Young Family History

Will holding Iris, Edna, Opal on chair, Joyce and Lex

Rev. Keith

Will Jay, second eldest, married Edna Johnson on Nov. 8, 1916. Edna had come from Ontario to Manitoba as a child in 1902, with her family, and recalled that when they crossed the Pembina River near Pilot Mound, the water then covered the entire width of the valley floor.

Will and Edna farmed on 19-4-12 where their five children were raised, Joyce, Lex, Opal, Iris and Keith. In 1926, they moved to the Stratford farm and rented, until buying a home in 1928 in Greenway, where they lived until 1935. They then bought the original Johnson farm and lived there until 1944, returning to Greenway to live. In 1948, they bought what is commonly known as the Old McGillivray farm, 27-4-14, south of Baldur. They lived in various communities throughout Manitoba; Winnipeg, Elm Creek, Belmont and Boissevain. At each point Will Jay was employed as a butcher. They retired to the town of Baldur in 1967.

Will Jay was a muncipal councillor from 1938 to 1944. The family belonged to the United Church and Will Jay was often superintendent of the Sunday school. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge for many years and received his life membership. Edna belonged to the United Church Ladies' Aid and The Order of the Eastern Star. Edna enjoyed the sport of curling and her rink usually consisted of Mrs. Truelove, Milly Cornock and Edna Craik.

Eldest daughter, Joyce, was born in Cypress River on Nov. 18, 1917. She attended several schools in the municipality, depending on which one had enough pupils to be open. She started in Greenway in 1923, then to Zephyr for a year, then to Excelsior and back to Greenway. She married in 1939. (See Oxnard History).

Lexly, the eldest son, was born at home on the farm, on June 16, 1919. He attended whichever school was open. He stayed at home and worked on the farm until 1946, then went to work on the C.N.R. in Blue River. Later he worked for the C.P.R. out of Brandon. He married Betty Hamilton in 1962, when he went back to the farm for a few years. They finally settled in Killarney where he is employed by the schoolboard as custodian of the elementary school. They have four daughters, Candis, Lana, Lisa and Jane.

Opal, the second daughter, was born Aug. 23, 1922, at home on the farm. She went to school in Greenway and took her high school in Baldur. After graduating, she went to work for the Manitoba Wheat Pool in Winnipeg. During the war years, she worked for the civil services in Ottawa. In 1947, she went to Vancouver and worked for Spencer's Dept. Store for three years. She married Joseph Downton and they settled in the Kamloops area. They have one son, Terry, who lives with his mother. Joseph passed away in August, 1980.

Iris, the third daughter, was born in Cypress River. She went to school at Excelsior and Greenway and completed high school in Baldur. In 1942, she began a nursing career in the Victoria Hospital in Winnipeg. On May 11, 1945, she married Cliff Storie and now lives at Baldur, Man. (See Cliff Storie History).

Keith, the youngest son, was born on May 3, 1926, at home on the farm. He attended Excelsior School and Baldur High School. He married Irma Huffman and they had two daughters: Cherryl, married to Ross Fridell living in Williams Lake area in British Columbia; and Bonnie who is married and makes her home in Calgary, Alta. Keith and Irma lived on a farm south of Baldur for some years before moving to Belmont and opening a grocery store. Later Keith changed his career and went into the United Church ministry at Dauphin, Man. He was ordained while he was a minister at Kenton, Man. His work has taken him to Reston, Man., where he resides with his present wife, Marie, daughter Dana, and son Dion.