November 9 1925 – April 9 2011
Ellie passed away peacefully in her sleep after a courageous battle with cancer. She was predeceased by her husband Walter, brother Armin and sister Irmgarde. Ellie is survived by daughters, Mary Lou (Brian), Janice (John), and sons Anthony (Nancy) and Vincent; one brother George Wall, and two sisters Marlene Plett and Angelynne Wall; 7 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
Ellie was born in Edenthal, Manitoba and attended MCI School. After school finished, employment opportunities took her to Kitchener, Ontario where she met her future husband Walter, whom she married in May of 1954. They then moved back to Manitoba to start a new life together and to raise their four children that were to follow.
Ellie loved her many trips with her husband, Walter. By car, they covered much of North America. There were also numerous journeys to Europe and very special visits to the Czech Republic to meet Dad’s wonderful family there. She was always excited to spend time in California with her daughter Janice, husband John and grandchildren, as well as with her son Anthony and wife, Nancy in Australia.
At home in Manitoba, any occasion that involved visits with her daughter, Mary Lou and son, Vincent plus her grandchildren and great grandchildren were of utmost importance. Ellie was definitely a people person and her attention was not limited to her family. There were no strangers in mom’s life and she would rarely leave a first meeting without a litany of information about that person’s life, background, family etc…
Ellie was blessed with a beautiful singing voice and over the years has been asked to sing at numerous events as a choir member and soloist. A highlight was her participation in a choir group that toured parts of Europe commemorating the liberation of Holland by Canadian soldiers in World War II.
Ellie was an exceptionally loving Mother, Grandmother and Great Grand Mother. Her hugs were abundant and never withheld. Her presence will always be missed and never forgotten.
The family would like to thank the staff at Riverview Health Centre for their care and compassion during Mom’s stay there.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday April 12th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm at Green Acres Funeral Home.
Funeral Service will be held Wednesday April 13th, 11am at the Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship 150 Bayridge Avenue, Winnipeg, MB with Pastors Fran Giesbrecht and Mary Dyck. Reception will follow in the Church Hall.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made to Cancer Care Manitoba or MCC.
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Tuesday April 12th, 2011
EVENING VISITATION
Good evening
On behalf of the family I thank-you for coming to this gathering. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to gather as friends and family, to praise God for the life that Ellie was given. And to give each other mutual support and encouragement as we grieve.
May the presence of God’s Spirit within us be a blessing as we worship God together. Especially to you, the members of Ellie’s family.
It has been an honour for both Mary Dyck and myself to be with the Cmela family as they prepare for life without Ellie,
their mother, their grandmother, their great grandmother and their sister.
Let’s open the Hymn book on # 396 and sing together: Ellie loved good music and loved to sing Hymns.
And so we sing in honour of her memory. (sing with Rose playing)
Psalm 23 is a Scripture text, which speaks to the confidence and the knowledge, which carried Ellie these past difficult months. Mary will read these Psalms for us:
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
Thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Prayer:
Please bow with me for a word of prayer.
Lord, God of heaven and earth,
You love us with an everlasting love.
You help and keep us always.
You change the shadow a death leaves into the light of a new day.
Help us now to wait upon you with thankful hearts.
That as we hear the words of eternal life,
the scriptures may bring comfort and hope,
lifting us into the light and peace of Your presence.
This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We will now hear Ellie’s Obituary as read by MaryLou Plett and Vincent Cmela
Meditation:
Ellie was a dear friend of ours and she was precious to me, and I’m honoured to be able to participate in this gathering.
With your permission I would like to express some personal thoughts on what Ellie meant to me,especially during the time when I served our church as a Lay Minister.
It was Ellie’s forthright nature, which helped me understand how the Spirit of the One “who had made her” moves among us, within us and through us.
Ellie loved to refer to God as “My Maker” - it made her smile. I very much like that too. She told me “I would like it if you would become a Lay Minister”. How could I say no?
God made Ellie into a strong person – her instinct was to fearlessly say it and do it. Her instinct was to say yes when she was asked to help; it was her generous nature, which made her do things for people.
She took her friends and family very seriously and always thought very carefully about what you had said to her, remembering it and pondering on it, because it was important to her.
