Tony Schlachter
Posted: March 7th, 2024
Tony Schlachter
Anthony “Tony” Timothy Schlachter, of Medicine Hat, passed away on March 4, 2024, surrounded by members of his family.
Tony was born on May 18, 1934, in the Medicine Hat General Hospital to Joseph and Catherine Schlachter (nee Schile) and grew up on his family’s farm north of Granlea, next to St. Anthony’s church on the Etizkom Road.
He attended a one-room school, then graduated from Conquerville Consolidated School in 1952. As a teenager, he was part of a provincial 4-H grain grading team that competed nationally at the Toronto Royal Fair. He would later serve as a leader for what is now the North Forty 4-H Beef Club, helping to teach his and his neighbour’s children critical thinking, business acumen and public speaking skills.
After high school Tony took the accelerated 2-in-1-year agriculture program at Olds School of Agriculture graduating in 1954. In 1956, he married his high school sweetheart, Esther Reuber. They moved to Hussar, where he ran an elevator and bought grain for the Alberta Wheat Pool. They later returned to the Bow Island area, purchasing his family’s farm and renting and living on the Flamme farm where they raised their five children, eventually purchasing the land in 1995.
He was a respected and avid gun and antique collector for most of his life. His extensive pottery donation to the Friends of Medalta Society is on display at the museum in Medicine Hat and he donated his large grain tool collection to the Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre in Nanton.
Tony was active in St. Michaels Roman Catholic Church and in his community of Bow Island as a member of the Knights of Columbus. He instilled the values of kindness and service in his children and was a natural leader in groups. Highlights include organizing cooperatives to upgrade farm telephone and electrical utilities as well as helping to build the Bow Island Auction Mart that provided a viable marketing option for locally produced feeder and fed cattle.
Tony served on a number of local boards and was the chairman of a group of farmers, where he negotiated equitable settlements with government officials for the flood land required to build the Forty Mile Dam. Tony owned and continuously improved a herd of registered Hereford cattle on land that is now under water there. He was an active member of the 40 Mile Grazing Co-op for many years and operated a small feedlot when that business made economic sense. Tony was a calculated risk taker, contributing to his successful business undertakings. He was also a believer that “you make your own luck”.
He encouraged all of his children to complete formal education beyond high school and in his daily life surrounded himself with “schmart” people including bankers, business leaders and entrepreneurs that became lifelong partners and friends.
Tony loved socializing. His children observed that he could strike up a conversation with a rock and now marvel that they too have learned how to do the same. He enjoyed travelling and experiencing different cultures. He also loved to dance and very much enjoyed playing cards, bantering with, and beating his friends, family and all comers at smear and cribbage.
Tony was predeceased by his parents, his wife Esther, two brothers Joseph and George, his sister Eva Unreiner, his brother-in-law Sam Helwig and sister-in-law, Carol Schlachter. He is survived by his loving partner of 17 years, Barbara Zemendek; his children: Richard (Katherine), Barry (Karen), Alan (Wendy), Greg (Catherine), Judy Chrystal (Lorne); his grandchildren: Kirstin (Kyle), Jeff (Maria), Jessica, Anna, Kyle (Amelia), Jordan (Brittany), Caleb (Angela), David (Lillian), Levi, Alex (Liz), Matthew, Lucas (Samantha), Annabelle and Elliot; his great grandchildren: Alexandra, Tetley, Maxwell, Sampson, Felix, Atlas and Otto as well as many nieces and nephews. Tony is also survived by his sisters, Rosella Helwig, Jacqueline Doran (Terry), his brothers Andrew and Robert (Mary); his brothers-in-law Ed Unreiner and Herman Reuber and sister-in-law Rose Reuber.
Tony was deeply loved and will be deeply missed. The family would like to thank all of those that cared for him at Masterpiece Southlands and the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital.
Family and friends who wish to pay their respects may do so at the PATTISON FUNERAL HOME on Tuesday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. or at the church one hour prior to mass. The funeral mass will be celebrated in St. Michael’s Catholic Church (1113 1st Street E, Bow Island) on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. with Fr. Wojciech Jarzecki celebrant. A private interment will take place in the Bow Island Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to a Children’s Hospital Foundation of their choice or to the Friends of Medalta Society. To leave a message of condolence you may visit www.pattisonfuneralhome.com.
PATTISON FUNERAL HOME
AND CREMATORIUM
540 South Railway St. SE,
Medicine Hat T1A 4C2