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In Memory of
Albert John
Pries
1955 - 2019
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Obituary for Albert John Pries

Albert John  Pries
On Thursday, January 10, 2019, Albert passed into the presence of his Lord and Saviour while sleeping peacefully in the bunk of his Peterbilt.

Albert grew up on the family farm at Alexander. School was not his favorite thing, there was that one time he chased his teacher out of the school with a broom. He really just wanted to farm with his Dad, and that is what he did, buying a home and some land 3 miles away. When Albert was 18, his sister Lois brought a friend of hers from Rosenort home from Bible School for the weekend. Sandra Siemens and Albert took a shine to each other, and were married on Sept 1, 1974. The family farm carried on until 1987, at which time Albert and Sandy took over the home place from Albert’s parents, and continued farming with the chickens. At this time, Albert also started trucking more or less full time to help out the farm income.

These were also the years Albert and Sandy were establishing their family and their home together. They had five kids between 1976 and 1990. A big part of these years was their time spent in the Griswold church. This church and their church family played a huge part in Albert’s faith journey and drawing him into a lifelong relationship of living with and for the Lord.

Albert did love his bikes, more specifically, big touring bikes. None of those little crotch rockets for him. It started with a nice collection of Goldwings in the ‘70’s, some with sidecars. Many family trips were made with those bikes, from one end of North America to the other. Who would believe that a family of 7 could take an extended long-distance vacation on two bikes? This even caught the eye, and radio mention, of Paul Harvey once! Even from the start though, there was a fair bit of orange Harley blood in Albert, and once he got his first Harley, there was no looking back, except for one very nice Indian thrown in the mix. Albert loved hopping on his bike and just taking off, even if for only a day or two. He officially completed two Iron Butt rides – if you don’t know what that is, you’ll have to google it – and one year was proud to say he had ridden at least once in every month. Sandy always had her own bike, and once the rides became just the two of them again, they took on a different kind of fun. Many enjoyable miles were put on those two bikes side by side. Just last year, when Albert realized his legs might not have the strength to hold up a big bike anymore, rather than discouraging him, he simply upgraded to a Harley trike and kept going.

Albert is one of those unique individuals who was able to make a career out of something he was totally passionate about. It’s an understatement to say Albert loved trucking. Starting out with a ’76 Mack back home on the farm, his involvement with trucking ran through many trucks and quite a few different companies, I. Peters, Keystone Bulk, Steve’s Livestock, Blue Water Wash, and Jade Transport. A number of years back, Albert purchased his own trucking business, Flatland Carriers, and operated that in partnership with his son Butch. Many great hours were spent in the various trucks and in the shop, keeping the trucks in tip top shape, and just maybe adding one more piece of chrome. Albert had a big spot for classic Petes, and most of us have recognized one of his trucks running back and forth on the Trans Canada over the past 20 years or so.

Albert spent a big part of his life dealing with diabetes and its effects, being diagnosed at 15. This meant a years-long struggle of trying to watch his diet, monitor his blood sugar levels, and giving himself needles, not always successfully. Albert refused to let this struggle stop him from living the fullest life possible, and he was determined to keep working hard and playing hard. His wife Sandy was his most faithful nurse, going through many stressful moments of low blood sugar reactions and the like. His disease progressed to the point where his kidneys eventually stopped working, and he spent two years on dialysis three times a week. Through this time, Albert took on one of the biggest challenges of his life, the responsibility of finding a kidney donor, and getting his body ready for transplant surgery. This process also took a couple years, and ended up with successful transplant surgery almost exactly a year ago, thanks to his dear cousin Arnie. This past year was full of making the necessary adjustments to make this a success, and in fact, just over Christmas Albert was given a positive report from his kidney doctors on the transplant.

One of the great joys in Albert’s life in recent years has been his grandchildren. His time as Grandpa has been full of so many fun times with these kids. He loved his grandkids so dearly, and that love has come back to him many times over.

Albert is survived by his precious wife Sandy, and his children, Sherri (Erick) Herrera, and their children Sofia and Fiona; Annillee (Boris) Garcia-Perez, and their children Brendan, Maria, Cisely, Olivia, and Elisabeth; Butch (Amanda) Pries, and their children Leighton, Logan, Corbin and Chaz; Kerri Pries (Tim Dyck); and Ben. He is also survived by his parents David and Wilma Pries, his siblings Lois (Vic) Krahn, Marilyn (Wayne) Reimer, Brian (Ang) Pries, Sandy’s siblings Doris Reimer, Les (Paulina) Siemens, LouAnna (John) Krueger, Randy (MaryAnne) Siemens, Lori (Greg) Friesen. He was preceded by brothers-in-law Jake Reimer and Merv Siemens.

A time of visitation will be held at McDiarmid Drive Alliance Church, 635 McDiarmid Drive on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. The Celebration of Albert's Life will take place also at the church on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. with a reception to follow. Albert will be laid to rest in a private interment at Alexander Cemetery. Donations in memory of Albert may be made to www.gofundme.com/f/albert-pries-funeral-expense.
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