Obituary of Evelyn Gee

GEE: Evelyn “Evie” Isabelle Gee (Nee: Wettlaufer) of Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, passed away in Cut Knife Special Care Home on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at the age of 81 years. Evelyn was born March 29th, 1928 to William & Georgina (Lizzie) Wettlaufer at Baldwinton, Saskatchewan. Evelyn is survived by her son: Lloyd Gee and his wife Patty of Lloydminster; daughter: Brenda and her husband Roy Milne of Cut Knife; six grandchildren: Tara (Chris) Heier, Amber Milne (Ryan Herman), Owen Gee (Chrissy Davison), Jenna Milne, Dustin Milne (Robyn Landreth), and Kalen Milne; three great grandchildren: Antonio and Sierra Heier, and Xander Herman; five brothers Phillip, Stanley (Marie), Bruce (Rita), Jim (Carol) and Robert (Judy) Wettlaufer, as well as numerous other relatives. Evelyn was predeceased by her loving husband of over fifty years, Bob in 2000; her sister Grace Hebert; her brother George Wettlaufer; her sister in law Winnie and her husband Joe, sister in law Grace and her husband Frank. EULOGY ~ Evelyn Isabelle Gee (Nee: Wettlaufer) by Amber Milne Grandma was born on March 29th, 1928 at Baldwinton, Saskatchewan to William and Lizzie Wettlaufer. She attended her schooling grades one through nine at the Mount Ethel School and her grade ten in Baldwinton. Grandma told a few stories about how she remembered freezing her knees more than once on her way to and from school, because back then, girls always wore dresses and her dress was a little short for her, as she had grown and her bloomers would show under the bottom of her dress. She remembered being teased by the older boys about her bloomers showing, when low and behold one of those boys later became none other than our grandfather. While grandma attended school in Baldwinton, in 1944-1945, she stayed with her aunt and uncle, Jim & Myrtle Veitch, she spent all her free time working for them at their store. The following year, she moved to Netherhill and worked for Alf & Louise Gee at their hotel and then in the winter of 1946-1947 she moved to Saskatoon and worked for Belgium Dry Cleaners. On March 12th, 1947, Grandma took the plunge and married my grandpa, together they moved back to the Gee farm and spent the next 36 years farming and raising their family. Grandma and grandpa worked together side by side. I will now give you a rundown of a typical work day for my grandma, it seems she was a busier woman than I had thought. She began her days by stoking the furnace at 4 am, crawling back into bed, just to re-emerge by 6 am, when she would make breakfast, milk the cows, feed the pigs, and do field work. Followed by preparing lunch, gardening, tending to the other farm animals, and her flowers, until the grass had dried, which lead to the haying. She then returned back to the house to prepare supper, then back outside she went to milk the cows and tend to the garden again, her day was usually finished by pickling, blanching, or canning some type of fruit or vegetable she had home grown, or in the off-season she would do laundry, iron, or crochet. She always took care of everybody no matter what time of the day it was, apparently when my mom and uncle Lloyd were growing up, she would have unexpected visitors at all hours of the evening, and morning, including my great uncles & other friends, some coming over drunk to their house at 3 am, not to mention any names, others dropping off tubs of fish for her to clean, fillet and freeze, ‘til the early morning hours. Grandma was constantly busy with chores, children, & her hobbies, which included: crocheting, making dolls, baking, cooking, tending to her flowers, gardening, and playing cards. If she wasn’t already busy enough, she always found time to make new lifelong friends and meet new people. She also had the qualities of a nurse in her everyday schedule, as she looked after numerous relatives and friends, first and foremost my grandfather. After living a year in Cut Knife, with grandpa’s sister, Winnie, in the fall of 1984, my grandparents bought their home in Lloydminster. The move to Lloydminster didn’t slow our grandma down one bit, as she continued to be as busy as always with her gardening, grandchildren, friends, and family. The six of us grandchildren can recall of few stories that linger in our hearts and minds always when we think of our grandmother. In April of 2005 when attending the wedding of Tara and Chris, in Calgary, the bride and groom were ready to call it a night and grandma was pretty tired as well. So she caught a ride back to the hotel with the newlyweds