With sadness, we announce the death of Allan “Al” Cantelon Boxshall, beloved husband, father, Papa, and friend. Al passed away just as he wished - at home with his wife Candice, softly, peacefully, after the sun went down.

Al was born in Winnipeg, MB, the second youngest in a family of eight. His hometown was Cartwright MB where he grew up from the age of three. His youth was that of a typical prairie boy: baseball and swimming in summer, hours on end at the rink in winter.

In 1941, at age 15 he ran away from home looking for adventure and enlisted in the army. He was off to England and Scotland, attached to the Forestry Corp until his mom proved to the military, he was well underage. This effort took until 1944 and though he was still underage he wasn’t discharged rather he was made an instructor at Fort Osborne back in Winnipeg. Adventure called again A few months later and Al went logging in British Columbia near Swereda River. He loved the challenge of running big machinery and driving the logging truck along treacherous roads.

On a visit to family in Manitoba during fire season he met up with an old school friend and rather than return to British Columbia, Al joined him in enlisting once again, this time with the 2PPClI. He was deployed to Korea in the winter of 1950 and was present at the historical Battle of Gapyeong in April 1951. As a soldier in Korea, Al witnessed the displacement of the refugees, especially children along the main service road which he traversed often. This was something that just didn’t sit right with Al, he endeavoured to help, first by carrying a pair of starving refugee children he found wandering down this road where he, himself was travelling, to the checkpoint in which he had parked his own military vehicle. He managed to get them back to the checkpoint, offered them food and drove them as far south as possible. After that, something had taken alight in him, a need to help those who needed it most. He went to his military superiors and petitioned to have space to house these refugee children, even if only for a short time. He was successful and managed to provide a forty-man tent in two different camps to the refugee children that moved his heart.

On return to Canada in 1952 Al transferred to the Service Corps and posted to Churchill, MB, He liked the North, especially as he got to play hockey with the Army Team and the Churchill Seals. He was honourably discharged from the Army in 1963.

Al once again returned to Winnipeg to go trucking in 1969. In 1971 he met and fell in love with “his girl” Candice (nee Stanley). They married in 1972, beginning a marriage of a remarkable fifty-two years until Al’s passing.

While they lived in Winnipeg, Al was a broker for Midland Superior Transport and was later employed by Canadian Auto Carriers for two years. In 1974 Al taught Candice to drive the Kenworth Cabover they bought. They drove together as a team for Millar and Brown for a year. Al continued to drive semi until he and Candice decided trucking was not great for family life. In 1976 their first daughter Jennifer was born at St Boniface Hospital. As he often said, “the only cute little redhead in a nursery of twenty-eight babies”.

In 1978 when Jenn was two, Al and Candice moved to Carman, MB, where they owned and operated the Ryall Hotel for two years.

Carman became their home for the next thirty years. A second daughter, beautiful dark-haired Chelsea, was born in the Carman Hospital in 1985. Al was always a hands-on dad; he was there for his girls. He changed diapers, bathed and bottle fed when they were little. As the girls got older, he coached Jenn’s Ringette Team, golfed and cross country skied with Chelsea.

After selling the Ryall, Al embarked on a variety of endeavors: small business owner Carman Launderama and Al’s Drive In, seasonal arena concession, golf course greens crew, high school driver instructor, school bus driver instructor, and finally twenty-plus years driving school bus himself. Through his time in Carman, Al also served twenty-three years as a municipal councillor. He worked tirelessly for the town and was instrumental in seeing the completion of several major projects. He initiated the recycling program, spent many hours to help develop the pathway, cleaned the community hall, as well as many other efforts.

Al was a long-term member of Carman Golf Club; he and his partner Murray Rinn were the only original golf pair in Wednesday night men's golf until he left for Alberta.

He continued to enjoy playing hockey with the Carman Hustlers and finally with the Carman Oldtimers.

In 2008 Al and Candice left Carman and moved to Grande Prairie, AB. Both their daughters made the city their home and they followed so they could see their grandchildren grow up.

Ever the guy who loved to work and be busy, Al was employed by Wiebe Transport (later known as Seaboard) from 2009 to 2020. The covid shutdown forced him to formally retire at age ninety-three; still with a valid Class 1 license.

Al loved oatmeal, washing dishes, big noisy vehicles, heavy equipment, motorcycles, old cars, salvaging stuff, hockey, peanut butter, ice cream, milk, the sun, the news, riding his bicycle, and he had a huge concern for taking care of the environment.

Al was a tease, a master storyteller and possessed a goofy sense of humor that could always make us laugh. He did not like the wind, bullying, guns, liver or colorful language.

Most of all Al loved Candice, their daughters, their sons-in-law and their five grandchildren. He was at the arena to watch many of the grandkid's hockey games or the gym to watch volleyball. He never failed to enthrall them with his entertaining storytelling.

No words can adequately express how deeply he is missed by his wife Candice; daughter Jenn (Jason Budgell); grandchildren: Paige, Kade and Torren; daughter Chelsea (AJ Graham); and grandchildren: Makenna and Brooks Jack (who Papa nicknamed Master Jack); and son Scott Boxshall. Al is also survived by a daughter from an early first marriage, as well as several nieces and nephews.

It seems almost impossible to capture the true essence of someone so unique - a man who had such a long well lived life, a man who always appeared to be ageless. He was truly grateful for the gift of his long, interesting and remarkably healthy life.

A simple cremation has taken place, and his ashes are put in a big peanut butter jar to be scattered along a highway at a later date.

“In My Life” - The Beatles

Condolences may be sent by visiting www.oliversfuneralhome.com.