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ANNE JOHNSGAARD Anne Johnsgaard, our beloved Mom, Granny and Great-Granny, and formerly a long-time resident of Creighton, SK, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at the age of 84 years at the Flin Flon Personal Care Home. Anne Elizabeth (Ekstrom) Johnsgaard was born on February 10, 1923 on the farm two and a half miles east of Kuroki, SK to parents Arvid and Ester Ekstrom. She was the second youngest of 12 children. AnneÕs parents emigrated from Sweden to Kenora, ON in 1907 and moved to Kuroki, SK in 1909. Anne grew up in a happy and fun environment, with lots of laughter, jokes, musical instruments, singing and dancing. She worked hard on the farm doing chores such as milking cows before school, feeding pigs and chickens, and cleaning barns. She also helped her mother with cooking, baking, churning butter, cleaning, and ironing shirts for all her brothers. Anne attended Kuroki School, completing Grade 8. She was a bit of a tomboy, due to growing up with a houseful of brothers, and one older sister. She played baseball, outdoor games, card games, climbed trees, and loved to dance. She learned carpentry and hair cutting from her brothers, which came in handy in later years when she would renovate our house and have six heads of hair to cut. Anne met Melvin Johnsgaard in Kuroki, SK in 1942 at the Chinese Caf and they were engaged at Christmas 1942, when Mel presented Anne with a wrist watch. Anne and Mel moved to Flin Flon, MB on February 26, 1943, and were married at the First United Lutheran Church in Flin Flon on October 27, 1944. They lived in Flin Flon for six years before building their home in Creighton, SK in 1949. Anne and Mel had six children Ð Joyce, Pat, Andy, Marlene, Brian and Allen. There are 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Anne worked at the Company Hospital in Flin Flon from March 1943 to November 1945. In later years she worked at HBM&S for 11 years, retiring at age 65. She was a life member of the Order of the Royal Purple of Canada and took pride in leading the Drill Team. She was a member for 48-1/2 years at the time of her death. She was also a member of the First United Lutheran Church and an active member of the Lutheran Church Women. She made sure that we had perfect attendance in Sunday school. She was a wonderful mother and grandmother who was loving, kind, generous, patient, gentle, honest and devoted to her children. Mom always had time to play with us and help us with schoolwork. We played tag and ball outdoors and walked on stilts. We also played cards, checkers, crokinole, and monopoly. We went to movies, and had fun skating, sliding and building snow tunnels in the yard in the winter. Mom organized wonderful birthday parties for us, and she would sew us fabulous Halloween costumes, winning several prizes. She would read us stories at bedtime. We always came home to wonderful smells of baked bread, buns, cinnamon buns and cakes. She would also preserve fruit for us to enjoy over the winter. Mom had a great love of nature and the outdoors, and she preferred to work in the yard. She was very strong both physically and emotionally. She enjoyed spending many hours in her yard in the summer gardening and weeding, and tending to her flowers and lawn ornaments. She even shoveled her own snow in the winter for the exercise. Mom had a talent for drawing and making things. As an artist, she created hand-crafted Valentine cards for us. She hand drew, and cut out of wood, a complete set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She also decorated wedding cakes. In later years, Mom loved to go cross-country skiing. Mom also loved to dance, and taught us to dance at a young age. Mom taught us to be kind, patient, strong, honest, hardworking, and respectful. We are thankful for who you were, and for our fond and wonderful heart-warming memories of you. You remain near in spirit, always in our thoughts. A celebration of AnneÕs life was held on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at 4:00 pm from the Chapel of Tompkins Funeral Home, 113 First Avenue NE, in Wadena, SK with Terry Tompkins officiating, which was preceded by a private family viewing. Active pallbearers, all nephews, were Arvin Ekstrom, Bradley Ekstrom, Sheldon Ekstrom, Shane Ekstrom, Barry Morozoff and Bernie McLellan. Honorary pallbearers were all of MomÕs friends and family. Ushers were grandsons, Dennis Henry