Eulogy for Grace Ellen Anderson (McClellan) 1925-2021
Grace Ellen McClellan was born on June 18,1925, in Loverna, Saskatchewan to Kenneth and Blanche McClellan, the eldest of 6 children, a sister to Myrtle, Pearl, Velma, Lloyd and Mary. The family of 8 lived together in a two room farmhouse between Esther and New Brigden. When Grace was 8 years old, the family relocated to a larger home, only 5 miles from New Brigden.
This new home was closer to Coe School, which Grace attended with her siblings. She remembered having to walk home with her sister Myrtle, in a dust storm when they were only in Grade 1. Grace noted that she ‘loved school’. After completing Grade 10, she finished her grade 11 by correspondence. She then went on to work at Bishop’s Store in Alsask for the next 4 years.
Grace met John Anderson, who everyone knew as Jack; the two fell in love and married on August 2, 1947. Two years later, Jack and Grace started their family and raised their 3 sons, Alvin, Darell and Garth in Sibbald, Alberta.
Grace worked as the secretary of Rural Sibbald Telephone Company for a number of years until AGT installed party lines. She was Superintendent of the Sibbald Sunday School, a member of the Women’s Institute and the Sibbald Community Club. She also volunteered at numerous school events.
She helped Jack with the post office and the ESSO gas station. Grace also started working at the Oyen Lodge while they were still living in Sibbald and she continued to work at the Lodge for 12 years.
However, her most important job was being a stay at home mom.
Alvin remembers one day when he and Darell returned home from school, mom wasn’t home and there was no note. The boys were quite upset because Mom was always home and she would always leave a note if she ran uptown. So they ended up calling Auntie Pearl out at Switzers to see if she knew where Mom was……no worries, she was close by and the panic they felt went away.
With Jack and all 3 boys in hockey and baseball, she was extremely busy and her love of sports was satisfied. They went camping and fishing as a family every year in the summer. For some reason, camp was always set up in the dark, which resulted in the tent having to be moved in the morning; because it was either pitched on a stump or an ant hill.
She sure kept herself busy. There was bowling, bingo, ceramics and playing cards, to name a few. She even took a hair care and barbering course.
Grace became a grandmother in 1970 when Wade was born: with three more grandsons: Aaron, Chad and Kael, there were more hockey and baseball games to attend. Granddaughter Erin was a big surprise in a family of all boys, but now Grandma could share her love of cooking, hair and makeup.
We all remember her cooking, whether it was Grandma’s homemade soups, fresh baked bread, pies, jams and jellies, oreo cookies or her famous sticky buns.
When Jack’s health began to fail, they decided in 1987 to move their house from Sibbald into Oyen. Grandma took care of Jack at home until she couldn’t manage anymore and then made the hard decision to move him into LTC in Oyen where Jack passed away in 1992. They had been married for 45 years.
Grandma is admired for her strength through this hardship. In her own words, she wrote ‘I’ve learned through faith to bare (sic) all unhappy things and appreciate the good happenings’.
Grandma became a great-grandmother in 1999 when Dallen was born with seven more great-grandsons: Brody, Aidan, Keifer, Koen, Bennet, Adrian and Tobias; and two great-granddaughters: Katherine and Elspeth. Her great-grandchildren were very important to her, and she tried to keep up to date with all their comings and goings.
Grandma was very active in the Oyen United Church. She devoted countless hours to the United Church Women and was the Presbytery Representative. She was acknowledged for her many years of faithful service and her commitment of talent and time.
She was a member of:
The Oyen Legion Ladies Auxiliary
The Historical Society
Oyen Seniors Club
She also worked at the Oyen Greenhouse. She would start as early as 7:30am, transplanting tiny seedlings. She kept track of what flowers she worked with; marigolds, maple plants, pampas grass, begonias and petunias; which according to Grandma were ‘not very nice plants’. She always mentioned if it was a slow day or not, noting how many seedlings she had transplanted; 95, for Grandma, was a good day!
She did not slow down, apart from all her activities near home, she was able to spend time in Spruce Grove and Slave Lake over the years. On one special trip, Shaune flew his plane to Slave Lake to pick her up and bring her home. To make that adventure even more exciting, the plane developed engine trouble and Shaune had to land on a quiet country road.
In 2004, Grandma left the Canadian winter behind for 2 weeks and celebrated Christmas and New Years in Cuba with family.
At the age of 80, Grandma decided it was time to downsize; she sold the house, put her name on a list for a room in the new lodge that was being built, and moved into a 4plex apartment just down the street, even planting a little garden along the sidewalk.
In February of 2010, she moved into her third story room with a view at the new Oyen Lodge. She was still busy volunteering, attending Church, watching sporting events and driving herself around town. Just before her 88th birthday, she called her family to tell them that she had 3 days of driving left before her driver’s license would expire.
Grandma would never turn down an offer to go somewhere. She made a trip to Salmon Arm to see her cousin Eunice; went houseboating on the Shuswap, even though Garth was worried she might fall overboard and made a very special trip to Calgary to see her first great-granddaughter, Katherine.
In 2015, Grandma said to her family ‘I’m going to be 90 and I’m having a party!’ and so she did and it was one we will never forget.
In December 2018, Grandma moved from the lodge into the Oyen LTC. In conversations leading up to her decision, I remember her saying “well, I’m ready to have someone else take care of me now”. Once there she continued to garden in the courtyard, go on a few senior friendly bike rides, attend Zoom church services, Zoom and window family visits and produce many lovely paintings right up into her 96th year.
