James Alexander Kenneth “Ken” Hewitson was born Wednesday, June 17, 1931 in Bentinck Township to Ida Alexandra (Fullerton) and David John Greig Hewitson. Ken had two sisters, Doreen (born 1929) and Carol (born 1942). The children were raised on the family farm on Grey Road 25 and attended S.S. # 11 in Mooresburg. Ken skipped two grades, finishing grade eight when he was twelve years old.
Following school, Ken worked a variety of jobs. By age sixteen, he was digging marl and helping with local bridge building. As he told it, his first day of paid employment resulted in nine blisters, and the next day earned him eleven new ones. His late teens and early twenties included road work in the Canadian West, dam construction in Northern Ontario, tomato picking in Delhi, tobacco picking in Port Elgin and work for the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority. In his early thirties, Ken trained as a carpenter, but then switched to electrical work in 1968. He soon started his own company, Hewitson Electric, and, over the next forty years, wired many of the houses and farms in the area.
Ken married Heather Jackson on August 10, 1963, after a long courtship. She had chosen a career in education, and they began dating when she was teaching in a one-room schoolhouse near Dornoch. Ken often joked that, when she began attending Stratford Teacher’s College in the summers, trips to see her became too expensive, so he proposed. The couple were married on August 10, 1963 at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Chesley and made Elmwood their home. Ken and Heather welcomed their son, James Kenneth, on August 12, 1964.
Ken was extraverted, enthusiastic, and his interests many and various. Anyone who met him would testify to his energy and conviviality: his circle of friends was profound, and many recalled his extravagant pranks. In his youth, he was a popular partner at many dances and was also a competitive square dancer. He was also, however, a lifelong reader, and was especially interested in Scottish and Canadian history and politics. He had an extensive library, and was always eager to lend books to friends and to discuss them afterwards. He also loved reading the Toronto Star every day and, to the very end, kept abreast of current events. Ken shared his passion for both history and reading with his son, James. Ken’s knowledge of local history was also vast, and his friends and relatives often depended on him to remind them of distant family connections and relationships.
Nature was also important to him. He loved spending time in the woods, cutting firewood or just hiking and enjoying wildflowers, especially the wild orchids. He was a serious gardener, priding himself on growing a wide array of both conventional and heirloom tomatoes, and he taught his daughter-in-law Yvonne how to garden. Animals too were a source of pleasure, and he was devoted to his horses and cats.
Ken was traditional: he loved the food of his childhood, his family, his old friends and, especially, the land in which he was raised. He spent the last twenty-five years renovating and restoring the family farm, which has been in the Hewitson family since 1872, and it was a source of great pride for him. However, he was also open-minded, accepting and interested in new ways of doing things. He always enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends.
Ken passed away at South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Chesley on Sunday, May 28, 2017 in his 86th year.
Loving father of James and father-in-law of Yvonne Pelletier. Ken will be sadly missed by his sisters Doreen McWilliams of Sackville, N.B. and Carol Brown of Tweed, and sister-in-law Wanda Alles of Chesley. He was recently predeceased by his wife Heather (January 13, 2017) as well as his parents David and Ida (Fullerton) Hewitson.
Please join the Hewitson family for a casual, come and go, celebrating Ken and Heather’s life on Saturday, June 24, 2017 from 1 – 5 p.m. The celebration will be held at their much loved family farm (#562060 Grey Rd. 25 – between Grey Rd. 3 and Hwy. 6). Inurnment in Chesley Cemetery.
Memorial donations to the Nature Conservancy of Canada or Chesley Hospital Foundation would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.
