Bill Braden
Special to Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 16/00) - Joe Major, a longtime Yellowknifer, diamond driller and businessman died after a brief illness Aug. 5 in Abbotsford, B.C. He was 76 years old.

Residents of the 1960s and 70s will remember his abilities as a machine operator and welder, his salty outlook on life, and his ready resourcefulness in a tough situation.

Born and raised in central Saskatchewan, Joe left the family farm for the lure of the North's gold and mineral fields as a diamond driller. He followed the trade from Saskatchewan to Manitoba, Ontario and by the late 1950s to the NWT.

A big man, Joe was also one of ice road pioneer John Dennison's hands when he punched the first primitive trails from Yellowknife north of the treeline to the mines on Great Bear Lake in the 1960s.

In between were jobs that included hauling unlucky tractors and Cats out of lakes where the ice had given out. He also worked at various shops around the city, including Frame and Perkins, Robinson's Trucking and for mine service contractor Knut Rasmussen.

In 1970 Joe established Back Bay Welding, then sold it in 1975 to go to work for the City. He and Ethel also contributed to organizations such as the Royal Canadian Legion in 1975 and retired to Abbotsford.

Ethel Major died in 1990, and Joe is survived by two brothers and a sister. Plans for a memorial service are to be announced, and the family has requested donations be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

(Max and Bill Braden were neighbours and family friends with Ethel and Joe Major for many years)