and Ryan Johnsgaard. Memorial register attendants were granddaughters, Stacey Anderson and Faryn Johnsgaard. Don Austring and Terry Tompkins sang one of MomÕs most favorite hymns, ÒIn the GardenÓ. Don Austring accompanied on the guitar. They also sang ÒHow Great Thou ArtÓ and ÒAmazing GraceÓ. Organist Myrna Hart accompanied the hymns. A family eulogy was presented by AnneÕs family with fond remembrances of her. Terry Tompkins met with the family and incorporated some of the familyÕs memories into the service as well as memories from some of the grandchildren. This made the service very personal and meaningful for our family and we will be forever grateful. Following the service, Anne was laid to rest in the family plot at St. Cuthberts Cemetery in Kuroki, SK. Lunch was served in the Kuroki Seniors Drop-In Centre by the Kuroki Senior Ladies, where the family visited with relatives and friends. Anne is survived, and will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered, by her children Joyce (Larry) Judd, Pat (Dan) West, Andy (Mary Jane), Marlene (Doug) Anderson, and Allen (Heather); thirteen grandchildren, William (Tammy), Evonne (Dustin), Dennis (Jenny), Joanne, Aurora, Solvey, Knute, Annie, Stacey, Ryan (Amanda), Debbie (Ian), Erik and Faryn; two great grandchildren Chase and Jace; extended family Karen (Les) Oystryk, Vicki (Eric) Wallaker and Roy (Audrey) Henry; sisters-in-law Pauline Ekstrom (Wadena, SK), Tina Myhre (Port Coquitlam, BC), and Doris Johnsgaard (Estevan, SK), as well as numerous nieces and nephews and friends. She was predeceased by her loving husband Melvin on February 27, 1990, son Brian on August 6, 2002; parents Arvid and Ester Ekstrom; brothers Hugo, Conrad, Andrew, Swen, Eric, Elis, Nils, John, Fred, Albert and sister Elsie Vennesland. The family of Anne Johnsgaard would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation for the many acts of kindness and concern shown to us on the loss of our dear Mom and Granny. Our many thanks are extended to Dr. F. Moraes, Dr. J. Sauer, and Dr. M. Relling for the excellent care Mom received over the years, the Flin Flon General Hospital nurses and staff for their wonderful care, Karen Leifso and her staff at the Flin Flon Personal Care Home for their care and compassion over the last 19 months when Mom was a resident there. Special thanks to Darren Grant, Bayley Maynard and Dana Dadson at Dadson Funeral Home for looking after the arrangements in Flin Flon in such a caring and professional manner. A huge thank you to Terry Tompkins, Yvonne Morris and Darcy Swiderski of Tompkins Funeral Home for all your kindness and compassion shown to our family in making the funeral arrangements in Wadena, SK, for your many phone calls and for making the service so special for our family. Because of this, we will all have wonderful memories. Thanks to Terry Tompkins and Don Austring for singing the lovely duets and to Myrna Hart for playing the organ. Mom would have been pleased. Thank you so much to the active pallbearers, all nephews of Anne. It meant a lot to our family to be able to carry out her wishes. Thanks to family members for participating in the service by ushering, attending the memorial book and participating in the family eulogy. It made the service more meaningful and would have meant a lot to Mom/Granny. Thanks also to the Kuroki Senior Ladies for serving the lovely lunch in your Drop-In Centre. It was very much appreciated. Thanks to our cousin, Elsie Vennesland, for helping to make the lunch arrangements in Kuroki. We all really enjoyed renewing acquaintances and meeting family and friends. Also thank you to our relatives, friends and neighbours for the beautiful floral arrangements, plants, memorial donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Arthritis Society and the Flin Flon Personal Care Home, personal monetary donations, cards, letters, food, phone calls, and kind words. Your support has been greatly appreciated by our family at such a difficult time. Mom Those we love, donÕt go away, They walk beside us everyday, No longer in our lives to share, But in our hearts, Mom, you are always there. For thoughtfulness day after day, Your understanding, helpful way, For patience and for loving care, For all the times when youÕve been there With helpfulness beyond compare, Thank you so much, Mom. And then for every memory, For everything, youÕve done for us, We love you, Mom. Rest in Peace. The Anne Johnsgaard Family
