Gertie Wood, 72, of Fort Frances, Ont. passed away Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1997 at La Verendrye General Hospital in Fort Frances, Ont.
She was born May 14, 1925 in Emo, Ont. to the late Milton and Mary Fischer. Gertie was united in marriage to Roy Wood on April 12, 1944.
In Gertie’s younger years, she was a member of the Fort Frances Town Band and was an avid softball player. In later years, her interests included curling, quilting, sewing, travel and family. Gertie’s love of cooking led her to employment with George Armstrong Co. on the construction of Dryden Highway and Barney Lamb’s Baker Lake Lodge, NWT. Her final years of employment were spent as a cook and guard at the Fort Frances District Jail.
Gertie was a life-time member and a past-president of the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 29 Ladies’ Auxiliary. She also was a member of the La Verendrye Hospital Auxiliary and Knox United Church.
She was predeceased by Roy Wood; brothers Edward and Robert Fisher; and brothers-in-law Hans Bergstrom and Ben Wood.
Gertie is survived by two sons, John Wood and wife Donna, and Terry Wood and wife Mary, all of Fort Frances, Ont.; two granddaughters, Jody Wood of Fort Frances, Ont. and Anita Wood of Vancouver, B.C.; three grandsons, Jamie, Jonathan and Joshua Wood; four great-grandchildren; three step-grandsons; three step great-grandchildren; sister Dorothy Bergstrom and brother Malcolm O’Neil Fischer of Fort Frances, Ont.; sisters-in-law Mary Fisher of Kingston, Ont. and Jean Jackson of Ranier, Minn.; one uncle, two aunts; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Memorial services were held Saturday, Nov. 8, 1997 at 10 a.m. at Green Funeral Home in Fort Frances, Ont. Rev. Patrick Playfair officiated with interment to take place in Riverview cemetery in Fort Frances, Ont.
Honourary pallbearers were the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 29 Ladies’ Auxiliary Colour Party.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the La Verendrye General Hospital Ladies’ Auxiliary or to the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 29 Ladies’ Auxiliary.
PEARL BESSIE YURKIW
Pearl Yurkiw, 71, of 725 Morrison St., Fort Frances, Ont., passed away Thursday, November 6, 1997 at La Verendrye General Hospital in Fort Frances, Ont.
Pearl was born on June 6, 1926 in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba to the late Alex and Nellie Kowalchuk. She was raised in Gilbert Plains and in September of 1948 was united in marriage to Maurice Yurkiw. They settled in Winnipeg, Man. and the surrounding area where Pearl resided until she moved to Fort Frances, Ont. in 1995. Pearl was a school teacher for 19 years and taught 17 of them in the Winnipeg area. She enjoyed knitting, reading, crossword puzzles, playing cards, jigsaw puzzles, watching television talk shows with her daughters and especially spending time with her family.
She was predeceased by her husband Maurice Yurkiw (April 17, 1980); brother, John Kowalchuk and sisters, Mary Vacola and Lucy Pardoski.
Pearl is survived by her daughters, Barbara and husband Dave Moon of Winnipeg, Man. and Sharon Yurkiw of Fort Frances, Ont.; son, Brian Yurkiw and wife Linda of Spokane, Washington; three grandsons, Jeffrey Maurice, Bradford Lloyd and Joshua Maurice; two sisters, Nettie and husband Yvon Boissoneault of Sarasota, FL. and Phyllis and husband Don Clark of Neepawa, Man. and numerous nieces and nephews.
At Pearl's request cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be held in Winnipeg, Man. at a later date.
In memoriam donations may be made to a charity of your choice.
VERONICA JULIA ALLAN
Veronica Julia Allan, 92, of Rainycrest Home for the Aged, 550 Osborne St., Fort Frances, Ont., passed away at her residence Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1997.
She was born June 11, 1905 in Fort Frances to the late Mr. and Mrs. Paul Jourdain.
Mrs. Allan had lived all her life in the Rainy River District. She had spent many years at Black Sturgeon working at The Fisheries with her husband, Alfred, and raising their children. In her later years, she moved to Fort Frances, where she began working at La Verendrye General Hospital in the Housekeeping Dep’t.
