HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-05-21, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015.
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was soon interrupted when he
volunteered for service in the Royal
Canadian Armoured Corps. Grant’s
overseas deployment orders were
cancelled twice and Staff Sargeant
Sparling’s accounting skills were put
to use at Base Borden from 1943
until 1946, almost a full year after
the war ended.
Following the war, Grant resumed
his position at the bank and in 1949,
began a brief placement at the Blyth
Commerce branch on his way to the
main branch in Kitchener. While in
Blyth, Grant became involved in the
community and grew to appreciate
the rural beauty and opportunity of
the area.
Grant did transfer to Kitchener in
1951 as planned, but he missed
Blyth and when he had an
opportunity to buy a hardware store
there later that same year, he retired
from banking and opened Sparling’s
Hardware. Grant enjoyed hardware
and he envisioned a store that sold
everything people in the village and
surrounding area might need. Most
evenings, he loaded his pickup truck
with fence posts, barbed wire and
tools and travelled the concessions
to meet farmers and to tell them
about the store.
Grant worked hard and the
business grew. New product lines
were added, including home
appliances and space and water
heaters. Being the entrepreneur he
was, Grant began selling
propane as a convenience to
customers who bought appliances at
his store.
In Blyth, Grant met a wonderful
lady named Mildred (“Pat”) and in
1959, they were married, and in
unique fashion, rode in a fire truck
for their wedding procession - years
later Grant built his own collection
of antique fire trucks. Mildred was
the strong woman behind the strong
man and together they were clear in
their support for the family and in
their resolve to manage the
challenges of owning and operating
a business.
The hardware business continued
to grow and in 1963, Grant opened a
second location in Clinton. Through
the 1970s and 1980s, Grant started a
welding supply business and created
Sparling’s Liquid Transport, a
specialized tank carrier that
expanded to serve customers in
Central Canada, the U.S. Midwest
and as far south as Florida and
California. Other businesses were
sold over the years, but propane was
the core family business and Grant’s
sons, Steven and David, joined the
company in the 1980s.
Over the past 25 years, Sparling’s
Propane grew quietly and
significantly, and had become one of
the largest propane retailers in
Canada when it was purchased by
Parkland Fuel Corporation, Calgary
in 2013. Grant was proud of the
over 150 men and women who
worked at Sparling’s seven regional
branches and he was so pleased for
them when the company was twice
named “One of the 50 Best Places to
Work in Canada” by The Globe &
Mail.
Along the way, Grant was active in
the United Church and the Blyth
Board of Trade and the Lions Club.
He was a life member of Forest
Lodge No. 263, Forest, Ontario (now
Burns Lodge No. 153, Wyoming,
Ontario), served 32-years as
firefighter/captain with the Blyth
and District Fire Department (the
“Brigade” as he called it), and was a
proud supporter of the Blyth Festival
from day one.
Grant retired at 88 years of age,
and when asked how he would like
to be remembered, always smiled
and had the same answer, “tell them
that I always did the best I could.”
While he did not seek awards and
recognition, Grant appreciated
receiving the Queen Elizabeth
II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the
first Lifetime Achievement
Award presented by the
Ontario Propane Association.
Grant is survived by his wife,
Mildred of Blyth, children, Jim of
Auburn, Washington State, and
Jayne, Steven (Laurie) and David
(Annie), all of Blyth, seven
grandchildren, and one sister, Jean
(Andrew) of Owen Sound.
Visitation was at Blyth United
Church, May 19, and the funeral
service was held at Blyth United
Church, May 20.
Publisher remembers Sparling
Community mourns veteran, businessman, firefighter
A giant loss
Grant Sparling, founder of Sparling’s Hardware, and
eventually Sparling’s Propane, passed away last week at
the age of 91. He will be remembered as a dedicated
community supporter by many. Grant is seen here in 2012
after he received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal.
(File photo)
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I experienced the most difficult
part of Grant Sparling first, when Jill
and I arrived in the fall of 1971 to
take over the Blyth Standard.
Surveying Blyth’s main street, it
quickly became obvious that if the
newspaper was to stand on its own
(Doug and Lorna Whitmore had
continued to operate the printing
part of the formerly combined
business) then we must get
advertising from the biggest store on
main street, Sparling’s Hardware.
My first few approaches were
beaten back by the busy store owner
who didn’t suffer fools gladly.
Though no salesman, I summoned
up my courage and returned each
week, determined to succeed.
Perhaps Grant admired my deter-
mination but, for whatever reason,
he began advertising regularly.
As time went on, he became more
than just a customer. He’d put his
arm around my shoulder and lead me
to a quiet corner of the store where
he’d talk about what made
businesses successful.
We also worked together with the
old Blyth Board of Trade where
Grant was always a supporter of his
community. As such, when the Blyth
Festival began in 1975, he was an
early supporter. That first summer,
concerned about the well-being of
the Festival’s actors and technicians,
Grant and Pat threw a dinner and
welcomed them to their home.
Many years later, when the
Festival faced a financial crisis, I
was one of those from the Festival
board who approached him for a
“friends of the Festival” loan to help
cash-flow. Of course he agreed.
He was a man of strong opinions
and we often had to agree to
disagree, but no matter what, he was
a man you couldn’t help but admire.
Lives Remembered
By Keith Roulston
The Citizen
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