Instelling

Cardinal Coach Lines

Gerald "Jerry" Lloyd Weber, 1921-1996, was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He served in the Navy, and on his discharge worked for Sorenson's Bus Lines for a year before founding Cardinal Coach Lines in 1947. He started with one bus which did a daily round trip from Red Deer to Veteran, and expanded during the 1950s and 1960s to serve a large area of central Alberta. His brother, Grant Leroy Weber, became a partner in the business.

Cardinal diversified into servicing industrial sites, charters, and sightseeing. Foothills Sightseeing Tours, its tourism branch, began in 1957. The name changed to Calgary Gray Line in 1959, and was sold to Banff's Brewster Transport in 1972. Cardinal first provided school bus service in Calgary in 1958. Because of the success of this and other ventures, Cardinal sold its last central Alberta bus route in 1971. Cardinal had a fleet of 410 vehicles in 1985.

Jerry was actively involved in many tourism and community organizations, including the Alberta Tourist Association, Travel Alberta, Travel Industry Association of Alberta, Calgary Tourist and Convention Bureau, Motel Association of Alberta, Cosmopolitan International Club of Calgary, and Skal Club of Calgary. He and his wife, Shirley, had five children, Steven, Stanley, Roy, Chris, and Diane (Tullson). Cardinal was acquired by FirstStudent Canada of Burlington, Ontario in 2005.

For further information see Cardinal : A Quiet Pride : 50 Years / R. W. Sandford. -- Calgary : Cardinal Coach Lines Limited, 1997.