Ellie’s knowledge and interests ranged easily from politics to religion, from music to relationships and she would “give you the time of day” as the saying goes, if you wished to engage her in a conversation about one of them.
I remember how she laughed when I exclaimed loudly, upon her confession that CNN was her favourite news channel. She knew all the possible reasons I might have for disagreeing with her, And then stuck by her conviction by saying: “Well, I like how they tell a story”.
I think God made Ellie to be wise. I frequently found her perspectives and insights to be quite profound, not always easily understood, but bold and unique in their complexity. In as much as she had strong opinions about things, she never claimed to have the complete answer, the only truth – and she would easily defer to the other, for “the other’s” sake.
Thank you Ellie, for being yourself. You honoured the One who made you by doing so. May we learn to live life more fully from the example you gave to us.
Please take your hymn books and let us sing "What a Friend We Have In Jesus" together: Please stay standing for a closing prayer.(sing with Rose playing)
Prayer:
Give us your peace, Lord,
and unite our hearts with each other and with You.
May the comfort of Your presence help heal our grief.
Renew our faith and restore our joy through Jesus’ victory over death.
Lift our spirits, and give us hope for the life to come. Amen.
Go in peace.
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Funeral Service
Wednesday April 13, 2011 at 11:00 am
Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship, Wpg MB.
Prelude by Madeleine Enns
Processional
Greetings, Scripture and prayer by Mary Dyck
Ellie loved to sing. She especially appreciated it if a worship service included as she would say, “Lots of music and singing.” We want to honor her by joining our voices in the singing of several hymns as we worship together today.
Hymn - HWB #5 There is a Place of Quiet Rest
Music by the Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship Choir
HWB #586 Cast Thy Burden Upon The Lord
Obituary read by Vincent Cmela and MaryLou Plett [son and daughter]
Music by Lorilee Wall Woelcke, Imy Rempel and Accompanied by Rose Plett
HWB #589 My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
Tribute by Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren
Hymn - HWB #580 My Life Flows On
We will now hear the Eulogy read by Anthony,
Hymn- HWB #578 The Lord’s My Shepherd
Scripture reading Psalm 121 read by Janice Huculak [daughter]
Meditation by Fran Giesbrecht
Hymn - HWB #581 Take Thou My Hand, O Father Verse one in German
Announcements and Benediction
1. Funeral Home director
2. All are invited to the lower auditorium immediately after the service for lunch.
3. In lieu of flowers you are invited to make a donation in Ellie’s memory to either Cancer Care or MCC.
Recessional and Postlude
Honorary Pallbearers were Anthony Cmela, Vincent Cmela, Daniel Cmela, Thierry Huberdeau, David Bosshart, Andrew Cmela
Ministers were Mary Dyck and Fran Giesbrecht
Interment to be held at Green Acres Funeral Home,Highway #1 East
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CELEBRATION FOR THE LIFE OF ELLIE CMELA
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Jesus said, “Do not let your heart be troubled;
You believe in God, believe also in me.”
“I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.
On behalf of Ellie Cmela’s family and Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship I want to welcome you and thank you all for coming. Ellie a much loved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and friend has touched each person here and beyond
in her own special and unique way. It is a special source of comfort and encouragement for the family to be surrounded by so many loved ones at this time. Today we have come to acknowledge the loss we feel and to find comfort as we remember and grieve the loss that you as a family especially feel.
As a family and extended family you have many special memories. There were times when you gathered as a family to celebrate a special event, such as a birthdays, Christmas and especially weddings. You can almost feel her warm and hearty embrace as she greeted each one of you even now as you let your mind go down memory lane.
As a church family we also experienced her warm hospitality inviting friends for tea or for a special meal. And we so much loved and appreciated her lovely soprano voice as she led out in special choirs, often serving as soloist and in congregational singing.
Ellie was a person who had learned to look up to God for strength and help in difficult times. I remember visiting her in the Victoria hospital when she suffered a stroke several years ago. She was devastated, crying out as the Psalmist did so long ago.“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Be attentive to the voice of my supplications! I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in his word I hope. It did not take long before she smiled again somewhat tentatively and said, “I will find a way to drive my car again.”
You as a family and many friends here could probably share of many times when she faced some struggles head on we might say. But those who knew her more intimately were also aware that she looked up to God for help, for guidance and strength.
