Charlie

Last week, Charlie Mintenko, my husband's musician partner during the last three years, passed away after a very brief but devastating illness.  Their musical collaboration evolved into a close friendship, and Elmer will miss Charlie on the personal level as much as on the musical level.

Charlie's family asked friends to send them stories about Charlie that they can tell his grandchildren.  Here is Elmer's tribute to Charlie, a fitting ode to a special man.


Dear grandchildren of Charlie Mintenko,

    I want you to know how very fortunate you are to have had your grandfather be part your life while he was with you. Know that he will continue to be with you for as long as you live. 

    I can say that with conviction because, although as a musician my life and his have crossed paths many times since the 1980's, it has been the last three years that he and I have had relatively exclusive time together doing gigs mostly as a two piece band.

    It's been said that one of the reasons farmers in Saskatchewan are so creative is that they spend so much time on a tractor with significant time to think of new ideas while they drive up and down working their fields. For musicians, a lot of sharing happens as we navigate the many roads all hours of the day or night to play our music.

    During this time together I developed a very deep appreciation of who your grandfather was. First of all he was a very good man. He was very quick to make friends, and once relationships were established he'd nourish them with hugs and humorous quips. He wouldn't allow negative experiences get him down. He would dismiss them as learning experiences and move forward from there deciding not to make the same mistake again. I believe that is one of the reasons he got along so well with people. He never held a grudge and was very quick to overlook any "indiscretions" directed toward him. His sense of humor was amazing and even if he told the same joke twice it was still funny. To say he was a talented musician would be an understatement. The thrill of playing with him in a two piece band was reinforced by the fact that his repertoire was amazing.  His instrumental competence was superb, and his stage presence exuded warmth and confidence. You can't beat a combination like that. 

    Music was only one of your grandfather's many talents. During one of our trips, I learned that he was a qualified electrician.  True to his nature, he shared his talent. I look around our house and I see a bathroom wired, electrical outlets installed in the garage and wiring installed on our deck all done by the knowledgeable skill of your grandfather. I also learned that as a result of his early employment he was a capable mechanic. My old Chevelle, my Camper van and small SUV never functioned so well as since your grandfather laid hands on these vehicles. Musicians tend to be significantly dependent on their electronic equipment to function efficiently. Once again your grandfather's creativity rescued electronic components which would have been abandoned by average technicians. The show would always go on because he made things happen.

    You are also very fortunate because your grandfather was a tremendous family man. We discussed many topics as we travelled. In addition to solving all the world's problems we spent significant time talking about family. Usually the impression is that it's the grandmothers who pull out the pictures and brag about grandchildren. Let me set the record straight. We grandfathers can hold our own. Your grandparents and my wife and I have grandchildren of similar ages and you can understand how significantly we delved into the topic. We agreed that we were very fortunate to have such wonderful wives, children and grandchildren.

      I have presented a mere fraction of the qualities that illustrate what a tremendous person your grandfather was. I congratulate you in being able to say you are his grandchildren. You have a tremendous model to inspire you as you go through life.

Elmer Beutel

Reproduced with permission.