FERSTER – Mrs. Helene

1922 – 2019

   Our mother, Helen Ferster, was born August 30th, 1922 in Markinch, Saskatchewan. She never had a second name, so she chose one for herself, Susan. She was the eighth child of Fredrick and Emily Butz. When she was 5 years old, the family moved from Markinch to the town of Canwood, in the Boro Green District. The kids attended Boro Green school. Mom and her siblings would walk to school with their lunch pails and in the winter brother Frank would sometimes pick them up from school with a horse and sled.

Mom had talked about the sewing her mother did for them, she sewed all their clothes and didn’t need a pattern, she would just look at an outfit and then she would sew it. They had a big garden and Grannie was a great cook, which I would say she passed on to all of her daughters.

Mom finished her grade 8, then worked for the neighbors and for her sister Laura. Mom met Daddy ~ Theodor Ferster at one these workplaces, he was part of a threshing crew. In the winter he worked at logging camps and in the summer worked for farmers. Dad was born in Poland in 1918.

Mom and Dad were married on November 22nd, 1942 at her parents’ home in Boro Green. Their first home was on the same quarter as Dad’s parents (Edward and Emilie Ferster) in the Meadow Groove area of Leask. Their first 4 children were born at the farm, Shirley, Rodney, and Emilie. The midwife was Dad’s sister, Auntie Olga Kuhn. In 1952 Dad bought a blacksmith and welding shop in Leask, and we moved to town. The next 4 children were born in the Shellbrook Hospital, Theone, Terry, Dennis, and Janice. A niece, Rita Sommerfeldt came to live with us when she was in grade 3. The older children attended Meadow Groove school, and once in Leask, we all attended Leask school. We attended the Brightholme Luthern church until it burnt down, then the congregation moved to Leask.

Mom was a stay at home mom. Our big meal of the day was at noon and leftovers for supper. Imagine peeling enough potatoes for 2 meals a day for 10 people every day! Dad didn’t like rice or noodles so potatoes it was! Sometimes Mom would have enough potatoes left just for Dad and we could have spaghetti or macaroni!

Saturday evenings in the winter Dad and most of us kids would attend the Leask hockey games. Mom would be home baking the cinnamon buns, bread and bins that she had spent all day making. The table and counters would be covered with baking and we’d get to eat some of that goodness when we got home! After all that baking we still had to buy fresh bread from the Musich bakery.

Mom was apart of the Leask Lutheran ladies. She loved to read and borrowed many many books from the Leask library. In later years the librarians would even deliver books to her. Mom also did crocheting and knitting in her “spare” time and making baby quilts for her grandchildren.

In the summertime, we usually spent Sundays at  Island Lake or Boggy Lake. Mom and Dad had to cook fish for all of us and we usually had company, so Sundays were no picnic for Mom! Besides frying fish, she had to bring the rest of the meal too and then pack everything up to take home and clean. No paper plates back then! Us girls always did the dishes so it was probably our job to clean up so she would hopefully get some rest!

Mom enjoyed visits with her sisters in Canwood. We would go on a Sunday and lots of times her sisters and their families came to visit too. Grannies house seems small now, but we all managed to fit in comfortably.

Mom did her share of babysitting for her grandkids and honorary grandkids. When Dad died in 1989,

Mom continued to live in her house in Leask for about another 25 years. She made a few trips to Calhoun, Georgia to visit Shirley, Mike, and the girls. She moved into Whispering Pines in Canwood when she couldn’t be on her own anymore. Two of her sisters, Kay and Hildegarde came to live with her as well. The Whispering Pines staff were so good to her there, a big thank you to them for making it as close to “home” as can be.

Helene is lovingly survived by her children, Shirley (Mike) Youngblood and their children, Michelle (Mike) Cromer and family; Susan (Judson) McGivaren and family; Rodney Ferster and children, Dallas, Nathan and Nigel; Emilie (Andrew) Neveu and children, Connie (Paul) Newton and family; Lynn (Brian) Martin and family; Gail (Kevin) Johnstone and family; Joy (Steve) Snider and family; Theone (Rodney) Barber and children, Tracy (Brad) Dupuis and family; Jeff Barber and family; David (Kirby) Barber; Terry (Fred) Valmont and children, Cheryl (Trevor) Beaton and family; Melanie (Mike) Wittig and family; Rachelle (Garett) Anholt and family; Justin (Rachel) Valmont and family; David (Chantal) Valmont and family;Dennis (Fran) Ferster and children, Jonathan (Dallas) Ferster and family; Karen Jansen and family; Janice (Warren) Muller and children, Tara (Shaun) Kerber and family; Dionne (Valerie) Muller and family; her daughter in law Gloria Ferster and children, Cindy (Vince) Giguere and family; Clay (Angie) Royer and family; her granddaughter, Angie Ferster and family; her sister Hildegarde Butz ; her special niece, Rita (Francis) Kunz and her children, Annalea (Mark) Sookeroff and family; Jamie (James) Dyok and family; her 50 great grand children and 8 great great grandchildren;  as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Helene is predeceased by, her husband Ted Ferster; her son Larry Ferster; her daughter in law Bev Ferster; her grandson Lionel Ferster; her parents Emilie and Fred Butz; her siblings Laura (Karl) Strelau, Frank Butz, Hedwig Butz, Edith Butz, Emma (Fred) Kingsland, John Butz, Katherine (Elwood) Haugen, Elsie (Mike) Sommerfeld; her in-laws Emilia (Edward) Ferster, Adolph (Valerie) Ferster, Elsie Ferster, Ludwig (Anna) Ferster, Olga (Adolph) Kuhn, Leopold (Hilda) Ferster, Natalie (Rudolph) Sommerfeld, Emma (Edmund) Ferster, Ervin (Martha) Ferster, and Molly Ferster.

There will be a Celebration of Life held for Helene on Thursday, July 4, 2019, at 11:00 am in the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Parkside, SK, with Rev. Emmanuel Aristide officiating. Helene will be laid to rest in the Brightholme Cemetery. In lieu of tributes, memorial donations may be made in memory of Helene to either the Brightholme Cemetery Fund or to the Whispering Pine Place Activities Dept. in Canwood, SK (Box 418 Canwood, SK S0J 0K0).

Family and friends wishing to send online condolences are welcome to visitwww.beaulacfuneralhome.com Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Beau “Lac” Funeral Home, Shellbrook 306-747-2828.

• Date : 2019-03-24
• Location : Canwood, SK