Sorry for the loss of your grandfather, I know words fall short. All of my grandparents are gone, but I was closest to my grandfathers...especially my mom's dad. He was an avid hunter/angler, I have his collection of hand-tied panfish poppers in a custom acrylic shadow box I made. It houses the large, wooden presentation box he'd made himself.
Re: flies-seems impossible there wouldn't be flies in there that would work well in AB, I might expect to see salmon flies if he was from NS...that would be a question mark using them in Alberta. (=effectiveness) I know warm water fish would likely have a go.
My opinion-even if this is the catalyst to get into fly fishing (=awesome!) and, if there is a desire to try and make them work, I might suggest you hold-off using flies that old with sentimental value unless/until you get a good understanding of fly fishing. Would be a shame to lose a pile of them before you get a handle on things, or, before you have a sense of when to tie one one/under what circumstances.
Rods/reels/lines=you didn't ask, but reading your thread starter...older fly gear "can" be a little harder to learn with especially if it's old fiberglass or even a commercially-made cane rod. Newer rods (even intro-level ones) might help you get there a little quicker. Once you understand the fundamentals and have some experience under your belt, you'll be better-equipped to gauge the usefulness of the old rods. They'll always hold sentimental value. Reels-harder to find one that WON'T work vs. one that will, so a clean-up/lube is usually all they need.
Happy to chime-in if I see any photos posted
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