Obituary of Winona (Redden) Guhl

Winona Belle (Redden) Guhl passed away at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Sunday, October 30, 2016 at the age of 94 years. Winona Guhl's Eulogy by Carrie Pollard & Cory McCauley (granddaughters) Winona Belle VanMetre was born in the old Lashburn Hospital on December 13, 1921. She was the fifth child and only daughter of Charles & Gertrude VanMetre. With four older brothers - Louis, Charlie, John & Roy, she soon became more of a tomboy in order keep pace. Roy being only two years older was her closest companion. Winona took all her schooling at the Lenwall School, except grade 12, which was done at the Lashburn High School. During her grade 12 year, she worked for her room and board at the home of Dr. And Mrs. Harry Douglas, who was the dentist in Lashburn at the time. Before the end of that school year, Canada was at war & her three youngest brothers were drafted. The following year she attended Normal School, later called Teacher's College in Saskatoon. At that time, one year of training was all that was required to become a teacher. Once she completed her training, she got a job at the North Gully School. Her first months cheque was $60, and the yearly contract was $600! One day I was talking to one of Grandma’s students from her teaching days. He told me the story of how all the boys in the North Gully School had a crush on the new teacher, Miss VanMetre. But she only had eyes for one handsome young whipper snapper who used to hide in the bushes outside the school every day at dismissal time. I wonder who that could have been?... (story told by Carrie) In the fall of 1943, Winona married Jim Redden, one of the school trustee's sons. They resided in the North Gully School Teacherage, until the spring of 1944 when they moved to the Greenwood District and rented land from Ray Ockenden. Their first child, Marion, was born that year. In June 1947, they bought their first quarter of land and moved back to the North Gully District. While living there they added three more children to their family: Gordon, Carol and Dwayne. In 1967, Jim & Winona bought Jack Mari's place. This is where they lived the remainder of their married life together. She spent her days raising her kids and raising her chicken's. Along with her family, her garden was her pride & joy. Gramma was an active community member. She belonged to the Hillmond Arenaettes and Hillmond Goodwill Club. For many years, she was the treasurer for the Goodwill Club, until the club folded. When a request came from the community, "saying no" was not an option for her. She could be counted on to volunteer for any community event - whether it be baking squares, in the concession booth at the rink or sewing something for someone! If you were in town on the day Jim & Winona went to town for groceries, no one was surprised to see Jim sitting in his truck, patiently waiting for Winona to finish her grocery shopping/social time! As their children grew up & started their own families, Jim & Winona were kept busy on and off the farm. They spent their days going from school events to hockey rinks, from ball diamonds to figure skating events etc, cheering on & supporting their grandchildren in anything or everything they did. They also made a few trips to Fort Nelson to see their grandchildren there. Jim & Winona did some travelling to see extended family in Prince George, Quesnel and to South Dakota with Marion & Walter for a Van Metre family reunion. They also made a trip to Detroit to see Gordon in hockey tryouts at the Joe Lewis Arena. After 45 years of marriage, Jim passed away in December 1987. Winona stayed on the farm & took driver training and got her drivers licence at the age of 65. She bought herself a little blue Ford Tempo and bombed back and forth to town! She kept up her license until she was 90 years old... Just in case of an emergency! The next few years were filled with bus tours and trips to see her family & friends. Her nick name on her bus tours was "Mama Puck"... Go figure! In 1989, Winona married Paul Guhl, a long time family friend. We welcomed Paul and his crew into the family circle. This brought some new adventures for Winona. Their first trip together was to California to visit some of Winona's relatives. Then it was up North to Fort Nelson and onto the Yukon & Alaska with Carol & Charlie. Another trip took them to Niagara Falls. Weekends were spent at various race tracks in the area, cheering Paul on in his pony chariot racing. Many