Lloyd Werle

William Lloyd Werle was born the eldest of three children on June 19, 1935 in the RM of Churchbridge 211 to parents Bill and Rose (Metz) Werle and passed away on January 13, 2021 at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre with his loving family by his side.  He was 85 years old.  Certainly a rarity today, Lloyd was born, raised, farmed and lived his entire life until his death on the same farmyard at NE-03-22-31-W1, 1.5 miles north of Langenburg.  He was baptized on July 7, 1935 by Pastor Richter and confirmed on May 28, 1950 by Pastor Koch, both at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Langenburg.  His confirmation bible verse was, “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  (2 Peter 3:18) He received his schooling at Hohenlohe country school and then attended school in Langenburg until grade eight when he was needed to help on the family farm.

In 1960, Lloyd met Luella Mann from Roblin.  They were married on September 25, 1964 and together raised three sons.  Lloyd had a strong work ethic and his passion and interest in farming shined until the day he died.  He was happiest working on the farm and took great pride in his cattle, crops and yard.  Weeds seldom stood a chance in his fields or garden!  The cattle were treated like family as they were kept comfortable with an abundance of fresh bedding, food and water.  His equipment was always well maintained, and green was the colour of choice.  Farm tasks and meals were completed at lightning speed to allow time for every last detail on the farm to be taken care of.  Lloyd’s favourite word was, “HURRY!”  Even as his dementia progressed, his focus on the farm never faded.   

In his younger years, Lloyd loved playing baseball and was quite a legendary pitcher in the area with the Hohenlohe Hornets.  It was a big day when he mustered up the courage to ask his dad for money to buy his first ball uniform, which seemed like a lot of money at the time.  He later went on to play for the Langenburg Hornets who were formed when Hohenlohe and Langenburg combined.  A highlight occurred in August of 2017 when the Hohenlohe Hornet’s team was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in Battleford with Lloyd and his teammates present.

Lloyd was an avid curler and participated in numerous league games and bonspiels over the years.  He was an eager participant in the seniors’ bonspiel circuit in the winters.  He had the fortune of scoring two 8-enders in his life, the first as skip of the family rink with Luella, Shawn, and Kelly. The second at a seniors’ bonspiel in Spy Hill on a rink skipped by Ruben Hartung, whom he curled with for decades and credits for teaching him the game.

Lloyd LOVED to dance!  It was a good thing Luella shared the same passion.  Whenever he heard there was a dance in the area, he quickly organized the crew to go.  Lloyd and Luella were common fixtures on the dance floor from the first dance of the night right up to the last dance.  He could often be seen gliding around the dance floor with Luella on one arm and his jar of cornmeal in the other to ensure the floor was prepared to his liking.  He especially enjoyed the music of the Kitz’s.

Lloyd’s favourite place was the farm, but he did get away for a few sport trips to see the Oilers play in Edmonton and the Toronto Blue Jays play in Minneapolis. His favorite trips though were to see Brent’s family in Calgary.

Throughout the years, Lloyd was a dedicated volunteer in the community.  He was a member of the Langenburg Chamber of Commerce and the Langenburg 4-H Beef Club.  In addition, he was on the boards of the Calder/Togo Community Pasture and Langenburg Family & Friends “Our Heritage” history book.  Lloyd loved area history and was very instrumental in starting the Heritage Cemetery Project Inc.  He spent countless hours researching the local cemeteries and made it his mission to uncover all the graves in the area to find out the names of the deceased so they would never be forgotten.

Lloyd enjoyed nature and being outside walking around the farm.  In later years, he collected interesting rocks that he would proudly and artistically display in an area close to the house.  Visitors would not escape without viewing his collection.

Lloyd was a true friend to everyone, visiting and helping others when needed.  Although he was far too busy for coffee row throughout the years, he looked forward to coffee time with cherished friends later in life. 

Central to Lloyd’s life was his faith.  He was a member of Christ Lutheran Church where he loyally served as an elder and usher for many years and was a choir member.  Lloyd and Luella seldomly went to church together as he insisted that he arrive an hour and a half early to make sure everything was ready for the service, even though it meant doing chores at 5 AM!  Even as his health deteriorated this past year, he continued to serve the Lord as a greeter and passed out bulletins.   

Lloyd was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather.  Family gatherings were a highlight for him, no matter the occasion.  Over the years, he attended numerous events of his children and grandchildren.

Lloyd was predeceased by his parents Bill and Rose Werle, father and mother-in-law Conrad and Carolina Mann, brother Gerry, sister-in-law Shirley Werle and brother-in-laws Sam Reichmuth, Fred Mann, Leo Mann and great nephew, Jordan Larocque.  He leaves to mourn his wife of 56 years, Luella; sons Shawn (Pamela), Madison, Hope and Andrew; Kelly (Rhonda), Matthew (Jenn) and Ashtyn; Brent (Stephanie), Braeden and Kaitlyn; sister Valerie Reichmuth; brother-in-law Ron (Bev) Mann; sister-in-laws Trudy (Albert) Nabe, Valerie Mann and Edith Mann; God children Jodi (Reichmuth) Digby, Greg Nabe, Blaine Werle, Sheila (Mann) Kringle and Kirby Werle, as well as numerous other nieces and nephews.

Lloyd will be dearly missed and forever remembered by all who knew him.

“Well done, good and faithful servant!  Come into your eternal rest.”  (Matthew 25:23, 34)