Frank Yochim (1937 – 2018)

The post opens with two slideshows, one that reveals Franks deep connection to his family, friends, workmates and community and, the second, a look at the family and friends he left behind as they gathered in celebration of his life and in support of one another.

Frank Yochim Memorial

Family Time: Reflections

Songs:  It’s a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, and You’ve Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman from the movie soundtrack, Toy Story.

Introduction:

In December 2018, we bid a final farewell to my brother-in-law Frank Yochim who joined our family fifty-seven years ago when he married my next younger sister, Louise Kathleen McNeill.  In this collaborative post, we refer to the memories of his wife, children and friends to gain a measure of the man, who, in many ways was not easily defined even by those closest to him.

It was his first-born, Gregory Frank Yochim, (photo) who took up the challenge of completing the eulogy for his father. In a short period after arriving from Phoenix, Arizona where he and his family live, Greg along with his brother Lorin Yochim, pulled together a dazzling series of anecdotes from their siblings, other family members and friends, anecdotes that left everyone laughing and crying, often at the same time.

It was a challenging half hour that first-born son whose emotions were always close to the surface, as in his words: “ If I watch a video of two puppies playing, it makes me cry. If you were at my wedding twenty-seven years ago you’ll remember that I could barely make it through the reception speeches.”  The eulogy was then followed by a six-minute slideshow prepared by third oldest son, Lorin Yochim. If there was a dry eye in the house when Greg finished, and I doubt there was, there certainly wasn’t when that slideshow was complete.

Seeing and feeling the heartfelt response of over two hundred and fifty people paying their respects at the Harbour Light Alliance Church, left no doubt Frank will be long remembered not only for his good works but also for the love he quietly spread among those who knew him best, his family and friends. In the following, I have italicized the words of Greg, his siblings and others who lovingly remembered Frank.  We begin with Greg:

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Get a Job – The Blue Tones
(The slideshow is in HD, so you may need to pause for 15 seconds while it uploads.)

A full series of still photos from this video can be accessed at:
McNeill Life Stories Facebook Page

Lead Singer and Saxophone Player: Art Charlton
Backup Singers: Alana Charlton, Linda and Bjorn Simonsen; Lynn and Harold McNeill;
Clair Langford and Tom
Practice Backup Singers: Benji and Kevin Charlton; Erika and Kia Simonsen,
Daphne and Danny Langford; Jay, Kari and Christine McNeill

Years of Struggle: The Back Story

After years of struggle, a British Columbia band from Victoria, the Blue Tones, knew it was do or die as they concentrated on putting the finishing touches to their song “Get a Job”.

The lyrics came straight from the heart as the four men knew that the women who had backed them for so long wanted more stability in their lives and if that meant the men had to give up their guitars, saxophones and rakish style for more menial work and a regular pay cheque, so be it.

Then came their big chance, back in early 1980’s, when a spot opened in Canada’s “So You Think You’ve Got Talent.” TV show. Another little known band “Lips Inc.” best know for their 1980 hit Funkytown failed to show for the taping of the show when another of those freakish July blizzards hit their hometown in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Blue Tones were on standby and asked to step in. The rest is history.

Two months later Get a Job topped the charts in both Canada and the US.   The attached video is a composite of the band’s work during the time they wrote and practised the song, then presented on the talent show. As you can see in the video, every one of their family members participated in getting it just right. Now you know the rest of the story.

We hope you enjoy this video of our first Golden Hit.

Harold

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New Years Eve: Esther and Garth, Harold and Lynn ready to head out.

It is truly a joy when the kids volunteer to stay home and let the old folks head out for a night on the town on New Years Eve.  Of course the kids gave us a stern warning about “drinking and driving” and told us that if we felt we have had had to much, to just call home and one of the them would drive out to pick us up.  Thank you to Jay and Jennifer, Kari and Grayson, Christine and Audrey for looking after things on the home front (Link Here). We will check in at the bewitching hour.

All the Best in the New Year, Mom, Dad, Garth and Esther

December 31, 2013: Brentwood Inn, Brentwood Bay, B.C.

As the hours and minutes ticked away towards midnight, Lucas J. Copplestone and Drew Betts continued to work their musical magic. It was not long before the entire Inn was rocking.

It was to be another New Years event where we met more of the parents of the kids you see in the photo below.  It never ceases to amaze how inclusive these young people are. Over the years they are always encouraging their parents not only to attend, but to become fully involved whether it be a local events or on holidays to some other part of the world.  Each is always anxious to introduce his or her parents to the parents of others as they are as proud of their parents as their parents are of them.  Over the past several years it seems our family continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

Part of the younger side of the New Years 2013 Crew.

