It is with a very sad heart that the family shares the news of Terry Roy Middleditch's sudden passing of natural causes on Tuesday, December 5, 2023,  in Calgary, AB at home.  He has peacefully gone to his Heavenly Home.

Terry was 66 years old and was born in Stratford, Ontario on July 24, 1957. He loved growing up on the pioneer family farm in Ellice Twp, especially with Budden family cousins who came for summer visits.   The Middleditch's owned several farms in the area into the 1970s, as did most all of their relatives.  Terry and his siblings worked helping many relatives haying and working cattle on their farm with dairy, beef, swine, and horses. Terry's love of Rodeo began with his Uncle Wilmer Preszcator being a calf roper and horse trainer who produced the early Exeter Rodeos. He was known amongst the kids for his country music concerts on the stairs in the big farmhouse belting out his favorite Charley Pride songs. He loved the Christmas holidays all his life and all the large family parties.

He was deeply involved in 4H, showing his Angus steers, all named Willy. In 1976 he won the Queen's Guinea's Championship at the Royal Winter Fair for Grand Champion Steer.

He attended Fanshawe College (London, ON) in Broadcasting. His first job was CKGL FM/CHYM 590 in Kitchener, ON in sales. He moved out to Edmonton, AB in 1985 making the long drive west in his TransAm (the first of many sports cars) to work for another station.  He then moved South to Calgary in 1987 to work for Country 105/CKRY FM for 20-plus years.  Terry was very successful in sales and won many achievement awards and bonuses. His agricultural background was a benefit in Alberta in dealing with rural-focused clients.  After the radio station downsized, he worked at Home Depot and Lowes as an associate for 20 years while pursuing his own media company.

Terry's lifelong passions were country music, Rodeo, and the Western lifestyle and he was unsurpassed. He was an innovator in his field, he started his own podcast and streaming media website with Rational Media and RodeoCountryRadio.com long before anyone else thought of such an avenue and was travelling the Pro Rodeo circuit doing interviews for a few years. He used social media as a media platform in its earliest days. He recently rebranded a new digital country media, on multi-platforms.

Terry inherited the travel bug from his Mom Norma and Grama B Pearl. He went to Hawaii, and Mexico, many USA trips and vacations, and countless concerts and music festivals.

Terry had some rough times health-wise in the last years having both diabetes and heart issues, but he never gave up on life. He loved his large family, lifelong Calgary friends and former colleagues as well as furbabies. He was always described as a smart, kind, gentle and sweet soul.

He travelled home to Ontario for Christmas every year from Alberta for decades until Norma's passing in 2010. This usually included a Niagara Falls trip to see the lights and shopping, and the inevitable big snowstorms disturbing travel plans. In 2008, 7 people, 4 dogs and 1 cat were snowed in 5 days at Christmas in the 2-bedroom old Shakespeare house with drifts higher than the cars just like many years back on the farm.  He made several trips to visit his sister Jan in Oklahoma and gave her away at her wedding in 2012.  He last made a Christmas trip home to Ontario in 2019. This was the last time he saw his Aunt Dorothy Middleditch who passed away at age 99 a year later.  He would always visit as many relatives and old friends as much as possible on every trip.

Just like his Mom Norma, he kept his closest loved ones in the loop, with calls, texts and pictures when visits were too scarce. He loved sharing pictures of his special furbaby Gizmo and getting back the daily life pictures and videos from the family group texts.

He was predeceased by his grandparents, Fred and Mae (nee Henry) Middleditch, and Levi and Pearl (nee Stone) Budden;  his beloved parents, Carson and Norma (nee Budden) Middleditch; great-uncles Bert Middleditch, and Robert Henry; uncles Stanley, and Roy Middleditch, Wilmer Preszcator, Chuck Fenton, Ken Budden, Murray Budden, Doug Zimmer, and Ron Budden; great-aunts, Viola Ruston, Mabel (nee Henry) Bald; and aunts Helen (nee Budden) Preszcator, Dorothy (nee Budden) Greene, Dorothy (nee Paulen) Middleditch, and Louise (nee Budden) Zimmer. He was also predeceased by his cousins Daniel Zimmer, Margaret Bestward, and Robin Bald.

He will be greatly missed by surviving family members, brother and sister-in-law, Ken and MaryKay (nee Van Miltonberg) Middleditch; sister and brother-in-law, Janice (nee Middleditch) and Glenn Dake;  nieces, Jennifer Middleditch, Tonia (Jesse) Lang, and Brittany White (Cameron Sloan);  nephew Wade (Leila) White; great-nieces and nephews, Emily, Hailey, Marshall, Evelyn, and Jackson; and a new baby White on the way.

He will also be very much missed by his Aunt Margaret Fenton, Aunt Frances Budden, Aunt Rosemary Budden, Uncle Donald Greene, and all of his Budden family cousins.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Calgary, AB, and another Celebration of Life will be held in Stratford, ON, both in the spring with exact dates to be determined. Donations can be made to a charity of your choice, or simply consider donating pet food to your local animal shelter.

Terry is to be cremated and will be " travelling"  home to Stratford, ON to be with loved ones and to special places he loved.