Ethel Wiebe

We sadly announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother Ethel Wiebe on Thursday, May 23, 2013, at age 99 years. Ethel was an only child born to William and Ada Chesters in Glossop, Derbyshire, England, on February 23, 1914. At the tender age of three months she ventured across the Atlantic Ocean with her parents where they took up residence at Swift Current. Ethel had loving and caring parents. Her childhood days at Swift Current were full of fond memories shared with many friends and also relatives that came from England to live in the Swift Current area. Her dad and uncle shared a farm by Beverly and they travelled out there lots to visit Uncle George and Aunt Edith Chesters. Her best friend during school years and working years in Swift Current was her cousin Dolly Woodhall. From childhood days onward Ethel would keep in letter contact with first cousins that remained behind in England and also aunts, uncles and cousins that came over to North America. Ethel became a proficient badminton player and won several South Saskatchewan doubles tournaments with her female and male partners. She also took up tennis. She worked for Cooper and Co. in Swift Current. In 1939 Ethel met her lifetime partner and love Alfred Wiebe. In all the 48 years of marriage they were totally devoted to each other and no one ever knew of any disagreements between them. They were married in Swift Current June 3, 1940. Al was manager of Safeway at that time. They transferred to Regina and in the mid-1940s to Weyburn. In 1949 Al and Ethel bought a small Red and White corner grocery store at the corner of Bison Avenue and Government Road, one block south of their house, (they couldn’t take over the operation until 1950) where they worked side-by-side for many years. They were true pioneers that displayed dedication, honesty and loyalty. They valued their part-time help, Betty Doisy, delivery boys, friends and customers very much and would do anything to keep everyone happy, several times lending a helping hand for many families. They enjoyed many friends over the years and went to a few dances each year with the ‘dance crew’ – Irma and Jack McKinstry, Everett and Marguerite Beggs, Daisy and George Hill and John and Jean Robinson. Close friends and neighbours they also shared fun-time events with were the Pressman’s, Fletcher’s, Anderson’s, McKee’s, Becker’s, Kempthorne’s, Weir’s and Doisy’s. Ethel was a great homemaker and cook, serving up many English dishes and also learning some Mennonite meals which favoured Al’s heritage. Both Ethel and Al were avid golfers and members of the Weyburn Golf Club. Every year they would also set aside two weeks for a family holiday with their young daughter and occasionally Ethel’s parents would go along. One year in the 1960s Al surprised the family with a trip to England. He always hoped to save up so Ethel could see where she was born and also meet the cousins she had been corresponding with for over 40 years. It was a wonderful and very emotional trip. Ethel was a loyal member of IODE and also enjoyed bowling. The stores closed on Wednesday afternoons back then. Ethel joined the Wednesday afternoon bowling league and bowled for years on a team called The Rolling Pins. Everyone in that afternoon league became good friends with each other – a fun time. After they sold the store and with encouragement from Al, Ethel did things she never had time for when they worked in the store, one being curling. She also began meeting a few lady friends for tea weekday afternoons at the Weyburn Mall. It started with good friends Sally Pressman, Sally Mryglod, Regina Kobialka, Marie Hammer and Julia Brazenas. In later years more eventually joined. They would sit for a couple of hours each afternoon and share stories. It’s surprising how many people remember the ‘tea crew’ that sat at the front table at Grandma Lee’s in the mall. She was a very organized person. All sentimental things in the house were labeled as to when and where they came from which is a wonderful history memory. In 1989 Al suddenly passed away. Ethel was devastated but survived the challenging months ahead. She eventually moved to an apartment just around the corner on Bison Avenue, thus remaining in a familiar neighbourhood. In 2012 at age 98 she was cooking her meals and at age 99 still kept her banking records in a book, balancing it to a “T”. Ethel enjoyed reading until her eyesight became a problem and also did crossword puzzles for years. She followed Coronation Street from the beginning and loved all English-humour tv shows such as Keeping Up Appearances, Are You Being Served, and watching golf, curling and the news. Ethel had a keen ear for music, knowing what was totally on pitch or off, and enthusiastically took in every event she could that involved family. She was so proud of a singing group Octavius Singers that her daughter belonged to and wouldn’t miss a concert. Ethel tended to be a worrier and wanted everything perfect for her family. She loved her daughter Val unconditionally, totally loved, adored and lived for her granddaughters Tanis and Marlis and also loved very much the great-grandchildren Elyse and Jasper who affectionately called her GG. She was very proud and full of admiration for her son-in-law Doyle and was so happy with her grandson-in-law Ryan. She keenly followed all the activities of her family, especially the granddaughters as they grew up. Grandma saved all newspaper clippings or write-ups in a scrapbook for each of them. They were very close to their grandmother keeping in telephone contact and visited whenever possible. She gave full listening attention and did everything she could to help out if needed. Ethel was predeceased by the love of her life Al in 1989. Surviving are daughter Valerie (Doyle) Thomas, granddaughters Tanis Thomas and Marlis (Ryan) Woodard and great grandchildren Elyse and Jasper Woodard. Val, Doyle and family wish to thank all of Ethel’s friends for their loyalty over the years and for contributing to her happy life. When her physical capabilities starting deteriorating and with her eyesight failing she made the decision to go to a home at 98 years of age and enjoyed her stay there from day one. Her mind remained brilliant. We thank the staff in House Four at Tatagwa View for their care and compassion. Two or three stand out in our minds as extra special care givers – thank you so much. Thank you to Dr. Kaban and staff at Regina General Hospital. Also thank you to Dr. Jessie Warren and the nursing staff on Floor 3 Palliative Care of Weyburn General Hospital for your special care and compassion. Thank you to everyone for the support given, flowers, food, phone calls and cards of condolences received. We were so blessed to have Ethel as a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. We will miss ‘mom’ very much. A special thank you to Rev. John Ferrier for your visit and wonderful service which included your choosing of the most meaningful and inspirational passages to read from the bible. Also thank you to Myron, June and staff at Fletcher Funeral Chapels. Your support and guidance helped us immensely at this difficult time. A graveside memorial was held at Hillcrest Cemetery on Tuesday, May 28, at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. John Ferrier attending. A lunch was held afterwards at Captain’s Hall. Donations in Ethel’s name may be made to the Weyburn Museum or the Weyburn Humane Society.