and as she was just getting settled in the car, the limo driver jokingly replied, “Well I’m really not used to having a chaperone, in fact, I don’t think I have enough champagne for the three of you!”, Grandma’s reply was short and ever so sweet, “That’s okay, I don’t drink.” My cousin Owen who was regretfully unable to be here as he was unable to return from a trip to Alaska, sent us his thoughts in regarding the remembrance of our grandmother. He begins by saying: All though I am thousands of miles away my thoughts are with my family today. I would just like to say a few words about my grandma. When I think of her now, the first thing that comes to mind are the dolls that she made for all of us when we were kids. Now at the time and me being a 13 or 14 year old boy, and much to the delight of my dad, I was not that into dolls. But as I now sit here and picture those dolls it fills me with warmth and love, the same warmth and love that I know went into making the dolls. These dolls and that feeling are a part of my grandma that I can keep for my lifetime. And for that I could not be more grateful. Grandma was the most selfless person I have ever known. I can’t even count how many times I would be over for supper and I would be on my brussell sprout dessert, or the hole in the donut, which grandpa would give me and she would not have even taken the first bite of her own meal. She was always checking and double checking that everyone had what they needed before even thinking of herself. I know this is just a very small part of her character but one that shows what an amazingly loving and thoughtful person she was. As I now think of grandma today, it is hard not to think of grandpa as well. A thought that doesn’t sadden me, but lifts my spirits, is to know that for as long as I can remember my grandma took care of my grandpa. Now it comforts me to know that my grandpa is now taking care of my grandma. They say that the hardest part of loving someone is letting them go. This could not be truer than it is today, however, it brings me great comfort to know that as I am now in the most beautiful part of the world, my beloved grandma is in an even better place with someone that I know loves her very much. So in closing I would like to say grandma I love you, miss you and I will see you again, someday! Oh ya, and say hi to grandpa for me! Your grandson, now, always, and forever, Owen. Grandma also took in her grandchildren as tenants on more than one occasion. My sister, Jenna and her friend Ashley lived with grandma for a few summers, while they were in high school. Jenna remembers grandma not only taking care of them, but also tending to their every need. Grandma would make sure that they had always had enough to eat and made sure that they always had a three meal diet, just as she did with all her guests. Grandma was very sincere and enjoyed spending time with her friends and family. She would make sure that everyone’s needs were always met before her own. If grandma didn’t have some sort of square, or dessert, she’d be quick to bring up the pie and icecream. Jenna also remembers when she lived with Owen and Chrissy, down the street from grandma, that grandma would walk over with a heaping bag full of freshly picked fruits and vegetables, at least 6 cucumbers, a bag full of potatoes, carrots, apples, from the tree in her garden, tomatoes, and peas. Not only was she sporting the produce, but she also came bearing gifts of dish cloths, dish towels and kitchen scrubbers that she had made for them in her spare time. It was amazing all the stuff that came out of the grocery bags, and even more amazing that she walked the couple blocks carrying so much stuff! She was always more than happy to share in her good fortune, what she had, she was more than happy to share with anyone and everyone, family and friends coming first and foremost. None of us can remember a time when grandma said the words “I want” it was just not in her vocabulary and is a complete display of her good-nature and whole hearted spirit. Between the six of us we can remember various instances in our lives that reflect our grandmother. Myself and Tara remember the time we were playing the basement at grandma and grandpa`s and accidentally broke the chandelier. Grandma didn’t get upset at all. We also remember grandma always dishing out the money for the icecream bike whenever it came down the street ringing the bell. We remember grandma’s bird that she caught on her deck, which was a little yellow cockatiel that didn’t like anyone but grandma, she would let her out and the bird