We celebrate the life of Valerie Knudsen who passed away on Thursday, October 8, 2020. She was the loving mother of eight children and 13 grandchildren: Geraldine; Timothy; Maria (Lockhart) and Michael, Isaiah & Angela; Larry and Robin & Rosslyn; Mark (Donna) and Adam & Charlene; Christopher (Sharon) and Ryan & Sarah; Robin (Gayle) and Jake & Colbe; and Gail (Darryl) and Lauren & Paula; along with 10 great-grandchildren, all of whom were her joy in life. Valerie was predeceased by her husband, Paul in 1991.  They loved and supported each other through some tough times and she felt his loss intensely.

Valerie was born in 1930 in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary. Her mother died shortly after Valerie was born and Valerie was raised by her maternal grandmother for her first 5 years. Valerie had to flee her beloved Hungary in 1944 with her father, step-mother, sister and two brothers. She lived in a refugee camp in southern Germany for 4 years. She told stories about taking turns with her father to wear the only pair of warm pants so they could go out in winter to church, and about scraping out the jam from tins thrown into the garbage by American soldiers.

At the age of 18 Valerie travelled alone to Canada. She first worked on the farm of her cousins in Spiritwood, then as a waitress in Flin Flon and Prince Albert, and as nurse’s aide at the TB Sanatorium in Prince Albert.

Valerie married Paul in 1953 in Prince Albert, and a year later welcomed the first of her 8 children.  She loved her children and grandchildren fiercely – she always smiled when she looked at family pictures and tried to count all the descendants for whom she was responsible!

Valerie helped establish the Food Bank in Prince Albert and was a member of the board for 4 years.  She was also involved in the Foster Parents Association and wrote their newsletters for many years – Paul and Valerie fostered over 40 different children over the course of 30 years.  She wrote a monthly newspaper column on fostering and presented workshops on the subject. She also sat on the board of Catholic Family Services.

Faith in God was an important part of Valerie’s life – she often said that it was her belief in God that carried her through the tough years.   She believed with all her heart that if you pray hard, God will listen. She was an active member of the church and had been a member of St. Michaels Parish Council for several years. She wrote a history of St. Michael’s Parish and was the editor of the parish newsletter and parish archivist for more than 10 years.

Valerie was rightly proud of her writing. Despite that fact that she only had a Grade 6 education ( her schooling was interrupted by WWII)- and the fact that she was writing in English, her third language, she wrote and sold numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction.  She was the president of the Prince Albert Writers Group for 15 years.

In addition to writing, Valerie took up painting later in life and loved giving family and friends the results of her work. She also enjoyed photography, which matched well with her love for travel.  She said that her photographs were among her favourite things.

Valerie never thought of herself as a great cook but everyone looked forward to her cabbage rolls and poppy seed buns at Christmas. She liked to walk down by the river and she always fed ‘her’ ravens when they came to her backyard. She was generous to a fault and was constantly giving out cookies to children after school or helping anyone who came to her door. She loved music and art and dance and ensured that each of her children had opportunities to take lessons – and she made them practice too! Valerie lived only a block away from her sister in-law, Lila, and after Paul died the two of them made sure they looked after each other.

Valerie had her teddy bear named Muki for more than 85 years. She took him every where she went, even as a refugee. He heard every story and every wish and every worry and every joy that she experienced. If he could talk we are sure he would say how deeply she loved her family and friends. We believe that he would reassure us that she knew that she was just as deeply loved in return.

The family would like to thank the staff and management at Luther Care for the care and support they provided Valerie the last two years. They did their jobs in ways that were kind and compassionate and made family feel welcome and involved at all times.

The Funeral Service for Valerie will be held at 2:00 p.m., on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, at St Michael Parish, in Prince Albert, SK. Rev. Maurice Fiolleau officiating. With interment to follow at South Hill Cemetery. Family and friends unable to attend the service may view it online at http://www.livememorialservices.com/Home/Services . Online condolences may be left at https://www.arbormemorial.ca/en/riverpark/obituaries/valerie-knudsen/56277 . Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the care of River Park Funeral Home, (306) 764-2727, Don Moriarty, Funeral Director.

• Date : 2020-10-08
• Location : Saskatoon, SK