Obituary of Fern Thor

Fern Laurella Thor of Smoky Lake, Alberta (formerly from Islay, Alberta) passed away at Lamont Health Care Centre, Lamont, Alberta on Friday, January 25, 2019 at the age of 89 years.

Fern is survived by: her two sons, Kayo (Sharon) Thor of Marwayne, Alberta, and Peter (Twila) Thor of Kitscoty, Alberta; her four daughters, Karen (Lawrence) Syvenky of Smoky Lake, Alberta, Elaine (Leroy) Nelson of Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Ellen (Gerald) Carlson of Lone Pine, Alberta, and Donna (Art) Buchanan of Carstairs, Alberta; her twelve grandchildren; her twenty-one great-grandchildren; her two sisters, Phelma Schertel and Wilma Odiorne, both of Armstrong, British Columbia; and her brother, Wilfred (Shirley) Ford of Lamont, Alberta. 

Fern was predeceased by: her husband, Howard Thor; her parents, Robert and Zora Ford; and two sisters, Verna and Edith. 

The Funeral Service for Fern will be conducted from Marwayne Community Hall, Marwayne, Alberta  on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 11:00 am.

Interment will be held at Marwayne Cemetery, Marwayne, Alberta. 

Donations in memory of Fern may be made to the donor's charity of choice. 

Fern's funeral card can be viewed or downloaded from the link below:

https://indd.adobe.com/view/3c0b64ef-aaab-4f3c-8189-5733cc15cc62

Eulogy:

Fern Thor was born March 4, 1929 by Tofield Alberta. She came into this world a bit quickly and was born in a farmhouse when great gramma could not make it to the hospital in time. Gramma was creating a ruckus right from the start. She grew up on the farm near Ross Creek and had cows and a few horses. They sold milk so gramma had to go get the cows from the pasture twice a day. Gramma went to school at Ross Creek and completed grade 9.

 

        Grandma and grandpa grew up just a few miles apart. They were married on January 20, 1948. They farmed by Ross Creek for 10 years and had 5 of their 6 children there. Grandma wanted to stop at 4 kids as she felt they had the perfect family with 2 boys, Kayo and Pete, and 2 girls, Elaine and Karen. So when Ellen came along she was going to give her to her sister Phelma. Somehow when she was born it didn’t work out to give her to Phelma so Ellen stayed with the herd. One time a salesman stopped by and saw all those kids running around and was bugging grandma that he could see what she was up to in her spare time. They moved to Islay in 1958 and just to even up the numbers they had Donna.

        Grandma and grandpa lived on the farm and raised their family until grandpa’s passing in 1998. She then moved to Armstrong B.C. for a year then on to Lloydminster for a few months. Grandma then bought a small house in Marwayne and lived there for the next 12 years. She always had coffee on and time for a visit with friends and family. And to no one’s surprise there were always some red flowers in the flower beds and pots to greet us all. Upon selling her house she moved in with Karen and Lawrence at Smoky Lake. She lived with them for the last 6 years and then was moved to the home in Lamont for the last month.

 

        Grandma always liked doing chores around the farm. Her and Ellen used to get grandpa to harness the horses and they would load the stone boat with manure from the barn. They would haul it out to the field and unload, then back for another load. Grandma and Ellen enjoyed these times together, and the horses didn’t seem to mind either. Grandma had no problems driving a team but didn’t like to be on a horse. Kayo can remember getting his mom on beauty and she got pretty excited cause she was as high as the granary. She was never a fan of heights.

        Grandma always grew a big garden with lots of potatoes to hill and dig. She also tried her hand at growing flowers but not always with the best of luck. After building their new house on the farm grandma planted flowers around the front step. The flowers were growing good and soon to bloom when she discovered that grandpa had let the horses into the yard. Those horses mowed some lawn and then proceeded to eat all the flowers for dessert.

 

        Grandpa always did the driving whenever the two of them did any travelling. After grandpa’s passing it was grandma’s turn to get behind the wheel. After obtaining her learners it was time for some driver training. She used to practice with Ellen in whitecourt at the arena parking lot. She would be doing figure 8’s in the parking lot with the arena workers surely wondering why this truck was going around and around in circles. Then after they would go drive around town. Coincidence or not whitecourt got a bunch of traffic lights and four way stops shortly after grandma’s driving adventures. One time in Lloyd with my mom she got excited and hit the gas instead of the brakes when parking at the quilt shop. Needless to say they had to put a few items back on the wall after grandma hit the outside wall with her car.

 

        In October of 2012 grandma moved to the acreage near smokey lake with Karen and Lawrence. Over the last 6 ½ years Karen and grandma went on many adventures and joined the Red Hat Society and the Sewing club. They had a special group of friends they went to supper with on Friday nights and made many a trip to the greenhouses and quilting stores. Karen and Grandma enjoyed going for drives in the country, but grandma always worried they would get lost on their way. The two of them spent lots of time planting flowers together. Grandma enjoyed reading, quilting, and working on puzzles during her time at home. She made many memories and enjoyed her time with Karen and Lawrence and their kids and grandkids.

        Grandma always had a love for her great grand children.  There are many a picture of grandma with a little one in her arms.  Her smile in those pictures could light up a room. She always loved to cuddle those little babies. She was a natural at that. 

 

        Grandma loved music and singing, and loved to sing with her siblings. Grandma had a wonderful voice and loved to serenade us on our trips to town.  We would sing funny little songs and laugh away as I sat between her and mom on the armrest of our cars front seat.  All of her family had the same love of music and I can remember listening to them sing around the campfire at a family reunion.

        Grandma was always very proud of her family. Whether it was her children or her grandkids or great grand children she was always so proud of their many accomplishments.  Grandma and grandpa always had time for a coffee and a visit with friends or family. She was always so happy to have someone stop by for a visit no matter if you had an hour or just 5 minutes for a quick chat. I will always remember stopping by for a chat and grandma greeting me with “how you am?”  Grandma was  so happy at Christmas when the whole herd of us would gather for a great meal and a visit. It was always hard on us kids as we had to wait until the dishes were done to open presents. Every year there would be a towel fight break out and Grandma could snap a wet towel and clear out a few kids with the best of them.                               

        We are not here to mourn our loss today but to celebrate a great woman. A wonderful wife, mother, sister, grandma, and friend to us all. Grandma never wanted anyone to fuss over her. Well guess what grandma, we are going to fuss one last time here today. You deserve it and we all thank you for the hugs, kisses and memories. We were all so blessed to have you in our lives and today we do not say goodbye but see you again.