A gentle welder could make a strong stand when it came to his community.
Ted Lineham, who served as an Okotoks councillor in the 1980s, died on April 21 at the age of 86.
“Ted was a guy with no B.S.,” said Doreen Lewis, who served six years on Okotoks town council in the 1980s with Lineham. “He was a quiet man and you kind of had to drag things out of him, but the wheels were sure turning in his head.
“He was always thinking, he just wasn’t talking. He was a great councillor.”
Lineham’s roots were firmly in Okotoks. Ted is the great-great grandson of W.D. Lineham who came out west in the late 1800s shortly after his brother John Lineham. They established a sawmill in Okotoks in 1891 and in High River in 1904. Both those communities have neighbourhoods named after the Linehams.
Ted grew up in the Turner Valley area and spent time in Pincher Creek and other parts of Alberta before settling in Okotoks in 1978 to stay.
He was elected as a councillor in the 1980s with Lewis.
“He had a really good sense of what works, what doesn’t, how the town would react, how it runs,” Lewis said. “He always gave very thoughtful answers and without a lot of fanfare.
“Some people have to yap and talk. He was just always very forthright and had great input.”
Some of the accomplishments during Lineham’s time on council included helping Cargill and MagCan set up shop in the area. During his tenure on council, it helped secure the land where the present Recreation Complex stands.
It was all part of being in a community for which he was so proud.
“Ted felt the pride of his ancestors in building this town and that is why he became so involved,” said Ted’s daughter Judy Lineham. “He came back here because of his heritage.”
Being involved meant supporting people, not bricks and mortar projects.
“He had the ability to make everyone feel special — he was your friend and made you feel important,” Judy said.
He was a welder and rancher who would go the extra mile for his clients — cost was also optional.
“People would drive up with a trailer or something that had broken down, they would pull up in the yard and dad would weld it up,” said Ted’s daughter Terri Bailey. “They would ask how much and dad would say ‘nothing.’ If you were stranded or needed help, they were always welcome.”
The Lineham home also became a spot where people would go if they were stranded or needed a place to stay in an emergency.
However, Judy felt Ted might have missed his calling.
“He should have been a vet, he loved animals,” Judy said.
She said there was one time a calf was injured and Ted was told to put the animal down.
“He just couldn’t do it and brought the calf back to health — he had a heart of gold… Somebody who had a pair of donkeys was moving and the first person they thought of to help was Ted Lineham.”
Those donkeys are still at the Linehams some 20 years later.
Lineham is survived by his wife Janet Fay and was the father of five daughters Judy Lineham, Carol Jones, Beverly Hoffman, Terri Bailey and Dodie Lineham and their families.
