Calvin Wayne Tavener

It is with great sadness that Calvin’s children are announcing his passing on March 28, 2023. Apologies for the late announcement.

Calvin Wayne was born on November 17, 1956, in Winnipeg, Mb. to Stewart and Irene Tavener. Calvin was better known as Cub to his friends and family.

Cub grew up with four brothers and two sisters. He had lots of stories of the shenanigans that he and his brothers would get into. In 1966, the Tavener family moved to The Pas. In his wild years Cub enjoyed motorcycling. He said that’s how he lost his long blond hair- having it blow around helmetless on his bike rides. In his retirement years Cub treated himself to a Triumph Bonneville, but he drove this one with a helmet! One of the best pictures we have of Dad is him taking his mother-in-law Jean for a rip around on the gravel roads of Albert Beach.

When Cub met Carol Still , he met his soulmate. Those two had the kind of love and friendship that many don’t have the privilege to experience.  They said they were like Canada Geese- together for life.

Cub and Carol were married, and they raised three children, Michael, Shannon, and Matthew.

 We have so many memories to share. Our dad was a character. He could be the biggest grump, but with the biggest heart. He always worried about how we were doing and was always there to help in any way he could. Cub was an awesome grampa to Shoni, Rachy, Nola, Conall and Phoebe. Carol would be so, so proud of him.

Before his retirement, Cub worked for many years at the papermill. He made lifelong friendships with many of his coworkers. When he (finally!) retired, Cub enjoyed spending his days metal detecting with his brothers Pat and Greg, and his sister Colleen.  He loved the thrill of digging up hidden treasures, his skills produced a 1921 low mintage nickel and sold it for $3000!

One of Cub’s other hobbies was woodworking. If you have one of his wooden cannons or mini snowmen, know that he put a piece of his heart into it.

Cub’s fried pickerel and home fries were legendary. He would stress and fret about getting the food to his guests crispy and hot- even a couple of weeks before his passing the family enjoyed one of these suppers.

During our last days with Dad, he was asked if his spirit was going to be cruising around with mum’s. His reply was “I’ll find her”.

We have had so many phone calls and messages from people who are sad to have lost our dad from their lives. Thank you to everyone who had such kind things to say.

Dad had, and we have, the greatest appreciation for the care he received from Dr. Brady Anderson (on their last phone appointment Dad thanked Brady and said, “You tried your best”.), the local cancer unit, the homecare angels, and the MAID program.

A funeral service for Calvin will be taking place on Saturday, August 5th, 2023 at Westminster United Church at 1:00 PM.