Albert was born on October 18, 1932, in a little house in Redberry Lake,
Saskatchewan. At the age of 6, he moved to Alberta with his parents, Henry and
Polly, and his siblings Walter, Alden and Adeline. Albert attended school in Craigend
until grade 9.
Albert’s jobs took him all over western Canada. He worked on the DEW Line up
north, drove a taxi during the boom in Uranium City and worked on a paving crews
across Alberta and theYukon. Upon returning to Lac La Biche, Albert met the love of
his life, Lucille.They were married on July 7, 1967, and over the next few years they
had their two sons, Darren and Glenn.
Albert worked for the Lac La Biche School Division as a bus driver and in the
afternoons, he was the meat cutter at Hamar’s Groceries and IGA. Albert always
spoke about his bus route from Rich Lake to Lac La Biche and had fond memories
of living at the Onciul’s. He was then fortunate to accept a position at AVC as the
Manager of Maintenance of Transportation where he stayed for 20 years. Along
with looking after the vehicle fleet, he was the driver of the AVC bus. If there were
students or community groups who had to go out of town, Albert was the driver to
take them wherever they needed to go. It was through this opportunity that Albert
became so well known in the community and made many lifelong friends.
Upon retiring, Albert continued to keep himself busy by working at The Stitchin’
Man, in between coffee breaks with friends at the local cafe. Music was also
a passion for Albert. There were many weddings, anniversaries, beer fests,
dances and fundraisers where he had people dancing the night away.
Albert will be remembered for his kindness, his great sense of humour
and his way of words. He was loved by his family and the many
friends he made throughout his life.
May he rest in peace.
Final Resting Place
Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery
Craigend, Alberta
Survived by his loving wife of 54 years
Lucille Happner
Children
Darren & Carrie Happner
Glenn & Leigh Happner
Grandchildren
Chelsea &Taylor Volke
Tanisha Happner & Raven Baxter
