Obituary of Anna Groenen

Anna Maria Groenen Cisse passed away peacefully on Friday, August 13, 2021 in Lloydminster, Alberta at the age of 95, with her daughters at her side and Gerald, her beloved husband of seventy years, still holding her hand.

Born April 24, 1926 in Uden, Netherlands to Wilhelmus and Ardina Cisse, Anna led a remarkable life. Cherry blossom season was her favorite time of year when she was a child on the farm, but as a teen Anna watched the Nazis invade the orchards and cities of Holland. Her family risked their lives to shelter both their Jewish neighbors and members of the Dutch resistance. Her stories of that time could fill a book, those experiences an early illustration of her quiet courage. 

So too her post-war years. In defiance of expectations to take up what was the traditional career for women in her family, the ‘rebel’ sister refused to become a seamstress and went off to nursing school instead. As a maternity nurse she helped deliver and care for hundreds of newborns. Her daughters all received her singular love of newborn babies, one she later showered on her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
  
Anna met Gerald soon after the war, and after only a few dates watched him board a ship to Indonesia where he spent three years with Dutch forces. He inundated her with romantic letters from the tropics, but she wasn’t so sure about him and on his return promptly broke it off! She later said it was because she wanted to be sure she’d been waiting around for the right man and for the right reasons. She decided the man and the reasons were right, and they married in 1951. Within the year they were off to Canada for new adventures. 

With limited English, Anna could not practice nursing in Saskatchewan. By the time she learned the language and was offered a nursing job in Neilburg, she was pregnant with the first of six daughters.
 
Over the years, and despite her early distaste for sewing, it became her forte. She stitched doilies, curtains and bedspreads to make their first home on a farm near Artland more than the modified granary it was. She also sewed the baby blankets, matching Sunday dresses, pant suits and halter tops, graduation and wedding gowns required as six daughters were born and grew up in Marsden. And Anna herself took pride in wearing a beautifully tailored dress or a well-cut skirt. 

Anna read much and well and instilled in each of her daughters that same love of reading. She loved Canadian literary novelists along with the texture, design and smell of a book. She was extraordinarily proud when she became assistant librarian in Marsden and was thrilled every time she cracked open the newest titles.
 
She surprised her daughters in the way children are surprised to learn their mom is more than their mom. She took up painting, attending workshops and classes, brushing onto her canvas beautiful prairie and mountain landscapes. She and Gerald loved to travel, visiting almost every western European country, most of Canada and some of the US. Even before the broader travels started, she and Gerald always managed to somehow load six kids in a car for a summer holiday to the mountains.

Anna’s faith was important to her and informed her way of being in the world. She was a kind and compassionate friend, listening with an attentive ear and giving sound advice only when asked. She also knew how to throw a party for their many friends, and she loved to dance (boy could she and Gerald do a mean waltz, often to an appreciative audience in the town hall). And Anna could really, really laugh. 

Gerald was the center of her life and she the center of his. He was at her side, holding her hand to the end.
 
After a long life, Anna leaves to mourn her passing: her husband, Gerald; daughters, Diana (Bill) Worman, Joanna Sookocheff, Leona (Don) Yez, Wilma Groenen, Petra Groenen and Anne (David) Lazurko; 17 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren (with another on the way); and numerous nieces and nephews in both Canada and Holland.
 
Anna was pre-deceased by: her parents; one brother, Johannes (Ann) Cisse; and four sisters Martina (Jan) van Zutven, Petronella Cisse, Antonia Cisse, and Jeanne (Harry) van Kleef, all of Holland.
 
The Funeral Service for Anna will be conducted from St. Charles Roman Catholic Church, Marsden, Saskatchewan on Thursday, August 19, 2021 at 2:00 PM.

A Special thank you to the care aides, nurses, recreation and all staff at Dr. Cooke Extended Care for their kindness as they cared for Anna these past years and for the grace they showed as they helped her on. 

Donations in memory of Anna can be made to Marsden Branch Library or Dr. Cooke Ladies Auxiliary. 

Anna's funeral card can be viewed or downloaded from the link below.

https://indd.adobe.com/view/0f6f7d30-0967-48f2-87cd-9c00b41642f7