Rider standout, 1966 Grey Cup champ Garner Ekstran passes away at 86

Garner Ekstran, Riders standout and 1966 Grey Cup champion, passes away at 86.

Garner Ekstran, a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ first Grey Cup championship team, has passed away.

The team announced that the former linebacker and defensive end passed away from natural causes on April 4 at the age of 86.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of 1966 Grey Cup Champion Garner Ekstran,” the team said in a post to social media.

“A standout on defence and three-time All-CFL selection, Garner played a key role in bringing the Grey Cup to Saskatchewan in 1966 and appeared in 110 games in Green and White. He was inducted into the SaskTel Plaza of Honour in 1990.

“Our sincere condolences to his family, friends and loved ones,” the memorial concluded.

Ekstran was in Sedro-Wooley, Washington at the time of his death. Sedro-Wooley is located 43 kilometres southeast of Ekstran’s hometown of Bellingham.

The 1966 Grey Cup marked Saskatchewan’s first championship win.

The defensive standout played with the Green and White from 1961 until 1967, and retired after a single season with the B.C. Lions in 1968.

“Garner was a lifelong Coug and Rider,” Ekstran’s grandson Iver Light told Riderville.com.

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“He loved to tell amazing stories of his playing days and of all the people who made Saskatchewan a special place. The Roughrider organization meant a lot to Garner and especially his wife Marge, who built strong friendships in the players’ wives circle.”

Ekstran was named the Roughriders’ most outstanding lineman in his rookie year and then again in 1963.

He is survived by his children Kristen, Kara and Keith; his grandchildren Iver and Elsie Light and his sister Diane Lind.

Ekstran’s wife Marge passed away in December 2023.