'And they'rrrre off': Friends say goodbye to iconic voice of Stampede chuckwagon races, Joe Carbury

Joe Carbury, the thundering, iconic voice of the Calgary Stampede chuckwagon races, was honoured by friends and family at a service Thursday, after passing away Oct. 17 at the age of 91.

World champion chuckwagon racer Kelly Sutherland said Carbury was a man of the people.

"To me, and to the city, and to the sport of chuckwagon racing, he was iconic. I think everybody related him to the city and the Calgary Stampede.

"He helped grow the sport and put it on the map," Sutherland said.

"He related to the crowd. He developed a lot of the drivers into recognizable people. He made a huge impact."

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A close friend and former race manager at Stampede Park said Carbury may be more recognizable in the world of chuckwagon racing, but that was just part of his contribution to Calgary.

"He did boxing, he did hockey, he did football, he did thoroughbred racing and everybody embraced that voice," Keith Marrington explained.

"Even the Shaw GMC commercial, when you heard him say they were on the Blackfoot, you knew it was Shaw GMC."

Marrington, who worked with Carbury for about 15 years, says Carbury went out of his way to know the people around him.

"Joe was employed by the Stampede but he worked for the people. Joe had a special connection. It didn't matter if you were a thoroughbred race trainer or a jockey or a thoroughbred groom or a chuckwagon driver," he said.

"He knew their families, he knew their kids, he asked questions, he was involved in their lives. He had an emotional connection with the people. He will be missed by me as a friend, more than anything, because that is what he meant to me."

Les McIntyre, a veteran chuckwagon and rodeo announcer, replaced Carbury as the voice of the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby.

"If it wasn't for Joe, I wouldn't be in the business," McIntyre said.

"When I got started in the game 35 years ago, I listened to Joe a lot without trying to copy him, setting my own style. But he set the bar in this game."

McIntyre said Carbury was way more than an announcer.

"Joe is associated with this sport and so much a part of the history of the Calgary Stampede and Calgary itself," he said.

"The position replaceable? Yes. The man and the voice? Never."

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