For a full set of New Years 2013 photos: Link Here
For a full set of New Years 2012 Photos: Link Here
(note: the 2012 photos are posted on my personal FB Page)

Other group celebrations from 2012

Purple Day Plane Pull: Link Here
Seaside Magazine Celebration: Link Here
New Orleans, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean includes several albums: Link Here
A Celebration at Zajac Ranch includes several albums: Link Here

Of course, there were a good many other celebrations and destinations in 2013, many of which is posted on the McNeill Life Stories Facebook Page and on this Blog

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Above: Part of the Crew from New Years: (Guys Left to right) Drew Betts, Pete Patterson, Sean McNeill, Jeremy Nichele,
Joel Sherlock, Daniel Dent, Andrew Dunn
(Girls Left to Right) Jennifer Ann, Fiona Nightingale Harvey, Alysha Yakimishyn, Keira McCreath, Gemma Kyliuk
(More Photos below and in the attached album)

Photo Below: Santa dropped by on Christmas Eve

Well, we caught Santa making his rounds last night on his recently refurbished Harley Davidson (click photo to open). On closer inspection, this guy looked suspiciously like our neighbour Ted, but we could not be sure. In any case, it was very nice of him to stop and spend a few minutes and chat. Seems he was curious as to why we had so many reindeer and elves running around our property among all the Christmas lights.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all
from the McNeill Family

(Link here to 2011 Christmas Story)

Photo Courtesy of Nichele Studios (L to R) Chris, Audrey and Christine LeClair, Lynn McNeill, Kari Walker, Grayson Walker and Harold McNeill, Sean McNeill and Jay McNeill.  Now we challenge you to figure out what is different in this picture from the original?

New Years Comments (From Facebook Post)

It was a great evening of family, friends, fun, food, music and entertainment at the Brentwood Inn as we bid farewell to that wonderful year of 2012 and welcomed with open arms a 2013 that promises to bring just as many new challenges and opportunities as did 2012. You can rest assured we worked very hard to make the transition as lively as possible.

The Staff at the Inn did an amazing job of keeping the crowd well supplied with food and drink while LJC on his non-stop turn-table brought the best of the best in music that kept the dance floor filled. His late evening rap song was a huge hit and demonstrated again just how versatile that young man is.

As added bonuses, Drew thrilled the crowd with his jazzed up Sax and Joel put on a break-dance display that was beyond impossible. Two hours later his friends were still trying to untangle the mass of legs and arms.

It was a great mix of young, the not so young and dozens of inbetweeners who shared in the evening of merriment.

Thanks to Sean and the crew for inviting us.

Happy New Year to All
The McNeill Family

Broadmead Runners Club

 The Broadmead Runners popped by to have their picture taken with Santa and his reindeer.

 Lynn McNeill, Dianne Mcneill, Michel Payeur, Linda and Bjorn Simonsen get up close and personal with Mr. Claus.

Part of our Happy Crew

A friend we have not met since the World Cup 2007, Sinisha Ivaz (far right), family and friends.

More pictures in the attached album

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 More Tim Horton’s Timbits

To receive regular notifcations of new posts, link to the
McNeill Life Stories Facebook page and click Like.
LINK HERE

Dear Reader,

Many Canadians consider a Tim Horton’s morning coffee to be one the five main food groups.  Yours truly is one of those individuals. I am now at the age where I feel slightly anxious whenever someone, even inadvertently, has the nerve to sit at my favourite table where I usually enjoy my morning cuppa and paper read if none of the other regulars happen to show up.

Each week I will add a few short posts about articles of local, national and international interest, as well as other miscellaneous items that have piqued my interest.  It seems there is never a shortage of items upon which I might wish to pass judgment.

Warning: The contents of this post do not reflect the views of my good wife, who sometimes jerks my chain just in time to modify a post she thinks might offend.  Since Lynn has engrossed herself full time with her travel consulting work, I am now running without the luxury of an Editor and Copy Reader. Any spelling errors and rough grammatical structure you encounter will most certainly be the product of my own hand.

I try to proof and correct but that is never easy when looking at ones own writing which is considered to be without fault and universally interesting. Bear with me, I am trying to overcome my shortcomings but the list is so long it will take years. If you wish to jerk my chain (occasionally!), that is fine.

Harold McNeill
Victoria, British Columbia

Travels from the end of March through April have taken me away from writing posts in this section. Hopefully, by the end of May, things will be back to normal.

June: It seems that other stories and spring/summer commitments will keep me busy until next fall.  Perhaps at that time I will return to regular posts in this section.

September 2012

September 30, 2012  Privacy on Facebook

In recent weeks, there have been many posts on Facebook and other social media sites about privacy. By definition, these sites are public. People post notes and pictures about themselves that lets everyone take a peek into their personal and private lives. What they had for breakfast, how they slept last night (sometimes even with whom), trouble going to the bathroom, a nasty little sore in a tender area, are just a few of the intimate details that periodically appear.

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