Alberta businessman, philanthropist Stan Grad remembered for ‘heart of gold’
Global News
The soaring legacy of legendary Calgarian, Stan Grad has touched many near and far. His passing has had a profound impact on so many who called him a friend.
They were newly-weds in the late 1980s on their way to the Calgary Stampede, with all their belongings in tow and a dream of finding jobs in Alberta.
Scott and Elan Lees never imagined where that dusty road would take them nor the legendary man standing at the end of it who helped shape the trajectory of their lives.
“We were two poor kids from Saskatchewan who had nothing, who came with everything in the back of a truck,” said Elan Lees. “When we drove in the main yard, I was just in awe. in Saskatchewan there was nothing like a Soderglen.”
“The people who knew him know he had a big booming voice and he was a big man. He walked over and said: ‘Hello, I’m Stan Grad. Who are you? That’s how we met,” said Scott Lees, with a half smile on his face.
Scott and Elan Lees would eventually become business partners with Grad and close friends.
The couple managed the Calgary oil and gas executive’s sprawling Soderglen Ranch, helping to grow it into the largest seedstock operation in Canada.
“Never did I dream we would have the opportunities that we had and it’s because of Stan Grad,” said Elan. “He didn’t give us pressure. He was never hovering. He allowed us to do what we wanted to do.”
On July 29, Grad passed away due to complications from a lung infection. The Lees and countless others are mourning a larger-than-life man, with a generous heart who was like family.
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