Besides his loving wife, Sharon, he is survived by his son, Troy Erler; his daughter, Tracey Erler; granddaughters, Ciara (Trysten) Goldsmith and Melissa Goldsmith; his siblings, Ida Erler, Fred Erler, Eugene Erler, and Marianne Davies; and multiple nieces and nephews.

He was preceded to heaven by his father, Philipp Erler; his mother, Barbara Erler; his brother, Raymond; and sister, Hilda Graham.

Son of Barbara (née Schaab) Erler and Philipp Erler, George Philip Erler was born October 13th, 1939 at Loon Lake, Saskatchewan. Growing up in North Battleford, Saskatchewan with his six brothers and sisters, George was an active young man with an interest in all things mechanical. He attended college in Moose Jaw to study Radio and TV repair, after which he moved to Calgary, where he worked as a technician for a few years before moving to Saskatoon where he was in partnership in a TV and Radio store. He married his wife, Sharon (née Rathgeber) on April 11th, 1964. His family was completed by the birth of his son, Troy and daughter, Tracey. In 1966, he went to work for Canada Employment and Immigration, which led to transfers to Thompson, Manitoba (1969-1972) and finally to Lethbridge in 1972, where he acted as a supervisor until his retirement in 1993. Never one to sit still, George filled his days with the things he loved: day trading, coffee with friends, working on cars, and building. Always building.

While we lost our beloved dad, many have lost a friend and loved one in him. He has been a rock to many, a master at sarcastic humor and witty timing to others, and even a glorious pain in the neck, to what is a small select few (because no matter what happened between you in your lives, once you were marked as important to him, he’d be by your side if you needed him). There was so much more to him than just dad, though to us that was his greatest roll - he was also a friend, a coworker and colleague, a cousin, brother, grandfather, a handyman, teacher, the list goes on and on.

George lost his battle against lung cancer. His family wishes to extend a special thanks to the dedicated doctors, nurses and staff of the St. Michael’s Health Centre Palliative Care Unit.

A Celebration of George’s life will be held at CORNERSTONE FUNERAL HOME, 2825 – 32 Street South, Lethbridge, AB, on Friday, November 22, 2024 at 2:00 P.M. with Pat Siedlecki officiating. The Celebration of life will be live-streamed and may be viewed through George’s obituary on the Cornerstone website.

Cremation entrusted to Cornerstone Funeral Home.

In memory of George, donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society (cancer.ca)