Ronald (Ron) Epps was born on July 19, 1923 in Carmen, MB. His parents immigrated to Canada from the UK, and they were a farming family. Ronald joined the Army at age 17 and was stationed overseas. He became a POW in a concentration camp in occupied Belgium for 3 ½ months, escaping with the help of the Belgian resistance corps. After returning to Canada in 1945, Ronald worked on various construction jobs all over the prairies. He met his future wife, Marguerite (also spelled Margaret) Fransoo in 1959, and they were married on December 29, 1960. Learning that he was eligible, Ron filed for a homestead through the VLA on January 1, 1962. ( E 1/2 – 26- 80- 11- W6 and SW – 26- 80- 11- W6). It was between Bonanza and Silver Valley. Unfortunately the road to the property ended at the neighbor’s land, and the remaining 3 miles were only accessible by foot. Ron and his brother, Ken, had a Cat to make a road. For a few years Ron and Marguerite were weekend farmers, living in Dawson Creek during the week. Their first farm home was a lean-to, then they lived in a granary. After their 2 children, Michelle and Jason, were born, the family moved to the farm fulltime in 1970. In 1978 the farm was sold, and they moved to Innisfail AB, where the children finished school. At age 58, Ron had a heart attack and died in April 1981.
Source: Tales, Trails and Gumbo pp.143-144 (photo)
Alberta Land Book