ANNA MCDOUGALD (NOVEMBER 20, 1930-September 15, 2019)

We are fondly remembering our dear sweet mother. Many of you were touched in one way or another by her. Her heart as big as—Saskatchewan, she used profusely, and that, sadly in the end, is what played out from overuse.

Anne was the only one of her siblings born in Canada. Her parents Fred and Anne Isayew migrated from the Ukraine in 1930 in the year Anne was born. She was the youngest and the most spoilt we understand. We have heard stories of some of her escapades. She was a mischievous child and a bit of a daredevil. We were told that in one instance she was sitting with her feet over a well opening and threatening to jump in if she didn’t get her way. Apparently she wanted to shorten a dress against her dad’s wishes. These playful ways were always part of her life.

Raised by hard working parents she developed many of their best habits. Their principles were hard work, respectability, morality and most of all love. As a young ambitious lady she got a job at the Paddockwood Hotel and that changed her life forever. She started by cleaning rooms, cooking meals and answering the telephone for the owner Sarah (Sadie) McDougald. We have no proof but we think there was some definite strategy involved as she caught the eye of the owner’s son Jim when he returned home at the end of the War. She was wily and ambitious and thought that being part of the management of the hotel would be a real benefit. They were married shortly after and Anne was in Hotel Management. This is of course tongue in cheek. They had a lasting endearing love. Jim and Ann managed the hotel for a few years and during that time their children were born. It was busy and trying time for Anne raising a very active family and assisting in the hotel. When the business was sold Jim secured work at the Prince Albert National Park. They purchased a home in Christopher Lake so that the commute would be easier and Jim could be closer to home. They also purchased what was then called a “shack tent” in Waskesiu and the family joined Jim in the summers. Ever ambitious, Anne worked in a Waskesiu general store during the summers and McDonald’s store in Christopher Lake in the winter. She was instrumental in securing employment for her older children in Waskesui as well.

She had a great sense of humor but that twinkle in her eye made you suspicious. In later years there were stories of her spreading pepper on the stove and laughing hilariously as the kids tried to stop sneezing. Everyone in the family at some point were party to her antics. If she could make you uncomfortable she would do it for her entertainment, but always in a humorous way.

Anna was a true entrepreneurial thinker and they eventually purchased McNeil’s Store in Christopher Lake. She gained a solid customer base, extending credit to some and then chasing many down to collect. She was an imposing and tough little business lady.

When Jim retired from the Park, Anna, never one to rest on her laurels, or rest at all, sold the general store and purchased the Rainbow Cabins and Motel in Cochin Saskatchewan on the shores of Jackfish Lake in 1978. Her family were very pleased with this move, as they had good excuse to visit often and enjoy many sunny, summer weekends on the beach.

They made the decision to sell the Cochin business retire and move to a condo in Saskatoon. Although for an energizer bunny like Anna it was not enough to keep her interest. She subsequently picked up a few house cleaning gigs to expend some of that remarkable energy.

Sadly Jim passed away 1991 and this was a very difficult time for Anna. Much of the spark the family was accustomed to was missing. After a brief stay in the Okanagan with son Hugh and grandson Ryan she moved to Fort McMurray where daughter Marlys and her husband Roland Vindeg were living at the time. They eventually moved to Edmonton and ultimately relocated to West Kelowna. The family is forever grateful to Marlys and Roland for providing a home for Anna for 28 years. She sadly left us in September 2019 and her ashes will be interred with husband Jim in Prince Albert. No service will be held due to the Corona Virus.

She was predeceased by husband Jim in 1991, son Marvin in 1952, sister’s Helen and Edna, brother’s Mike and Nick and parents Fred and Anna Isayew.
She will be forever remembered and cherished by daughter’s Sharon Bentz (Allyn), Lake Country, BC, Marlys Vindeg (Roland), West Kelowna, BC, son’s Hughie McDougald, Beaverdell, BC and Blaine McDougald (Maureen), Victoria, BC, 7 grandchildren, Jamie, Lindsey, Jared, Kris, Alana, Ryan, Addie and 12 great-grandchildren, Elijah, Gordy Levins; Jaxson, Ruby McDougald; Adeline, Oliver Douglas; Liam, Elsha Bentz; Aiden, Madison, Logan and Brooklyn Jones and Joey Vindeg.

• Date : 2019-09-15
• Location : Kelowna, BC