Bert Pierson is 小蓝视频 remembered as a hard-working individual who loved hockey, his job and above all, his family.
Bert died on Jan. 14 at the age of 77; he is survived by his wife of 51 years, Melodye, and his two sons, Jeff and Brad. A funeral service was held for Bert on Jan. 19 at Trinity Lutheran Church.
His grandson Ryder, 18, has lived in Estevan virtually his entire life, and remembers his grandfather as a hard-working individual who loved his family.
鈥淚 used to go to work with him a lot when I was younger, and just help out there, and then just going over and hanging out at his house, I spent a lot of time at his house growing up for suppers and after school help,鈥� said Ryder.
Ryder would put fish in the pond at the Pierson home and help out with yard work.
Bert worked at the Days Inn for many years, and was involved with many aspects of the operations of the hotel and its restaurants. The Pierson and Symons families were inducted into the Nick and Verna Morsky Estevan Business Hall of Fame in 2013 for the success with the Days Inn (previously the Beefeater Inn) and other business ventures.
鈥淗e was always at work, and he didn鈥檛 stop working until about a year ago,鈥� said Ryder. 鈥淗e basically worked his whole life, so I think that says a lot about who he was. He didn鈥檛 want to stop working. He loved to be there and he loved what he did.鈥�
The Piersons have also been long-time supporters of the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins and hockey in the community. Bert and Melodye were billet parents for nearly 40 years, and had dozens of hockey players stay at their home during that time. Ryder became good friends with many of those players.
鈥淚 spent a lot of time there, especially until I moved away (to Yorkton) to play (midget AAA hockey),鈥� said Ryder. 鈥淚 hung out with the billets lots of the time. I got to know a few of them pretty well.鈥�
Many of those billets returned to Estevan for Bert鈥檚 funeral, and a few of them spoke about what Bert meant to them during the intermissions of Bruins game against the Weyburn Red Wings on Jan. 19.
A moment of silence was held for Bert prior to the Weyburn-Estevan game.
When Ryder scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the Bruins 6-3 victory, it was an emotional moment for Ryder.听
鈥淕etting a goal for him was nice, obviously, just to do something 鈥� on that day,鈥� said Ryder.
The Piersons sons, Brad and Jeff, and also been heavily involved with the team over the years, with Brad serving as an assistant coach and Jeff spending many years on the executive, eventually becoming the team鈥檚 president.
Ryder credits Bert and the other members of the Pierson family for instilling a love of hockey into him.
He also believes the tributes that have come in during the past week and a half reflect what Bert meant to the community.
鈥淚 never saw my grandpa mad one time my whole life, and I spent a lot of time with him, so I think that says a lot,鈥� said Ryder. 鈥淚t shows how good of people Mel and Bert were. They always had people over, I think they鈥檙e well-liked by everybody.
鈥淓verybody always knew their house was always open to them. If they had to take in an extra billet for a few weeks, they were always relied on for that. I know they did that quite a few times.鈥�
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