Cecil Herbert Black

Cecil passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends, on August 20, 2025 at the Manning Community Health Center at the age of 93.

He was born on December 23, 1931 on the farm in Notikewin, Alberta, delivered by Doctor Mary Jackson to parents Herbert and Phoebe Black.

He married a neighbour girl, Marcella Schamehorn, on September 15, 1961, and raised their three boys, Kevin, Owen (better known as Moon), and Kelly, on the homestead family farm northwest of Notikewin.

Cecil was predeceased by his wife Marcella (“Ma”); his parents; brothers Mervyn, Les, and Leonard; his son Kevin; granddaughter Kyla, and daughter-in-law Liz. Sadly, his brother Delbert passed away 5 days later, on August 25, 2025.

He is survived by his son Moon (Cheryl), grandchildren Kristy, Rick (Andrea) and Corey; son Kelly (Michelle), grandchildren Carter and Amanda; daughter-in-law Audrey, and grandchild Justin (Caitlin); great-grandchildren Talon, Sayen, Connor, Keyna, Nathan, Kelly-Ann (great-great granddaughter Oaklin), Dakota; and numerous nieces and nephews and other close friends and family. He will be greatly missed and remembered by all.

Cecil, warmly referred to as “Pa” by many, was a master of many trades, a self-taught mechanic who learned to fix all types of equipment on the family farm. Later in life, he applied those skills volunteering his time at the Battle River Pioneer Museum, working on the historical machinery for the annual Pioneer Days Tractor Parade and threshing demonstrations held at the museum.

Pa ran a land-clearing business in his earlier years before farming, providing brush cutting, piling and breaking plow services to many in the Hawk Hills, Breaking Point and Hotchkiss areas. Later in life, he used his remaining D7 3T cat and moved into clearing roads and landings for local loggers.

Pa could do anything he put his hands to, whether it be carpentry, welding, electrical, automotive, heavy-duty mechanics or building things from scratch like his brush cutter and piler, his harrow-bar, a PTO driven drum root picker and the garden tractor he named Dudley 277. If he had trouble getting something to work, he usually just had to think about it for a while, and he would come up with a solution. He took a lot of pride in his work and was truly a wealth of knowledge. In his later years, he picked up the guitar and wrote a few songs to celebrate various occasions.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 2:00pm at the Battle River Agricultural Hall. A private interment for family will follow at the Notikewin Vale of Peace Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Cecil’s memory to the Battle River Pioneer Museum PO Box 574, Manning, AB, T0H 2M0 or the Manning Palliative Care Society.

Care entrusted to Peace Valley Funeral Home Peace River (Kristi Heck) 780-624-1010

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