new friends were made at these events. Which was true to Winona's nature, she always had the time to visit and socialize with EVERYONE! In May 2002, Winona & Paul moved to town into the little yellow house on 45th Street. Their home always had a welcome mat out for friends and family. There were many cups of tea & coffee served around the kitchen table ... And lots of memories made. When Grandma and Paul moved into the little yellow house on 45th Street, it was only a few blocks from the Legacy Centre, where I work. So, two or three times a week I would drop by for lunch and help clean out the fridge of leftovers. After a while it became routine and I was renamed the “garburator” by Grandma and Paul. If I was busy and didn’t get there for a few days they were phoning and complaining that their fridge was getting too full and needed to be cleaned out … I had better get over there! (story told by Carrie) After 22 years of marriage, in May 2011, Paul passed away. That fall, Winona moved into the Pioneer Lodge where she resided until her passing. We were helping Grandma move her things into the Pioneer Lodge one day. My daughter, Kalli was helping us. Kalli mentioned how small Grandma’s room was and we explained that when a single person moved into the Lodge they got one room and when a couple moved in, they got a double room. While we were discussing this, Kalli was putting things in Grandma’s desk drawer. She came across this funny looking gadget and asked Grandma what it was. Grandma had a look and said, “It’s a Stud Finder”. Well, Kalli thought about this for a second and then handed the “Stud Finder” to Grandma and said, “Well there you go Grandma take it and go find yourself a double room!” Grandma laughed about that for a long time! (story told by Carrie) What a perfect place for Winona. She knew a lot of people there already and those she didn't know, she got to know! If she hadn't met you before, she would make a point of getting to know you, starting with a short interview! There were endless opportunities to reminisce with all the residents at the Lodge. One of Winona's amazing qualities was her ability to remember people's faces and names. Those faces closest to her are: 4 children: Marion, Gordon, Carol, and Dwayne 11 grandchildren: Carrie, Sherry, Darwin, Niki, Bart, Wade, Kelly, Cory, Cristy, Melissa & Mallory 16 great grandchildren: Randy, Kalli, Jaimi, Amanda, Brady, Jordyn, Allie, Ashley, Kyle, Jake, Abbie, Lennie, Harper, Ryan, Liam & Lily 2 great great grandsons: Lincoln & Bentley 2 step children: Larry, Betty and their families We asked all of her grandchildren to tell us their favourite memory of Gramma... This is what they came up with: 1. Gardening, picking strawberries & doing chicken chores when grandma & grandpa were on holidays 2. Baking chocolate chip cookies with Gramma 3. Her giggle & snort when she had a big laugh 4. Her homemade buns & her laugh 5. Handwritten letters in our birthday cards 6. Canned chicken & homemade buns on 4H achievement day 7. Best homemade soup & collecting chicken eggs without getting pecked 8. Sunday morning pancakes … with chicken gravy for Grandpa Redden of course 9. Gramma always got the pope’s nose from the turkey every Christmas! 10. Playing with Lincoln Logs & Tinker Toys on the farm 11. Rebound & sealer ring toss games 12. Our presents were always wrapped in Red Rose Tea boxes 13. Going to Gramma's fridge to get a chocolate bar and all that was left was Cuban Lunches because Bart & Wade ate all the good ones! Gramma loved people. When she woke up in the morning and there was a social event on the calendar, no matter what the event, it was a good day! Whenever Winona was at a funeral and the church was full, Winona's comment was always "well, that person had a rich & fulfilling life!" Well, Gram today is your day! Looking around we can see that your words ring true today. Gramma ... You had a VERY rich & fulfilling life! Winona is survived by: her daughters, Marion (Walter), Carol (Charlie); her sons, Gordon (Lois), Dwayne (Mona); 11 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, 2 great, great-grandsons, 1 sister-in-law, Shirley Van Meter, 1 stepson, Larry (Connie), 1 stepdaughter, Betty, 7 step grandchildren, and 1 step great grandchild. Winona was predeceased by her first husband, Jim Redden in December, 1987 and her second husband, Paul Guhl in May, 2011, 1 step daughter, Edna in May, 2015. Donations in Winona's memory may be made to Pioneer Lodge Building Fund or Charity of Choice.