Curt Tugnum speaks at the dedication of a gravestone for his great grandfather John Parry at Hillside Cemetery in Medicine Hat on Wednesday. The grave had been unmarked for 117 years before Tugnum discovered its location with the help of city archives in late 2024.--News Photo Collin Gallant
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Curt Tugnum’s quest brought him to the shade of a huge spruce tree in Medicine Hat on Wednesday, to the foot of an unmarked grave and the almost forgotten resting place of his great-grandfather.
“One year ago, I never thought I’d be here,” Tugnum said during brief remarks at a ceremony at Hillside Cemetery to rededicate the grave of John Henry Parry.
“I didn’t think we would ever find this place … It’s far beyond what I ever expected.”
The North West Mounted Police officer was only a name on a family tree when Tugnum, a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, became interested in genealogy and began investigating.
Years later, Tugnum knows the welshman arrived in Canada in 1891, worked his way west along the rail line, joined the NWMP, married a widow with six children, had two of his own while farmsteading in Saskatchewan and died of tuberculous, which would claim many members of that family.
Tugnum also knows how Parry arrived in Medicine Hat “a pauper” to be treated at Medicine Hat General Hospital – dropped off by a friend who adopted his daughters – but died within three days and was buried with the hospital covering the $3 charge.
The surviving daughter, Tugnum’s grandmother, started another branch of the family tree that is a “continuation” that now counts five generations of RCMP members.
Through it, said Tugnum, the journey has strengthened the “family of my own and a family of my profession.”
Wednesday’s ceremony was attended by 13 members of the Retired RCMP Officers Association, Cypress Hills Division, a serving member from the RCMP detachment in Redcliff and a half dozen members of Tugnum’s extended family.
Rev. Ken Wells, the chaplain of the Retired Officers branch, said the research paints a picture of a hardworking, religious man who faced incredible trials in life.
“The events that affect us do not leave us alone, but do not leave us without hope,” said Wells. “We gather to remember those who serve … that service has deep meaning, and remembrance puts flesh to memories.”
Several extended family members also attended the service, including Parry’s great-great-grandson Geordie Simpson, a recently retired 25-year member of the RCMP.
“I’ve been to Medicine Hat many times, but had no idea he was here,” said Simpson.
Tugnum mused that his great grandfather had likely been accepted into the NWMP at Depot in Regina because he was a painter by trade and records show he was engaged in the construction of a chapel aside one part of a mess hall at Depot.
Tugnum was the chief superintendent at RCMP’s main training facility before retiring in 2005.
“When I think of how many times I sat there,” said Tugnum, who extended thanks to staff at the Esplanade Archives for “extraordinary effort” of searching hospital records, the staff at Hillside Cemetery and Medicine Hat Monumental.
“It’s not an end, but it’s an accomplishment that I’m proud of.”
Tugnum now plans to turn his full attention to researching the life of his great-grandmother Elizabeth, Parry’s wife.
“You can’t know who you are or where you are going without knowing something about who you were,” said Tugnum. “That’s helped me know who I am, and that’s the continuum that I think is really important.”