She was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, and a member of the Catholic Women’s League. She also loved sewing, knitting, and doing crafts.
In spite of all her grave losses, she was a caring and loving mother and grandmother.
Veronica was united in marriage to Alfred Allan, who predeceased her in 1957. She also was predeceased by two sons, Fred and Robert; and five daughters, Gladys Dussome, Florence Gray, Pearl Mattson, Laura Boudreau, and Eveora Crowe.
She will be sadly missed by her four daughters, Annie and husband, Milo Olson, of Rainy River, Ont., Ethel Gustafson of Fort Frances, Ont., Elsie and husband, Fred Davidson, of Thunder Bay, Ont., and Lillian Anderson of Fort Frances, Ont.
Also surviving is a stepbrother, George Jourdain of Fort Frances, Ont.; a special granddaughter, Lorraine Eklund of Thunder Bay, Ont.; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held Friday, Nov. 28, 1997 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. Father Brian Primeau O.M.I. will officiate, with interment in Holy Cross cemetery.
Friends may visit Thursday evening, Nov. 27, 1997 from 7 until 8 p.m. at Green Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Ron Taylor, Rob Schumacher, Jason Perreaux, Ronald Perreaux, Eric Anderson, and Shyler Rodrigues.
You will be sadly missed and ever loved by your family.
In lieu of flowers, in memoriam donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, c/o Mr. Dave Thornton, 840 Frenette Ave., Fort Frances, Ont., P9A 2N5.
MILDRED ‘MILLIE’ ALLEN
Mildred "Millie" Allen, 76, of Devlin, Ont., passed away Sunday, Nov. 30, 1997 at Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. in Fort Frances, Ont. with her loving family at her side.
Millie was born in Emo, Ont. on Jan. 21, 1921 to the late Roland and Helen (Stewart) Tibbs. She lived all of her life in the Devlin area, moving from their farm in the fall of 1974 to the village of Devlin.
She was united in marriage in Fort Frances to Harold Allen on March 28, 1942.
Millie had a great love of music, she lived to dance and listen to old-time orchestras throughout the surrounding area right up until the time of her illness. When Millie was younger, she and her family enjoyed playing the music for these dances.
Millie also enjoyed playing cribbage and 500, and found great peace and relaxation being in the outdoors.
She is survived by her loving husband, Harold, of Devlin, Ont., and three sons, Jack and wife, Elaine (Anderson), Wayne and wife, Brenda (Hawley), and Murnie and wife, Brenda (Jordens), all of Fort Frances, Ont.
She also is survived by four grandsons, Jeff of Oshawa, Ont., and Clarke, Jason and Logan, all of Fort Frances, Ont.; and by numerous nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her parents; her brother, Lyle Tibbs; and her sister, Thelma Kupila.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1997 at 2 p.m. at the Guthrie United Church in Devlin. Rev. Frances Flook will officiate, with interment in Devlin cemetery in Devlin.
Friends may visit prior to the service on Wednesday at the Guthrie United Church.
Pallbearers will be Wallace "Bubs" Hughes, Fritz Bujold, Elder Jack, Wayne Salchert, Lyle Kellar, and Bill McLean.
In lieu of flowers, in memoriam donations may be made to either the Guthrie United Church, Devlin, Ont., or the Canadian Cancer Society, P.O. Box 444, Fort Frances, Ont., P9A 3M8.
JOHN DONALD ‘DON’ MCNABB
John Donald "Don" McNabb, 85, of Stratton, Ont., passed away Sunday, Nov. 30, 1997 at Rainy River Hospital. He was born March 10, 1912 in Barwick, Ont.
Memorial services will be held Friday, Dec. 5, 1997 at 2 p.m. at the Stratton United Church, with Rev. John McFarlane officiating.
Cremation will take place, with interment to follow in the Stratton Municipal cemetery.
In memoriam donations may be made to the Rainy River Hospital in Rainy River, Ont.
A complete obituary will follow.
JUL MOEN
Jul Moen of Rainycrest Home for the Aged, 550 Osborne St., Fort Frances, Ont., passed away Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1997.