would fly around the house, sit on the tops of her cupboards in the kitchen and even perch on her shoulder, the bird honestly wouldn’t let anyone else touch it. Clearly the bird only liking her, shows how grandma’s good nature exuded from her. All of us kids can name one favourite food item that our grandma permanently placed on her grocery list, and without fail included in her preparation for every meal that we were in attendance at our entire lives. My brother, Kalen is probably the only person to ever actually remember our grandmother getting upset with him, our family was in Lloydminster and Jenna was performing at the Telethon that is held at Lakeland College every year, and Kalen was under the age of five, but he remembers drawing on the wall in the living room in her basement and he said, “Man was she ever mad. I remember getting in trouble for that!” Guess there’s a first time for everything! My brothers and sister and I, can remember our dad, spending a lot of time staying with grandma in Lloydminster, while his truck was being worked on. We always found it funny that grandma had to babysit dad when he was 35 years old or more. Mom always said grandma must have just liked him a tad better than the rest. Grandma kept immaculate photo albums of family and friends, she also knew every birthday and anniversary, even the year of anyone dear to her. It was just how she was. She never forgot anyone’s birthday and we all looked forward to our cards in the mail along with the little letters she would include. She never missed them. Our grandma resiliently battled through 2 types of cancer and was in remission. In the fall of 2007, Dustin and Jenna can recall grandma being at mom and dad’s for Thanksgiving and playing cards with them. She seemed to show subtle signs of forgetfulness, as she was always the best counter in crib, prior to this holiday. She drove her own vehicle and lived in her own home in Lloydminster until she was 80 years old. She moved briefly into the Pioneer Lodge in Lloydminster in June of 2008, which was followed by her last move into the Cut Knife Special Care Home, where she spent the rest of her days. Grandma’s alzheimers progressed rapidly up until her passing. This is our family’s combined loving memories of the sweetest mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend God could have chosen for us. He could not have sent us a more loving or precious gift. Heaven has received a most flawless angel. We will always be in awe of her life and will miss and love her forever. She was the greatest inspiration in life and if any of us were half the person she was, we’d be greatly blessed. We were so thankful to have known her and shared in her life. This poem was written by Tara Heier in loving memory of her grandmother, Evelyn Isabelle Gee Don’t you see that she’s still here, living in each of our tears. She’s living through the pain in our hearts, she’s tucked away in that special part. She sees us crying down below, but tells us it’s okay, that God wanted her to go. That her time was through, here was nothing anyone could do. But she asks us from the sky above, to remember her works, her laughter, and her love, to carry on and sing her our peaceful song. To know that she will always be around in a special way, she’s in the prayers we’ll say today. Like the prayer for you and me, that we may open our hearts and see, that she’ll always remain where we desire her to be. CARD OF THANKS The family would like to express our heartfelt thanks for all the acts of kindness and your support in our time of loss. Thanks for all the floral arrangements, memorial donations, food, gifts, cards, phone calls and visits. A special thanks to the staff of the Cut Knife Special Care Home. Thanks to Dr. Steenkamp. A special thanks to all her friends and neighbours for the many visits. Thanks to Amber Milne for the eulogy. Thanks to Pastor Grant Wasmuth for his comforting words and service. Thanks to the pallbearers: Tara Heier, Chris Heier, Owen Gee, Chrissy Davison, Amber Milne, Ryan Herman, Jenna Milne, Dustin Milne, Robyn Landreth and Kalen Milne. Thanks to the Knox Presbyterian Goodwill Group for the lunch. Thanks to Glenn McCaw and staff of McCaw Funeral Service Ltd. For their caring and professional support. Lloyd & Patty Gee, Tara (Chris) Heier, Owen Gee (Chrissy Davison) Brenda & Roy, Amber (Ryan Herman), Jenna, Dustin (Robyn Landreth) and Kalen Milne Phillip, Stanley (Marie), Bruce (Rita), Jim (Carol), Robert (Judy) Wettlaufer Donations in memory of Evelyn may be made to the Alzheimers Society or the Cut Knife Special Care Home.