Thomas Harral Jukes, 93, of Moose Jaw, SK passed away peacefully on August 8, 2024, at Pioneer Lodge. Prior to his short stay at the lodge, Harral, was living independently until age 92 in Moose Jaw after moving from their farm in 2012 with the love of his life, Marj of 62 years.
Born February 25, 1931, in Ormiston, SK to Thomas and Lily Jukes, Harral was the baby of four. Sisters Mae and Dorothy were born in England before emigrating with their parents to Canada in 1912. Brother Bill was born in 1921. Harral often reminisced of his time growing up on the farm, especially time spent with his horse, Reggie, who he would ride to and from school. When war broke out in 1939, Bill was required to run the family farm and Harral, not even 10 years old, was told by his mom that he had to work for his brother. When asked about farming in the 40s, Harral shared stories of seeding by a team of horses. Spending time with his good pal, Albert Snell, led Harral to meet Albert’s sister, Marjorie Anne. Marj and Harral married on June 21, 1951, and together they welcomed six children: David Harral, Richard Henry, Thomas Decimus, Wendy Colleen, Ronald Wayne, and Pamela Gayle.
Harral joined the Moose Jaw Police Service in 1954 and served over ten years. With strong family ties to England, a highlight of his time with the police service was providing security detail for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their first major Canadian tour in 1959. Harral’s grandsons, however, much prefer the tale of him halting an armed robbery by the Brunswick Hotel! Following the police service, Harral got into sales. He joined a farm implement dealership before buying into his own dealership, Harway Equipment, in Simpson, SK in 1969. Harral and Marj returned to Moose Jaw a couple years later bringing Harway Equipment with them.
In 1976, Dave and Rick bought Harway and Marj and Harral were able to enjoy ‘semi-retirement’ for many years. Retirement life highlights included investing in Harbor Golf Club & Resort with Tom, along with many travels back to England and throughout Canada and the U.S. Their favourite destinations included visiting Pam in Vancouver, numerous Hawaii and Barbados trips, and a special trip to Disneyland with Wendy’s twins, Harral and Marj’s first grandchildren, Rayleen and Ryan. Back on the farm, Harral returned to the fields and many grandkids enjoyed taking lunches to the crew and making gum out of wheat kernels.
Harral loved music and learned to play guitar by ear. Get-togethers with family and friends almost always ended in a sing song with Harral picking up the tune of whatever song the crowd started singing. With Marj by his side turning music pages, they spent many winters in Osoyoos, BC with lots of opportunity for jam sessions with their friends who made the BC interior home for the winters.
Harral and Marj loved supporting their family. From the many years Harral spent following Rick’s hockey to the theatre to watch Ron, and all the baseball, hockey, and lacrosse games, swim meets and dance recitals of their 15 grandkids. Time with loved ones was most important to Harral and while not the most vocal man in the room, he was always there – steadfast ensuring he and Marj attended as many family functions as they could. If you knew Harral, you also knew of his love for animals, in particular dogs (and countless barn cats and kittens). In recent years, his dog Nikki was always by his side.
Harral’s legacy with Marj is long; keeping his memory alive include: son Dave and Mary (nee LaBelle) with children, Chelsea (Tim August), Vanessa (Colin Strutt) and Rom (Grace nee Rath); son Rick and Karen (nee Birkett), with children Chance and Eden (Justin Morin); son Tom and Jackie (nee Anderson) with children Guy, Patrick and Sam (Megan nee Blahitka); daughter, Wendy with children: Rayleen (Cory Valentine), Ryan (Jennifer nee Brydges), Gillian (Darcy Olson), and Brooks; son Ron and Allison (nee Litt) with children Jory (Riel Fidler) and Joel; daughter Pam and her son Justin (Meagan nee Counsell); son-in law Andrew Longdale; along with his sister-in-law Mary Decima Fenske (98 in her own right!); as well as numerous nieces and nephews he cared for very much.
Harral has instilled in all of us his values of hard work, honesty, and the love of family. His 18 great grandchildren provided a special spark and twinkle in Harral’s eyes, Chelsa, Cash, Danica, Eeva, Jake, Kallen, Lauren, Aubrey, Luke, Harrison, Bo, Mary, Lydia, Oz, Marcy, Freya, Noa, Sully, and the newest Baby Jukes on the way this September. May you always value your Jukes heritage for all your days to come.
A Celebration of Harral’s Life will be held on Saturday August 17, 2024, at the Moose Jaw Shrine Club, 1767 Main Street N. Family and friends are welcome any time after 3:30pm with a tribute to Harral at 5:00pm.
Memorial donation may be made in Harral’s name to Moose Jaw Humane Society 1755 Stadacona St W, Moose Jaw, SK S6H 7K7 or Diabetes Canada 1300-522 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 2R5.
In living memory of Thomas, a memorial planting will be made by W.J. Jones & Son Ltd. Please sign the memorial register at website: www.wjjonesandson.com (Obituaries).
Chrystine Dacey- Funeral Director