This was especially true when she received the dreaded news that she had terminal cancer. She wanted to live; she was enjoying her new life at Lindenwood Manor. Again and again she cried out to God, and then with God’s gentle loving care she was able to accept her illness and on our last visit when she was still able to speak she said, “I am ready.” She placed her trust in the loving God who had helped her, had been her friend for many many years. Today we have come together to grieve
the loss of someone very dear to many of us. We also want to praise God for Ellie’s life that she so generously shared with all of us. It is our hope and prayer that as we read God’s word, and worship in song and prayer we might all be comforted and strengthened for our continued journey.
Let us pray-
Almighty and loving God, you are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Today we come to you with many mixed emotions. On the one hand we are grateful that you relieved Ellie of her suffering and gently took her home. We thank you that she could take comfort in the hope and knowledge that you were calling her by name. She was able to say with Job of old, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” She had the hope of rejoicing with you, relieved of all pain and weaknesses. We thank you that she had the comforting presence of her family surrounding her during these difficult days and weeks.
We pray that your hands of blessing might rest upon Ellie’s family as they grieve the loss of their loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and sister.Gracious God, grant them an abundance of your abiding love, the same love that called forth Jesus from the tomb into the light of the resurrection. By this faith, this peace, this hope, may we all be sustained until we behold you face to face. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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A tribute from the Grandchildren read by Jessica and Courtney
Good morning, I am Jessica, my sister Courtney and our cousins Danny and Andrew. Ellie was our Grandmother. Our Grandma really loved kids and our kids loved her too, they were always super excited to see their GG. They will miss her fun-loving way and her many hugs. Family gatherings will not be the same without her, especially at Christmas, I will definately miss her sometimes funny gifts. I will also miss her often outrageous funniness, her impromtu opera performances and her genuine interest in every detail of my life. We will remember our Gramma for all the great memories such as playing at the park and skipping down the yellowbrick road, our many bike rides to King's Park, swimming at the pool that was nearby, the many driving adventures, her very own " Gramma Dance", teaching me my one and only song that I know on the piano "Doctor Doctor", giving her Great Grand kids rides on her walker, and her many stories about her life. Thank you Gramma for all the wonderfulmemories. We will miss you.
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A tribute delivered by the children of Ellie and spoken by her eldest son Anthony
Let me say my mother would so much love to be here to visit and talk to each of you. She was what I would call a very connected person –she was connected to the people around her and she loved to talk about all of you to her children. As my brother poignantly said – there were no strangers in Mom’s world. If she got a chance to talk to someone it was never about herself - she was interested in who you were, what you did, what church you attended and if not why……..and her memory was prodigious.
My mom and I would connect almost every Sunday and these were for me, great conversations (I listened she talked). I would grab a coffee, get comfortable, turn on the speaker phone and listen whilst she poured out the details and stories of her life, the people she knew and the stories of their challenges and triumphs.
I knew that this phone call to me was only one of many she would likely make that day – calls to MaryLou, Vincent and Janice and many others would follow. This was all about connection to others.
Anyone who knows my mother knows of her love of music. Music was integral to her very being and she had a beautiful singing voice. I can remember growing up and my mom breaking out in song all the time – it was wonderful - and when she sang her whole being changed - there was real joy coming forth. It was a blessing to her children and something that we will always carry with us.
My mother loved to laugh and particularly at herself – and her humor was never at the expense of someone else. I remember spending times with mom and my siblings MaryLou, Janice and Vincent and review the humorous moments of Mom’s life. These times were great as we all laughed together as a family and though the stories were about mom she laughed along with us. These stories will remain with us and though we won’t recant any today, if any of you have any you wish to share with us, well, maybe an opportunity will present itself at some future gathering. We’d love to hear them and share a few of ours with you as well.
Sharing these stories is a way that others can see what an interesting and special person she was.
Mother had a strength of character and determination that at times bordered on super human. In 2003 she suffered a serious stroke that left her right side virtually paralyzed. She worked hard to recover but during this time the doctors took an action to have her driver’s license revoked. We expected and somewhat hoped that she would accept the news and retire from driving. That was not the case. It was important to her that could still drive out to Selkirk and Landmark to visit Mary Lou and Vincent and the grandchildren and attend church on her terms.
