Obituary of Bernice Latimer

B I O G R A P H Y LATIMER: Bernice Elizabeth Latimer passed away in the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre, Lloydminster, Alberta on Friday, July 7, 2006 at the age of 94 years. Bernice is survived by: five children: Ray and Pat Cote of Edmonton; Bill and Glenda Cote of Lloydminster; Allen and Gloria Cote of Maidstone; Marie Wolfe of Marwayne; and Linda and Brian Meyers of Edmonton; one sister Selma Leighton of Kitscoty; nineteen grandchildren; thirty-two great grandchildren and eleven great great grandchildrenas well as numerous nieces and nephews. The funeral service for Bernice was conducted from the Marwayne Community Hall, Marwayne, Alberta on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 at 11:00 A.M. with Pastor Fred Sirett officiating. A eulogy was given by Doreen Klatt. A solo “Beyond The Sunset,” was sung by Yvette Barnett. The hymn sung was “In The Garden,” accompanied on the organ by Donna Eyben. Honorary pallbearers were all thsoe who shared in Mom’s life. Active pallbearers were: Dean Cote, David Cote, Don Wolfe, Larry Needham, Doug Cote and Lane Cote. Interment followed in the Marwayne Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy of Bernice Latimer – by Doreen Klatt I consider it a privilege to have been asked to honor a very great lady this morning, my Aunt Bernice who passed away July 7th , 2006 in Lloydminster at the age of 94 years. She is survived by her sister, Selma Leighton, her sister-in-law Alice Flewell, her sons, Ray his wife Pat, Bill and his wife Glenda, Allen his partner Gloria, her daughters, Marie and Linda, Linda’s husband Brian, her daughter-in-laws Linda and Joan, 17 grandchildren, 31 great grandchildren, and 13 great, great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents, 4 brothers, 2 sisters, her husband, Alex, her son, Alvin, her daughter Olive, her daughter, Irene, her son-in-laws, George, Frank and Bill, 2 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Bernice Elizabeth Latimer was born on May 20th, 1912 in Warwick, Alberta to Fred and Martha Flewell. She was the 3rd oldest of 8 children; Helen, Clayton, Bernice, Vera, Selma, Bill, Clarence and Ray. The Flewell family moved to the Kitscoty area in 1916 and settled on a mixed farm in the Fenham district. Some of you will remember where they lived, just a little North of the Fenham school. Bernice went to school in Streamstown until the Fenham school was built and opened in 1920. She and Helen and Clayton did the janitorial work there as well. Typical of large families, she took care of her younger brothers and sisters. Typical of the times, she went to work at any early age. In 1930 she married Joseph Cote. They had 7 children in 9 years. Ray, Olive, Irene, Alvin, Bill, Marie and Allen. Joseph Cote worked at various jobs so the family moved to different places throughout the province. Times were hard for them as jobs were scarce and pay was poor during the 30’s and 40’s. Aunt Bernice eventually moved back to Marwayne with her 7 children and worked in Wong’s restaurant. The Chinese people were very kind to her giving her parcels of food and goodies often. She also did laundry and cleaning for people to make a living. She met and married Alex Latimer in 1948 and she and her family moved to his farm in the Willowlea district. Some time after that, Linda was added to their family. Aunt Bernice was ambitious and had boundless energy. She loved the farm, raising up to 200 turkeys per year. Scoggins Meat Market in Lloydminster loved her turkeys because they were killed properly and cleaned properly. She swears she paid for a quarter of land with the money she made from her turkeys! She milked cows and sold cream for grocery money, and had a huge garden every year. She planted enough potatoes for her household and everyone else’s in the district. If you were helping her with her potatoes, you did not put the fork tines through the potatoes and were reprimanded for not digging and handling those potatoes carefully. She planted a beautiful flower garden every year too. She had bushes of giant dahlia’s and used roundup on every weed that dared to appear in her yard. She had wanted a weeping birch tree so bad and finally she got one. She was so proud of it but one day her dog, Spike, chewed the top off of it and if she could have caught him she would have killed him. I’m sure he got a tongue lashing! All in all, they both recovered, the dog and the tree and the tree actually took off growing. She was a great cook, and her kitchen always smelled wonderful, fresh breads and cakes and cookies. Remember the drawer in her kitchen that always had a cake in it? Does your mouth water when I mention white cake with brown sugar icing? How about that huge cookie jar on the shelf that was always full of cookies. She cooked for threshing crews, she cooked for the cowboys that moved cattle from Marwayne to Paradise Valley on their 2 day cattle drive, and remember the large bottles of homemade lemonade she sent to the Willowlea bible camp, and all of you who attended her house for Christmas remember the wonderful turkey dinners she put on. One of the grandkids told me that her favorite Christmas’s were those at Grandma Latimer’s with the house packed with people and Grandma made sure everyone had a great time. Aunt Bernice could sew, she did lots of mending, she did lots of reading and enjoyed playing cards. She belonged to the Canadian Legion Auxiliary in 1947, 48 and 49. Aunt Bernice loved old time music and dancing. She also was a sports fan. Alvin, Allen, Bill, and their cousin Vern played hockey with the Marwayne Comets. She didn’t miss a game. Her and Uncle Alex traveled to all the games in