Fred Hudson, retired Edmonton Police Officer, passed away peacefully at the age of 83. Fred will be lovingly remembered by his daughters, Heather and Janice Hudson; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; sister, Kathleen Merrils; nieces, nephews; numerous extended family and friends. He was predeceased by his loving wife Mary; granddaughter Haven Hudson; son-in-law Ross Gebhardt; mother; father; and brothers. A Memorial Service was held on February 18, 2016. Special thanks to Dr. Senez and staff of Unit 41 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for their care and compassion. Donations in Fred's memory may be made to a charity of one's choice.
Fred Hudson joined the Edmonton Police Department on January 1st, 1962. Fred was a member of Recruit Class # 7. During his career, Fred had assignments in Patrol Division, Gaol Section, Warrant and Document Unit and Court Security Unit. Upon his retirement on March 1st, 1985 Fred’s Register Number was 242.
SEEGER, Norman Leo November 16, 1924 - February 5, 2016
It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of Norman Seeger at the age of 91 years. Norman will be sorely missed and lovingly remembered by his three children Darryl (Laura), Karen Rusnell, and Allen (Diane); 7 grandchildren Nadine (Aaron), Ryan (Aimee), Karla (Cody), Andrea (Bobby), Eric, Caitlin, and Megan; and 6 great-grandchildren Nicholas, Cain, Parker, Reed, Ainslee, and Carter. Norman is survived by two sisters Helen (Charles) Murphy and Adele (Wally) Kemp, his brother Rod (Shirley) Seeger, and one sister in law Ethel Nelson. He was predeceased by his wife Muriel and sister Maxine. Norman was a member of the Edmonton City Police for 26 years and an even longer member of the retirement guild. He will be sorely missed by many other family and friends. A Memorial Service was held on Saturday, February 13th, 2016. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Alzheimer Society.
Norm Seeger was almost 30 years old when he joined the ranks of the Edmonton Police Department on September 7th, 1954. As a Constable, Norm had assignments in Patrol Division, Gaol, Court & Summons, Communications and CID General Investigation Sections. He was promoted to Acting Sergeant in Patrol Division on December 4th, 1972. Until his retirement on February 17th, 1980, Norm had alternating assignments between Patrol Division and Gaol Section. When he retired, Norm’s Reg. No. was 85.
ZMURCHIK, Ernest September 21, 1943 - January 31, 2016
It is with deep sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Ernie at the Sturgeon Hospital at the age of 72 years. He will be lovingly remembered by his children: Brent (Corene) and Carrie (Doug); three grandsons: Cole, Ethan and Ronin; siblings: Lil, Herb (Audrey) and Stella (Gene); as well as numerous nieces, nephews and friends. He was predeceased by his loving wife Fiona; his parents: Katie and Bill; and his brother- in-law Henry.There was a Celebration of Life on Tuesday, February 9, 2016. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Unfortunately, EPS Human Resources Division was unable to locate Ernie's work history. Anecdotally, Ernie was one of three civilian members accorded the status of Special Constable and entitlement to join the Edmonton Police association and, later, the Edmonton Police Service Veterans' Association. The latter part of his career was spent in Tow Processing Unit.
Tony passed away peacefully on January 23, 2016 at the age of 91. He leaves to mourn his loss his loving wife of 67 years, Bette, and children, Marilyn (Tom) and Robert, grandchildren, Kelly and Chris, brothers, Lloyd and Norman (Edna), and sister, Ruth, as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his infant daughter, Roberta, and sisters Virginia, Josephine, Inez and Karen. He retired from the Edmonton City Police in 1978, with the rank of Sergeant, REG. #70. A Celebration of Life service was held on January 30.
Tony Leiski joined the Edmonton Police Department on January 26th, 1954. Those were the days before formal recruit classes. He started walking the Beat for two years before graduating to Patrol and then onto Traffic section where he rode motor cycles. In 1970 Tony was promoted to Sergeant. Except for a brief assignment to Garage Services and a stint in Communications, he guided a Southside Patrol Squad until his retirement from the service on March 26th, 1978. Though originally assigned Reg. No. 157, Tony transitioned through Reg. No. 90 and was Reg. No. 70 when he retired. After retirement, Tony ventured into Real Estate for 3 years until he started work at Court Services. Tony finally retired as Chief Court Services Officer in 1989.
NOTE: Tony was featured in a “Where are they now?” article in the February 2013 newsletter (see the website archives).
STRATE, Keith Forest May 17, 1933 - October 29, 2015
It is with great sadness that the family of Keith Strate announces his passing. Keith was born in Cardston, Alberta, son of Elsie and Forest Strate. Keith leaves to mourn and will be sadly missed but forever remembered by his son, Don; daughter, Linda (Jim) Rakievich; and precious grandchildren Curtis (Kristine) Rakievich and Ashlee Rakievich. Keith was predeceased by his loving wife, Noreen; his parents; as well as sisters Melba and LaRue and brother Dennis. In following Keith's wishes, a service will not be held.
Keith Strate joined the Edmonton Police Department on July 7th, 1954, before Recruit Classes (if there were any) were numbered. With a little over 5 years in Patrol Division, he was promoted to Sergeant and he remained in Patrol Division for another 6 years. He transferred to Gaol Section for a couple of years and returned to Patrol again for a couple of years before transferring to Court and Summons Unit. Promotion to Staff Sergeant came in 1976 and Keith served in “A” and “B” Divisions before transferring to Court Liaison Section in 1979. Keith retired from the service on February 10th, 1985 at which time he wore badge no. 85.
