MANDIN: In Loving Memory of Joseph George Mandin who was born Feb. 11, 1939 at North Battleford, SK and passed away June 3, 2011 at North Battleford, SK. Joe is survived by his wife Helene; sons: John (Shelley), North Battleford, SK; Kevin (Monique), Alison & Kirkland, North Battleford, SK, Vince (Coralie), Jake & Paige, Sherwood Park, AB; Darrell, Edmonton, AB; sisters: Theresa (Ron) MacPherson, Regina, SK; Grace (Bob) Carbert, Edmonton, AB; Sheila (Bob) Walker, Rose Valley, SK; brother, Jack, Edmonton, AB; sisters-in-law: Magdalena, Portage, MB, Elaine (Bob) Crawford, Calgary, AB and numerous nieces, nephews and their families. Joe was predeceased by his parents, Francis and Lucille; sisters: Jean, Marie, Lucille and brothers: Henry, Don and Ted. Funeral Mass was held Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. from St. Joseph Calasanctius Roman Catholic Church, with Father Val Besas, Celebrant. The Cross Bearer was Kirkland Mandin and Urn Bearer was John Mandin. The Entrance Hymn was "Be Not Afraid" and the Eulogy was given by Vince Mandin. Liturgy of The Word was shared by: First Reading ~ Shelley Mandin; Second Reading ~ Alison Mandin; Gospel ~ Fr. Val Besas; Prayers Of The Faithful ~ Monique Mandin. Liturgy of The Eucharist: Gift Bearers were Jake Mandin and Paige Mandin. Gifts of Music were by St. Joseph Faith Community Choir; Organist, Doreen Gilles; Soloist, Robert MacKay, "Ave Maria" and Hymn Selections: "Prayer Of St. Francis", "Here I Am Lord" and "Amazing Grace". The Honourary Pallbearers were "All Who Shared In Joe's Life". Memorials are requested to The Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation Inc, Box 1358, North Battleford, SK S9A 3L8 and Canadian Cancer Society, Box 112, North Battleford, SK S9A 2X6. Interment took place at The City Cemetery, North Battleford, SK. Eulogy by Vince Mandin Good afternoon, my name is Vince Mandin and I am proud to say, "I am one of four sons of Joe and Helene Mandin. My brothers are John, Kevin and Darrell". I will talk about my Dad forever but today I will keep it brief. I am honored to give the Eulogy for my Dad, Joe Mandin. He was the most loving, caring, compassionate, honest and humorous man I have ever known. Everybody knew Joe Mandin, as my Uncle Jack found out when they went to the mall for a coffee and it took fifteen minutes to get from the car to the coffee shop. Dad had to stop and visit people on the way, even those he didn't know. I had the pleasure of working with him, for nine years, with the City of North Battleford. I observed how well his fellow workers and the general public respected him. He loved the boys at the shop and the girls at City Hall. He would always go to the shop early to visit or get in on a game of Kaiser, where they used codes all the time. Everybody would laugh when the codes were used. Lots of time my Dad couldn't say the code without laughing. I found out later that he used to do the same thing fifty years ago with Uncle Jack, until my Mom and Aunt Pat put a stop to it and would not allow them to be partners anymore. Joe Mandin had a Positive Aurora around him, he was like a big magnet. People enjoyed visiting Joe, as he always had a story or a funny joke to tell. Most of you probably remember one of his famous one-liners. He had a contagious - infectious laugh. He would laugh so hard he would cough and get red in the face. Joe Mandin was also a very compassionate man. He would always be so sincere, no matter what the situation. At social gatherings a giggling crowd would always surround him. Joe was very proud of his beautiful wife, of fifty-three years, Helene. They were joined together at the hip. They did everything together from shopping to camping. He was famous around the house for the Look. If Dad was telling a story and he wasn't sure of a detail he would call "Helene" and ask her the correct detail, even though Mom was not in the same room she would always hear him calling. Joe loved camping. Every year he would say 'I don't want to camp", but it was all talk. He loved being at the lake camping with my Mom and the Grandchildren, where he always wore his camping hat. My Mom and Dad set the example of being fantastic, loving parents. They raised four boys and everybody knows that is not an easy task. Every Sunday we had a family supper, where we all got together. Family was Number One to my Dad. He was very proud of his four boys. He always helped us out whether building a fence or tightening the screw on the gate. He taught us honesty, love, good morals and values. He taught us by example of how to live life and how to treat others. He would always say "What goes around comes around". He held our hands from birth as we held his hand in his final days. Joe was also proud of his four Grandchildren: Jake, Alison, Kirkland and Paige. It was enjoyable watching him interact with the kids from their birth to his last days. His eyes always would light up when he saw the Grandchildren. He would be a kid again playing games no matter how silly they were. He would get down and do whatever they wanted. All four Grandchildren were very spoiled by Grandpa with the most important gift, his time and love. He was always there from camping to watching the grandkids events, concerts and sports. His famous words were "Spoil them and send them home". Joe loved his daughters-in-law, Monique, Coralie and Shelley. To him they were his daughters. He was a Dad to them and he loved it. He was always a big softy, when the girls were around. Joe worked for the City, where he started in the Maintenance Department. He used to be in the local newspaper every year hanging up Christmas Decorations, on light poles. We were always so proud to see our Dad on the front page of the newspaper. Everybody remembers Joe as the Water Meter Reader, going into each house and business, every three months. In retirement he continued walking everyday. Joe Mandin was also very brave. He was a volunteer fireman, where he fought some of the memorable fires in the city, such as the Saskatchewan Hospital fire. My Mom was on the Auxiliary, serving coffee and snacks to the firemen, and she couldn't find Joe, then somebody pointed up on the roof and said "That's Joe". There he was blasting water into the big flame-filled hole. I later read that this fire could have been one of Canada's worst disasters, if it wasn't for the heroic efforts of the firemen. Hundreds of lives were saved that day. Joe Mandin was very strong. He went to the hospital on May 8, Mother's Day, for what was thought to be pneumonia, turned out to be cancer. During this time he endured his lungs being tapped and for five days he had a tube in his back, hooked to a pump. He never complained once, as he didn't want his family to worry. During this twenty-five day battle we had lots of tears, laughs and love. We all joined as one going through this nightmare. He told jokes till the last day. His last joke was moving the oxygen sensor from his index finger to his middle finger. The nurses immediately fell in love with Joe Mandin. To them he was their Dad or Grandpa. They called him Smiley and they gave him extra care all the time. In the end my Dad was surrounded by his loving family. We promise Dad, that we will all stay close and keep the love and laughter going. We will never forget those loving Blue eyes and that big smile. We love you Dad and we will all miss you so much. Thank you for everything. Card of Thanks The family of Joe Mandin would like to thank everyone for your many thoughts and acts of kindness. Thank you to Dr. Holtzhausen, Dr. Khurana, the nurses of ICU and 3rd Floor West for giving Joe (Dad) such excellent care and showing compassion. Thank you to Bob MacKay and Battlefords Funeral Service for your great service and compassion. Thank you to Father Val Besas, Altar Server, Organist and Choir of St. Joseph Calasanctius Parish for Joe's (Dad's) Funeral Mass. Thank you to St. Joseph C.W.L. for serving lunch. Thank you the Servants Of Hope Pastoral Care Ministry for providing a great meal for the family. Thank you to everyone who attended the Funeral Mass. Thank you to everyone for your phone calls, cards, flowers, food, prayer cards and donations. Thank you to anyone we missed. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