So, after her paralysis subsided she set out to have her license returned to her. Remember she is at this time 77 years old. She failed her first test and she was very distressed about this. She gathered her courage and tried again, and once again failed the test. Well after no less than 14 failed attempts the Manitoba licensing bureau finally realized that they were dealing with a force greater than themselves and gave her license back to her. Fear returned to the streets of Winnipeg. She drove until the day she received her cancer diagnosis.
We were all amazed by her sheer determination and to this day remains one of those “ellieism stories we love to tell others.
Mom’s life was not always easy and at times home life could be challenging. In her final days this weighed heavily on her mind and though she could barely talk she mustered the strength to ask Mary Lou and I why we had not asked that one very important question. She wouldn’t tell what that question was and we had to pry her a little to finally come up with what this was all about…….she wanted forgiveness for what in her mind that she had not done enough to protect us. Her protective mother hood instincts remained with her to the end and her children and so Mom on behalf of your children I want to say if there ever was a storm you were our shelter and a protector in all things.
Mom, your love for us will remain with us always.
The cancer news hit mom hard as it did all of us. She was determined to fight it but it was bigger than even her. We are thankful for the support of the team of people at Riverview who made Mom’s final days as comfortable as possible. Also the families wish to extend particular thanks for the support from Fran Giesbrecht who has made this journey just a little easier for our family and the special prayers from Mary Dyck that comforted my mom in her final days. Thank you.
Towards the end she told us that she was ready for heaven and someday perhaps when it’s our turn we will meet again.
Rest in Peace Mom
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Psalm 121 read by Janice
Help From The Maker of Heaven and Earth
I lift up my eyes to the hills –
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
He Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
He will keep your life.
The lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.
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MEDITATION by Fran Giesbrecht
Good morning, may God’s Spirit guide us in our worship as we remember and celebrate Ellie’s life. Ellie’s faith in God was mature and seasoned. “My Maker seems to be waiting for me” she told me not long ago. God was so familiar to Ellie, to the point where she was not uncomfortable, expressing her tearful lament, My Maker seems to be waiting for me but I don’t want to die yet. I still have too many plans, too many things to live for”.
Psalm 121, the Scripture text Ellie had chosen for me to use at Walter’s funeral a number of years ago, describes Ellie’s relationship with her Maker so well. It is a beautiful song of trust, a complete trust, a deep trust from a pilgrim traveler, in the One who had made her.This deep trust freed Ellie to have a serious conversation with her Maker – letting God know how unfair this disease was being to her. And then, once the disease had shown its ferocity, it was this deep trust, which carefully but surely gave her peace.
“My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth”.
It is the Lord who will not let my foot be moved”.
Along with this impervious trust Ellie had in her Maker, who would always be with her, she also owned an indomitable spirit,
which I believe, was also made to flourish because of what she understood of how God had put her together.
The nature of Ellie’s spirit and determination reminded, George, Ellie’s brother, of Romans 8: verses 38 and 39, the other day.
I will read it to you as though it is Ellie reading it. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
It must have been this kind of understanding of God’s love and help, that prompted her to embrace life as fully as she did, for often it seemed ‘nothing could stand in her way’ – she was undaunted;
–joining that senior’s choir so she and her friend Anne could travel and sing in Europe
-faithfully joining the choirs at Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship over most of the years that she attended;
-embracing the gift of singing given to her,
-singing solos for our K-group’s summer worship service saying “Oh yes, I could do that” whenever we asked.
–Participating fully in our gift discernment process every year –
–at least until the second hour of it when she might take a short nap –
–traveling to Australia and California, sometimes alone,
–to be with her beloved children and grandchildren.
Donning her bathing suit, sun tanning and swimming as her K-group spent weekends at Anne’s Moose Lake cottage –
taking her driver’s license out of her doctor’s hand while she was being discharged from the hospital, where she had been recovering from a stroke, saying “I need my license” – and then working diligently, no….indomitably at getting her driver’s license back after she had surrendered it much later –
Ellie may have used all of her allotted retests, but she was convinced she could do it –
“And I don’t want that older woman testing me – she doesn’t like me and just fails me – I want a younger woman to take me for my test”.