Marwayne, Vermilion, Hillmond, Lloydminster, Kitscoty and Dewberry. The boys also played round robin ball every Sunday in the summer in Streamstown, Kitscoty and Marwayne. She would cook up a huge lunch and pack that along; always the provider! Everyone had to be fed! She watched Alex curl and never missed one of Linda’s basketball games throughout high school! She loved her family and was very supportive of all of them! She worried about every member of her family and she stayed interested in their lives. She was a caregiver. She brought her mother, Martha Flewell, to their home and cared for her the last 3 years of her life. She was concerned for her brother Clayton when he went to the retirement home and didn’t like it. She helped many times in other peoples homes. I’m sure she had her moments and her days, but for the most part no problem was ever too big for Aunt Bernice; she would tackle almost anything to help friend and family. She was very level headed, being concerned and yet keeping it all together. She was generous and gentle. She couldn’t stand to sit still, she had to be busy. She really believed that if you had a job to do, you did it well, taking pride in it. She had great respect for other people, never criticizing or gossiping about them. She and Alex took a trip to Alaska one time which was a memorable experience for her since they didn’t travel much. The love of her life, Alex, passed away in 1982, and she lived on the farm by herself until the spring of 1987 when she moved into Marwayne. She continued working in her house and garden until 1997 when she had a heart attack and ended up in the hospital. She was beginning to show signs of dimensia. Soon after, she fell and broke her hip and after it was pinned in the Edmonton hospital, she became a resident of the Dr. Cooke Nursing Home in Lloydminster in 1998. Her ambitious spirit caused her a little grief and she was agitated because there was nothing to do. She began a routine of folding towels for the home and it worked well, until it became a physical problem for her and the medical staff made her stop. She suffered a couple of small strokes in the next few years, but on Monday the 3rd of July, 2006 she suffered another stroke and gradually declined and passed away quietly on Friday the 7th. Aunt Bernice was most definitely a role model for all the women in this family and for the outside world to see. Can you imagine her being so steadfast living in a world with so many changes trials and tribulations. Horse and buggy, tractor & wagon days to trains, planes and automobiles. She watched 3 of her brothers and several neighbors enlist and go off to World War 11. Can you imagine waiting to hear any news from someone you might never see again! She lived and worked through the great depression. Can you imagine having to be brave and move 7 children into Marwayne on your own and then try to make a living for them. Can you imagine the pain and agony of losing three of your own children, and other members of your immediate family before you yourself pass away. How about losing your brothers and sisters one by one. She had survivor instincts!. She got up early every morning and kept on going. Even in the Dr. Cooke she got up early and refused a nap in the afternoon. I am reminded of the scripture in the book of Titus 2:3 – That older women teach the younger women what is right and noble, to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, good-natured homemakers, and to love God. And so, I thank God for Aunt Bernice’s life… I received a phone call from Donna Luchyk Fuller who is currently in Missouri passing on condolences to the family. To the family, from my family, our condolences, you have lost a mother who loved and protected you to a fault each and every one of you. Your disappointments were her disappointments, your good fortunes made her so happy for you. You have suffered a huge loss but you have a great heritage. Give Aunt Selma a hug today. She is the last one of the original Flewell family still with us. To Aunt Selma, …Aunt Bernice would tell you to “Hang in there, girl”. To the congregation I hope you have all caught a glimpse of a life that meant so much to us and this has brought you pleasant memories of your association with Aunt Bernice. May God Bless you and keep you and cause His Son to shine upon you! CARD OF THANKS We, the family of the late Bernice Latimer, would like to thank all our friends and relatives for attending the funeral; for the gifts of food, flowers, cards and donations in memory of our mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great, great grandmother. Thank you to Pastor Fred Sirett for officiating at the funeral, Doreen Klatt for the eulogy, the organist Donna Eyben, the soloist Yvette Barnett, and the Royal Purple Ladies for the lovely lunch following the service. Thank you to the pallbearers: Dean Cote, Dave Cote, Don Wolfe, Larry Needham, Doug Cote and Layne Cote. Thank you Dr. Cavanagh for taking care of Mom all these years. A very special thank you to all the nurses and staff at the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre for taking such great care of Mom for the past eight years. We will never forget your thoughtfulness and kindness extended to both Mom and her family in the last days. Many thanks to Glenn McCaw and staff for administering the funeral arrangements. Words cannot express what your thoughtfulness meant to us. In lieu of Thank You cards, we are making a donation to the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Auxiliary. Linda and Brian Meyer Allan Cote Marie Cote Bill and Glenda Cote Ray and Pat Cote and families. Donations in memory of Bernice may be made to the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Auxiliary.