Funeral services are pending.
JOHN DONALD ‘DON’ McNABB
Don McNabb, 85, passed away peacefully Sunday, Nov. 30, 1997 at the Rainy River Hospital.
Don was born in Barwick, Ont. on March 10, 1912. He moved with his family to Fort Frances and later to Stratton. It was there he met Margaret Ellen Draycott, whom he married Dec. 9, 1936.
Don valued his family, his community, and the Rainy River District. He loved good horses. In the earlier years, he used horses for his school bus run, and working on both the farm and in the bush. During his early married life, he was also involved in trucking, at which time he hauled milk from the local farmers to Kenora for processing and hauled wood to the mill in Fort Frances.
Don was always involved with farming. He operated a dairy farm and later a beef farm. For several years prior to his retirement, Don worked as a district dairy herd inspector.
Don was a very civic-minded individual who served in one capacity or another in many organizations. He served on the Stratton school board and Stratton recreation society. He was 4-H leader for 12 years and chairman of the 4-H leaders’ club for the district. He also was chairman of Farm Safety, first chairman for the Beef Improvement Association, and member of the Soil and Crop.
Don served as a councillor for the Township of Morley from 1966 to 1971, and then as reeve until 1974. During his involvement in municipal politics, Don was chairman of the Municipal Union, board member for the District Welfare, board member of Rainycrest, and board member and president of Family and Children's Services.
Don was active throughout Northwestern Ontario.
Following his retirement in 1976, Don and Margaret spent 19 winters as "snowbirds" at their winter home in Mesa, Az. They enjoyed the company of many friends and get-togethers with other Canadian "snowbirds."
Don was predeceased by his parents, John and Catherine; his loving wife, Margaret in 1991; his brothers, Stewart, Claire, and Ross; and his sister, Jean Sagness.
He is survived by his daughter, Donalda, her husband Randy Hill, of Calgary; his son, Jack, and wife, Kathy, of Stratton; grandchildren, Garry Hill and wife, Jennifer, Janice and husband, Tony Fiori of Calgary, Shannon McNabb of Winnipeg, and Krista and husband, Terry Williams, Scott, and Andrea and husband, Jeff Hansen, of Stratton.
Don was a good friend to many people. He was a strong and gentle-mannered man, who maintained a sense of humour up until his death. He will be missed.
A memorial service was held at the Stratton United Church on Dec. 5, 1997 with Rev. John McFarlane officiating. Interment was in the Stratton Municipal cemetery.
Honourary pallbearers were Carson McQuaker, Peter Morken, Elder Jack, Murray Meyers, Reg Kaus, and Bill Penney.
If friends desire, donations may be made to the Rainy River Hospital Fund.
NELLIE ELIZABETH ‘NELL’ SMITH
Nellie Elizabeth "Nell" Smith, 95, of Winnipeg, Man., passed away there Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1997. She was born April 2, 1902 in England to the late Jonathan and Mary Dent.
Nell came to Canada in 1908 at the age of six and settled north of Emo, Ont. with her parents. She later moved to Fort Frances, Ont., where she worked at various jobs.
She then moved to Winnipeg, where she lived and worked for the past 60 years. She was employed as a cook at various private homes in the Tuxedo area, and also had worked as an L.P.N. at the Middlechurch Home.
She loved flowers and dining out. She also enjoyed travelling, visiting various parks, and playing bingo.
She was united in marriage in May, 1953 to Earl Marcus Smith, who predeceased her in 1957. She also was predeceased by her brother, Vivian Jonathan Dent in 1973; brother-in-law, Harold Casperson; and a nephew, Donald Casperson.
She is survived by one sister, Min Casperson of Vancouver, B.C., one sister-in-law, Olive Dent, of Fort Frances, Ont.; a niece, Kay Dent, of Kenora, Ont.; and three nephews, Prentice, Brian, and Bradley Dent.
A memorial service was held Friday, Nov. 28, 1997 in Winnipeg.
A private family graveside service will be held at the Emo cemetery in Emo at a later date.
