smell Dove soap as that's what he always used.
He spent a lot of time visiting our house and sitting in our backyard around the pool in the summer. One summer his gout was especially bad and he could only wear a slipper on one of his feet. The tan lines were very funny. My dad wanted to build a garage in the yard and in order to do so, he had to cut down a tree. Bompa told my dad that he couldn't cut the tree down because Bompa was going to come back as a cardinal and sit in that tree. Needless to say, every time I see a cardinal, I think of my Bompa. (btw, tree cut down, garage built) The cardinal found alternative perches.
I will never forget my "Bompa's" funeral. He was buried on my 14th birthday. His death had a huge impact on me as he was such a huge part of my life. He was an incredible man and kept the trait going in his offspring.
Nice job uncle Phil!
Wendy Reid (mom is Vicky (Culbert) Schloendorf
Wendy, I agree that your Uncle Phil did a nice job of writing this memoir of your “Bompa.”
DeleteI’m glad you have so many happy memories of him in the short time he was with you.
Your Mom’s brother, Ian told me the cardinal reincarnation story. So every time a male cardinal visits my yard, I call out, “Hello, Uncle Ivan!”
Those are beautiful memories that you shared and wrote Wendy about your Bompa. I know he continues to look down upon you from above with great pride as to the kind of woman, mother and wife you have become that have made all your family so proud!
Delete