Raymond Gilkyson Death, Obituary – It is with deep regret that we must inform you that Ray Gilkyson passed away on December 19, 2022, at the age of 77, as a result of events that were totally unanticipated on anyone’s part. Ray was the final son to be born to Stella and Floyd, and he was also the youngest of their four children. Stella and Floyd had three other sons before Ray.
Beaverlodge is the place of Ray’s birth. He spent his boyhood in the La Glace region on the land that belonged to his family and was located there. Ray and Vicky initially crossed paths when they were in high school, and shortly after they wed in 1969, they were blessed with two boys, Scott and Greg. Both of his parents had chosen farming as their profession, and he followed in their footsteps by raising cattle and grain on the family farm.
After devoting his whole working life to managing the operations of the family farm, he eventually decided to take an early retirement so that he could pursue a career in real estate and auctioneering instead. Throughout the years, he was also highly engaged in the community, serving on a variety of boards and ultimately becoming a councilor for the County of Grande Prairie. This involvement continued even after he became a councilor.
Ray took part in a wide range of activities throughout the course of his entire life, including baseball with the Sexsmith Rainiers, hockey, rodeo, and golf. He also participated in all of these activities. While he was a senior in high school, he participated in the Alberta Summer Games and the Alberta Winter Games, where he took part in a number of different sports. His most recent competition was in Kamloops, British Columbia, for the Canadian 55+ Games, in which he competed for Alberta in the golf competition.
In addition, spending time with his family, particularly his grandchildren, was Ray’s top priority in life. This was his biggest passion. Because he valued the time he was able to spend with his grandchildren so highly, he never let an opportunity pass him by to start a new family custom or create new memories to share with them. He took them golfing, to Storm hockey games, to play hide-and-seek, to play hide-and-seek at the farm, to play hide-and-seek at the Northern Spirit Light Show with hot chocolate, and to play hide-and-seek at other events, and it was a lot of fun for him to do so.