In late October Al Van Camp passed away after a lengthy illness. His family has advised that a private family service will be held in his memory. Al is survived by his wife Anita. (No formal obituary was available)
On March 21st, 1966, Al Van Camp was among the members of E.P.D. Recruit Class #23. After a couple of years in Patrol Division, Al transferred to Communications on loan. He must have enjoyed the work there as he stayed there until he was promoted to Sergeant in 1978. After a couple of years in the supervisor rank, he moved back to Patrol Division “C” in 1981. Al changed rank to Detective in 1985 when he transferred to Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit. Later, he transferred to Firearms Unit, followed by a few years back in Communications. In 1994, Al transferred to C.I.S. “D” Division and stayed there until he retired on April 11th, 1997. Al's Reg. No. was 365.
BEHIELS, Joseph (Joe) Oscar October 13, 1940 - October 19, 2015
It is with profound sadness the family announces the peaceful passing of our beloved Joe with his dearest and most loving Cindy Girward, by his side. To mourn his loss, he also leaves his mother Clara Bennett, sons Tony (Lori-Ann), Chris (Summer) and grandsons Jake, Travis and Maverick; siblings Gwen (Paul), Sharon (Doug), Stu (Linda), Glen (Louise), Jim (Marti) and Rob (Jessica) and countless nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. He was predeceased by his father Oscar in 1978. Joe bravely served with the Edmonton City Police for 26 years and later with the Alberta Solicitor General for 15 years until retiring to Kelowna. A memorial was held November 7th at St. Albert.
In lieu of other tributes, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Joe Behiels joined the Edmonton Police department on September 11th, 1961 as a member of recruit training Class No. 15. He spent his first 5 years in Patrol Division then transferred to Traffic Section. In 1978, Joe was promoted to Detective in Crimes Against Property Section. His later assignments included: C.I.S. “A” Division, Tactical Unit, Integrated Intelligence unit and C.I.S. “D” Division. 1985 saw Joe return to uniform in Traffic Section where his assignments included Selective Enforcement, Traffic Flow and expert Collision Investigation Unit. Joe retired from the service on September 13th, 1987 at which time his Reg. No. was 230.
LEACH, Frank
It is with great sadness that we announce Frank passed away in Edmonton, at the age of 85. His happy and carefree spirit will be forever in the hearts of his daughters Linda (Ron) Toker, Lorraine (Dave) Jones, Christine (John) Leach, Laural- Leigh (Dennis) Holliday, Liana (Doug) Boyd; grandchildren Matthew, Shaun (Cheryl), Jason, Amanda (Clint), Kory (Erica), David (Sandi), Danielle, Kaileigh (Luke) and great- grandchildren Hailey, Tristan, Nicholas, Mikinna, Julie, Vaughn, Dexter, and Deklan; his sister Laurie Pearce and brother Leonard; and Francisca, his wife. Frank was predeceased by his wife Neata (Annetta) and his parents Violet and Frank Sr. The family would like to thank the caring staff of the Leduc Supportive Care and South Terrace Long Term Care Centres for their support.
Memorial donations may be made in Frank's name to the Alzheimer's Society of Alberta at
http:/ /www.alzheimer.ca/en/ab/About-us or 14925 – 111 Avenue NW Edmonton, Alberta T5M 2P6.
Published in The Edmonton Journal from Oct. 16 to Oct. 17, 2015
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/edmontonjournal/obituary.aspx?n=frank-leach&pid=176128511#sthash.3gxDRu6f.dpuf
On August 15th, 1955, Frank Leach was a member of Edmonton Police department’s Recruit Class #2. After roughly three years in Patrol Division, Frank transferred to Identification Section and, the record shows, he was promoted to Detective Constable there in July, 1961 and was transferred to Juvenile Investigations. Later assgnments included: Crimes Against Property, Fraud & Commercial Crimes and Crimes Against Persons Sections. He was promoted to Detective in 1967 and his assignments were in C.I.D., Crimes Against Persons and Criminal Intelligence. Promotion to Staff Sergeant in General Investigations Section came in 1973 followed by experience in Special Investigations Section and back in Ident. Section. Frank was promoted to Inspector within Ident. and later was assigned as an Inspector to Patrol “B” Division, Bureau Administration, Homicide & Sex Crimes, Duty Officer and Records Section. Frank retired on November 8th, 1985 at which time his Reg. No. was 114.
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Bryan Harold Peters. Bryan was born in Calgary, AB to Harold and Mildred Peters. He moved to Edmonton, AB in 1968, where he proudly served as a City of Edmonton Police Officer for 30 years. Bryan was predeceased by his parents. Left to remember Bryan and celebrate loving memories of his life, are his wife Deborah (nee Carley), sister; Deborah (Ron), daughters; Bryna and Shawna (Richard), grandchildren; Alyssa and Colton, stepsons; Lee (Darcy) and Chad (Ann) and their children Davin, Rowan, Keanna and Sierra, mother and father-in-law; Muriel and Leonard Carley, sister-in-law Barbara (Emile), brother-in-law Jeffrey (Billie Lou) and their families. Cremation has taken place and at Bryan's request there will be no formal service. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. To share condolences please visit www.westlawnmemorial.com .
Bryan Peters got his start with the Edmonton Police Department as a member of Recruit Class #28 on September 16th, 1968 A few years in Patrol was followed by a stint in Gaol Section and four years in Crime Scenes/Criminal History units. He was promoted to Detective in Youth Liaison Unit in 1980 and later worked in Sex Crimes and Homicide Units. After more than ten years as a detective, Bryan moved back to Patrol Division (West) as a Sergeant in 1991 and stayed there until his retirement on April 11th, 1997. Bryan’s reg. No. was 474.