Obituary of Kitty Brown

B I O G R A P H Y BROWN: Kitty Jane Brown passed away at the Riverside Health Complex, Turtleford, Saskatchewan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at the age of 94 years. Kitty is survived by: one son Tom Brown and his wife Janet of Turtleford; one daughter-in-law Elaine Brown of Turtleford; four grandchildren: Juanita and Allan Polegi, Dean Brown and Terry Senft, Raymond Brown and Lisa Tolley, Virginia and Kellie Labbie; four great grandchildren: Justine, Murray and Kaitlyn Polegi, Joseph Brown. Kitty was predeceased by her son Joe; her parents, her husband Hedley, one brother Jim Foster and one sister Ada Butcher. The funeral service for Kitty was conducted from the Good Shepherd United Anglican Church, Turtleford, Saskatchewan on Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Canon Don Skinner officiating. Special music “Abide With Me,” and “Lord of the Dance,” was sung by the Choir. The hymns sung was “There’ll Be Peace In The Valley,” and “How Great Thou Art,” accompanied on the organ by Bev Meikle. Honorary pallbearers were all those who shared in Kitty’s Life. Active pallbearers were: Raymond Brown, Dean Brown, Allan Polegi, Kelly Labbie, Jim Shier and Lloyd Bingham. Interment followed in the Mervin Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster and Turtleford administered the funeral arrangements. Kitty Jane Foster was born on May 12, 1913 on the Foster Homestead one and a half miles East of Mervin which is currently the Henry and Ruby Knight farm. She went to school for many years in Mervin and she often recounted stories of walking to school every day with Lily Mork. Kitty was 19 years old when she married Hedley on December 7, 1932. They built a new home across from the original Brown homestead site. Their first son Joe was born in 1933 and Tom was born in 1947. That same year, Kitty and Hedley began building their purebred Shorthorn cattle herd after a long involvement with the Percheron horse breed. Granny was always so proud of Joe and Tom’s 4-H and cattle show achievements and especially of the prized “Daisy Mae” that went all the way to the Toronto Royal Winter Fair. Granny and Grandad were both very active members in the community. Granny participated in the Church Women’s Auxillary, Hospital Auxillary, Women’s Institute and the Senior’s Center. Granny was a director and an Honorary Life Member of the Turtleford Agricultural Society and Kitty entered many classes in the agricultural exhibits including her cream, baking and garden produce. One thing about Granny was that she was always so interested in what her family, grandkids and great grandkids were doing. Whenever you came to visit her, her face just lit up and she was so excited to learn about what activities you were doing, how the new job was going, and generally what was new in everyone’s lives. Raymond and I remember going to her house for lunch during exam time where she always encouraged us to do our best and even turned off Jeopardy or Price Is Right so that we could study! Granny enjoyed watching us play sports and attended many hockey games. Dean remembers Granny playing catch with him as a little boy. It is no wonder many of us have a sweet tooth. When Granny & Grandad were on the farm and Grandad would run to town for farm supplies, he would always bring her home a Sweet Marie chocolate bar. As kids, we remember many things about going to Granny & Grandad’s. Many times we sat on Grandad’s lap eating crackers and dipping them in his tea and Eagle Brand milk. Meanwhile Granny would be whipping up a big batch of homemade angel food cake that we would invariably have to taste test with fresh berries and whip cream. Of course, she let us lick the beaters after she whipped the cream as well. There was also usually a pan of Matrimonial cake or Walnut slice on hand just in case you weren’t full yet. Her apple or Saskatoon homemade pies were definitely one of her specialties. She always tried to feed us one of these many treats and as Dean said, about the only thing she didn’t offer you was a beer! As many of you know, the Brown Family Farm celebrated its 100th Anniversary this summer. One of the highlights of this event was that Granny was able to attend- who better to know what 100 years actually means! We were so blessed to have Granny at this momentous occasion and that her health was good enough to allow her to really enjoy the day. This gave her the opportunity to visit with so many family and friends that have contributed to this community and to our farm’s success. She stayed until after midnight and when asked if she wanted to go home earlier in the evening, she said, “No- then I would miss some of the party and the fireworks.” This milestone provided us with some great memories of Granny that we will cherish forever. When we think of how hard Granny worked over her lifetime, we really do have it easy nowadays! Chores on the farm in the early days were truly chores. After the cows were milked, Granny churned butter and separated the cream which was sold to the Mervin Creamery for grocery money. I wouldn’t have wanted to arm wrestle Granny in her prime! Granny would have seen some major advancements in technology over the years and the biggest change for her would have been the introduction of electricity to rural life. This allowed the mechanization of farming, but most importantly the household. Electric cream separators and electric washing machines must have been welcomed- we are told, however, that Granny still liked doing these chores the old-fashioned way! Granny planted and produced a big garden of vegetables and potatoes and also tended to chickens for eggs and meat. Granny never did get her drivers license but as a few of you know, she sometimes did a little of her own back-seat driving! Granny liked to visit and always enjoyed getting together with family and friends. Granny was also a great hostess especially when cattle and horse buyers came to visit the farm. She also pulled out all the stops when hosting the ladies groups- the crisp white table cloths, fine china and dainties were abundant. There are many fond memories of the “Coloured Ladies” at our family gatherings. Burnetta Gray and Granny Brown were a great duo- Burnetta would tell an “off-coloured” joke and Granny would giggle! Many townspeople remember Granny and Burnetta sitting outside on the steps of the old CIBC bank and finishing off their ice cream cones on their way home from their coffee and shopping trip. Granny always looked forward to visits from her nieces and was a special aunt to Lynden Shier and Pat Bingham. When the three of them got together, their laughter was infectious. Granny & Grandad enjoyed getting together with their friends at the Senior’s Centre and enjoyed several bus trips to various parts of Saskatchewan. Granny usually stayed at home when Grandad travelled for Co-op Creameries Association meetings and he would often come home to a freshly painted or newly wall-papered room in the house. Granny was an avid reader- Readers Digest, Harlequin Romance Books, McLeans Magazines, the Saturday Evening Post and most recently the Northwest Neighbours were just a few of her favourites. Granny also played a mean game of Scrabble and Kings in the Corner. Mrs. Vallentgoed introduced the Brown’s to Gin Rummy which turned out to be an annual tradition at Christmas and other family gatherings. Even though Granny was 94 years old, she was still a kid at heart! She enjoyed the simple pleasures in life like a good cup of tea and a chat and was proud of her family and their accomplishments. Her main priority in life was to ensure her family’s happiness and this was true right up until her last days! When Dean & I were little, we often visited Granny & Grandad in the evening. When we were really little, she walked us to our gate and watched us go home. As we got older, she walked us to her gate and watched us walk home. As we grew a little older, she stood at her kitchen window and watched us go home. And now the time has come for us to watch Granny go home. Godspeed, Gran, Godspeed. Card of Thanks Thank you to the Home Care Staff - granny appreciated and enjoyed the kindness of home care personnel and their special care enabled Kitty to live as long as she did in her own home, until August of 2007. To Reverend Canon Don Skinner for the thoughtful and personalized funeral. To Bev Meikle and the Choir ladies, many of who dressed in red, Granny’s favourite colour. Thank you to our neighbours and friends for their kindness, to all who brought food, cards, prayers and also for the phone calls and visits. Thank you to the ladies who catered lunch at the funeral. To McCaw Funeral Service, thank you for all your professional manner in carrying out your duties. Many thanks to the hospital staff for your care and compassion and to those who visited Kitty at the nursing home and lodge, including the residents. Donations may be made to the Diabetes Association or to the Canadian Cancer Society.