–Only a deep understanding –
–a wise understanding of the trust the Psalmist was declaring, could have made someone so sure it was okay to embrace life head on - that it was okay to open yourself up to others.
As Anthony, one of Ellie’s sons, said the other day: “As the Australians would say “She is not backwards about going forward”.
For Ellie, it was okay to load up your friends into the Echo, and drive 2 ½ hours to Crystal City to visit family and friends.
It was okay to drive to church when the roads were icy and snow covered. “Ellie! What were you thinking?” I would exclaim,
and she would give me that big, beautiful smile, with those bright blue eyes sparkling, and her infectious chuckle bubbling and she would exclaim: “Do you think I should have stayed home from church”?
Ellie taught me many years ago that someone who has the inclination to “say it as they see it……when they see it”,
must also be a person with a large capacity to forgive and to ask for forgiveness.
When you understand so profoundly that the One who made you is the Same One who will walk this journey with you, is the One who will keep you, is the One at your right side, keeping both your going out and your coming in, from this time on and forevermore, as Ellie did, then you also understand how important that forgiveness, which Jesus taught us is to having a successful journey.
Ellie had trials and many tribulations among those many joyous times, revisited again as she reminisced with me a few short days ago. Reviewing her lengthy life, evaluating the many decisions made,
with a glimmer of a smile of acceptance. “Ah” she sighed prayerfully, “I’m ready to meet my Maker”. Ellie’s journey is now over – she has arrived home – I’m sure much to the delight of everyone there – we too celebrate Ellie’s victory, her safe arrival.
I’m sure she’ll find there will be many more stories to be told and places to be visited – many more long phone calls to be made and faspas to share.
Thank You Lord for helping and keeping Ellie’s life. Amen.
Closing prayer:
Our gracious and loving God, We are grateful for your comforting spirit that surrounds us at all times. Today as we remember Ellie, her gifts of love to her family and beyond we have felt your loving support and care. We trust that your spirit will continue to embrace and comfort especially her family today and in the days to come. We are grateful that we do not grieve without hope. We know that Ellie’s spirit is rejoicing with you. May her legacy continue to live on as we seek to serve you in our daily walk. We pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
Blessing:
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and through grace, gave us eternal comfort and good hope,
comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. Amen
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Graveside Service
(Fran gather mourners around the grave and Mary begin service).
Dear Family and Friends. We have come to the final resting place of our beloved Ellie Cmela, here, outside, in God’s own green acre. We have come to place Ellie’s earthly body into the kindly bosom of mother earth. The elements from which Ellie was so beautifully created, now receive her back. We mark this place with her name and her years as an invitation to all of us to visit often, remembering the Ellie we all loved so dearly.
This earthly mark will soon be healed over with new grass and a soft summer breeze will move through its lush green growth;
birds will sing and our fragrant flower tributes will help encourage our memories of this remarkable woman – especially Ellie’s wonderful laugh and bright, cheerful smile.
Even though clouds will rain tears of lamentations here, the unfailing sun will often shine brightly again, greeting this resting place with its first rays in the morning and saying “goodnight don’t let the bed bugs bite” with its soft yellow light in the evening.
When cold is on the land and winter places its white, restful cover of snow, we can know that spring will always come again, restoring new life, just as Ellie has been restored to a new life with Jesus, who said: “I am the resurrection and the life; because I live you shall live also”, We do not sorrow as those who have no hope, for Christ has brought renewed life and immortality to our world, and we comfort and encourage each other with this thought.
(Fran begin with handing out the sheet and leading singing). (gather them close together)
Music – HWB #5 There is a place of quiet rest – everyone sing (Fran start).
Scripture:
Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
Jesus said, “Do not be afraid;
I am the first and the last, and the living one.
I was dead, and see:
I am alive forever and ever.”
Let us Pray together (Fran)
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil,
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever, Amen.
Commital:
With thanksgiving for the life lived, and the love shared,
we commit this body to the ground. pause
(Symbolic burial: family place some dirt onto coffin).
God of compassion, in despair and in joy, in shadow and in light,
help us to trust your love, to serve your purpose, and to look forward in hope
to your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Blessing: (for those gathered).
May God be your comfort and strength. May God be your hope and support, lighting your way; and may the blessings of God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of life, be with you now and forever. Amen. Go in peace.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.9.5