It is with much love that we mourn the passing of Susie Warkentin (née Buhler) in the early hours of Tuesday, June 2, 2020 with family at her side.
Susie was born in Rosengart, near Gretna in southern Manitoba on Sept 12, 1926. From there, the family moved to Holmfield and when Susie was 8, the family moved to Fork River near Winnipegosis where they experienced hardships due to frequent crop failures from grasshoppers and hail and God brought them through these difficult times.
Susie's life was almost taken from her as a young girl as she ventured away from her home and out to the nearby creek against her parents' wishes. When her father realized he no longer saw his daughter, he raced out to the water to see her bobbing along - she had slipped into the rushing waters. Her dad was able to scoop her out of the water and her life was saved. At an early age she decided to follow God and has remained a steadfast believer her entire life.
Susie attended Bicton Heath School along with her siblings but had to drop out after Grade 5 (age 10) to help on the family farm after her father had fallen gravely ill – seeding the crops with horse and doing other farm work. Working for others in the Fork River and nearby Gilbert Plains area plus working in a sewing factory in Winnipeg as well as a nursing home were other jobs she had.
In 1949, Susie boarded a bus to Ontario with other girls she knew, to work in a cannery and pick fruit. With the money earned, she attended Elim Bible School and then planned to study as a nurse’s aide but that meant she’d need to upgrade her schooling. She went back to school and took her Grade 8 (at age 23) with her younger brother George. She started late in the semester but caught up by Christmas and completed her Grade 8 in June with good marks.
She met Dad in the fall of 1951 at her sister’s and his brother’s wedding, (Mary and Peter), fell in love and they corresponded by letter. Dad went to visit her around Christmas and when she came out to greet him, he wasn’t sure it was her because she was wearing a different coat but as soon as he saw her smile, he knew it was her! They were engaged during the Christmas holidays and married on April 5, 1952.
Mom packed her suitcase and set off to Alberta to start her new life with Dad at Lindbrook, AB. As with many newlyweds, there was a desire to start a family and in March, 1953 their first child Harold was born and thus began their dream of raising a family. Lawrence was born in June 1960 and Mom and Dad were thrilled to see their little family growing as they had dreamed. With a move to a new farm along Hwy 14 near Tofield in late 1961, the excitement of another baby also being added to the family brought joy. On Jan 1, 1962 Vi was born – a daughter! In later years Mom expressed to me (Vi) that she was nervous about having a daughter since she had only had sons so far. Mom and Dad were exceedingly busy with the youngsters but welcomed another child, Marv in Nov 1963. Although having three children quite close in age, mom accepted the challenge of motherhood with grace and gratitude. They were blessed with another boy, Roland, in 1967 to complete their family.
Mom juggled so many things – motherhood and providing for her family – cooking, baking, cleaning, sewing, and helping in the field wherever needed.
She never complained and was patient in teaching her children about a faith in God, prayer, kindness, giving and living a life of admirable example.
Being artistic, she found great joy in quilting and learning new crafts – liquid embroidery and hardanger among others – to create works of beauty. She was self-taught in wedding cake decorating and made many a cake for the marrying girls at their church.
Her garden and fruit orchard, including grapes and cherries, were her joy and each fall, with freezer full and pantry shelves filled with quarts of canned fruit and vegetable bins full and herbs hanging to dry in the pantry rafters, we never went without.
Some of her other activities included teaching at Pioneer Girls club, singing in the various choirs, teaching Sunday School and DVBS, working on MCC projects, and being sponsors for the Laotian families.
Mom took very little time just for herself. Perhaps her ‘time for herself’ was in her garden amongst her flowers. Not that she ever relaxed or rested in the garden, but just working in her garden was her therapy (hard work or not). A few years in a row, she got quite creative in her flower garden creating raised flower beds in designs with winding walkways through the flower beds.
In 1989 Mom and Dad moved to Tofield while Harold took over the family farm.
Mom and Dad took several bus tours in their retirement years to the west and east coasts of Canada which they thoroughly enjoyed, and Mom continued to talk about these trips. She’d often reminisce about their east coast trip when they turned 80 in the fall of 2006.
When the new Villa in town opened in 2012, they decided to move there.
After the passing of Dad in 2015, mom found strength to carry on without him. We believe the prayers of many and her faith carried her through this increasingly lonely time. Even though there was family around, Mom missed Dad immensely and who wouldn’t – they had had a beautiful life together.
Sickness in 2017 landed mom in the Tofield hospital and eventually she recovered but needed to transition to higher care. A room became available at the Tofield Long Term Care where she settled in quite well. She knew many of the residents as well as many of the caregivers. Knowing she was receiving excellent care at the facility brought comfort to the family knowing that there was always someone there to look after her when we couldn’t be there.
She enjoyed the weekly activities offered and wished Bingo could happen every day. She always did well and was always wanting to win the Smarties on the prize tray for the great grandchildren and grandchildren who visited her.
Mom looked forward to her Sunday visits with Fatima and Vi and much time was spent visiting greenhouses, gardens and chinese restaurants or just taking a drive out to check on the progress of the crops in the area including Errol and Harold’s fields. Virtually every visit also included a few games of RACKO, a card game which she excelled in and was hard to beat at.
A health setback in the summer of 2019 meant the end of Sunday drives which she missed greatly. Without the use of her legs to transfer in/out of vehicles safely, it was impossible to continue with the Sunday drives.
Declining health because of multi mini strokes brought on increased confusion and frustration (a vicious circle) and normal life became much more difficult. The loss of remembering how to use her phone to be in daily contact with her family also brought on stress, increased loneliness, and deep sadness.
The loss of her legs and needing assistance for everything was difficult and hard to understand at times. And yet there were also moments of great clarity, moments of hearty laughter and remembrance and always, much love for her family.
Mom has been looking forward, for many years, to be with Jesus and now, her prayers have been answered. May she rest in peace and experience eternal joy.