Memories shared by nephew, Shaune Switzer:
“I remember Auntie Grace as being “AMAZING” in many ways; so “AMAZING”, in fact, that a famous song was written for her, or at least that’s how it seemed when I got the call from Lee that she had passed. I sang that tune over and over in the tractor as I thought about that special Lady.
When I was growing up, I spent many days and nights at their house because Garth and I are only a few months apart in age, so we would play together and maybe fight a little. But I learned at a very young age that she was an amazing cook; she would make us a snack of peanut butter and jam sandwiches but would make them just the way we liked them. She would ask, “Garth, do you want your jam on top or the peanut butter on top?” and Garth would reply, “peanut butter on top”. Then, she would ask me, and I always, of course, would be the opposite. I think she only got them wrong once, but using her magic, she would put them behind her back for a second and they would reappear in the appropriate order! See, “AMAZING”!!
More recently, as in the last 10-15 years or so, we would often have her out for supper and a visit. On one of these occasions, she was sitting in the kitchen, giving directions to Charley and Paige on how to perfectly season the turnips. I was carving the turkey at the time and this is when I discovered another of her super powers. As I was carving away, she snuck up behind me, in super stealth mode and stole the most beautiful piece of turkey skin I had ever seen. She must have been eyeing it up for a while, because she knew exactly where it was on the cutting board. All I saw was this slender hand pass quickly under my arm and then it and the skin were gone. She devoured it immediately, saying, “We don’t get skin at the Lodge”.
These are only a couple of memories, but there are many more of this amazing lady who I am proud to have been able to call Auntie.”
Memories shared by eldest grandson, Wade Anderson:
“Like all of us, there are so many fond memories of Grandma Grace, it’s hard to know where to begin.
As a child I spent so much time in Sibbald and always looked forward to the short drive from Alsask to spend time there with Grandpa Jack and Grandma Grace. Was it always a warm spring day in Sibbald? As I look back, it sure felt like it. Then again, I also truly remember the magical Christmas times spent in Sibbald.
Grandma was so close to her family, and I remember the trips out to Switzer’s for a visit or many times when Grandma had one of her siblings and their families there. It was always an adventure with Grandma and she always had something for us to do. Many trips up the street to the Community Hall or a visit over to Mock’s to see the animals. Once that was done, Grandma would send Buffy and I off to the pasture to give the gophers some trouble. Mixed in with all the fun, there was always just hanging out in the gas station while Grandma was sorting mail and Grandpa was rolling a fresh pack of smokes for the day. The memories of Grandma and growing up in Sibbald were endless.
Christmas day, Grandma always made such a good meal, that’s probably why Uncle Vern, Uncle Ellery and Grandpa Jack were all in a chair, head tilted back and snoring about 30 minutes after the meal!! As I grew older, I then realized the same fate as I would eat way more than any human should consume and then fight Garth, Alvin, Aaron and my Dad for a spot on the living room floor so I could sleep off the digestion!!
Speaking of Flapper Pie; when Dallen was born in 1999 and Stacey and I were living in Provost, Grandma Grace came up to see the baby with Mom and Dad. When they left later that day to head back to Oyen, Grandma left a 9x13 pan of flapper pie for Stacey and me to enjoy. When I got home from the hospital that evening, I sat down with a spoon and ate the entire pie. When Stacey and Dallen came home from the hospital the next day, mo more pie!
Camping and fishing were another great memory with Grandpa and Grandma. Grandma had many of the items in their holiday trailer marked with a small red mark of red nail polish. I can’t recall exactly why but I suspect it was to claim in case it ended up in someone else’s trailer. I think we were at Dillberry or Jackfish Lake where I found a piece of firewood that had a small red mark on it (Probably from an axe) so I brought it back to the trailer and put it there as I was sure it must be Grandma’s. I recall my Mom asking why we have this piece of wood in the trailer; and I told her that it belonged to Grandma. We wrote “Grandma’s wood” on it and I’m pretty sure that wood was in the trailer until they sold it.
Other fond memories that came flooding back:
Eating raspberries in the garden with Grandma.
Playing lawn darts with Grandma (yes, it was the 70’s).
Playing horseshoes and Grandma always letting me win.
Grandma sending me out to play with the bow and arrow by myself (yes, it was the 70’s).
Checking in at the house during Sibbald Sports Days to drop off pockets full of Mojo’s.
Going to the Community Hall with Grandma for discing night.
Going to Sibblad for my birthday and knowing there was going to be chocolate cake with money in it. There was nothing like accidentally biting into a nickel wrapped in saran wrap on your birthday (yes, it was the 70’s).
Thanksgiving in Sibbald with Uncle Red and Aunt Connie and betting on the baseball playoff games or a square draw.
Overall, I cherish the fond memories of a strong, confident and loving Grandma who was there for me when I needed her, and she was able to provide that love to so many friends and family over the years.
Love,
Wade
Memory shared by grandaughter, Erin Anderson:
One of my memories, in particular, is the time when I drove out to Oyen to stay with Grandma at the Lodge. Between shopping trips, a haircut, birthday parties, going out for supper, visiting family, the church camp out and the old car show, we never had a dull moment. The first night I was there she was in her room getting ready for bed and I could hear noises coming from inside the bedroom. I got up to go see what was going on and as I entered her room, there she was, all 100 pounds of her, punching her pillow and throwing it around on the bed. It was Grandma vs her pillow and the pillow was clearly losing. I started giggling and said “Grandma!! What are you doing?!” She proceeded to tell me how much she disliked her pillow and had terrible sleeps. It was too big, too fluffy and she needed to flatten it out a bit. I had brought a memory foam pillow with me, so I offered it to her, she refused but I insisted. The next morning, I asked her how her sleep was, and she said it was the best sleep she had in a long time. The pillow ended up staying with Grandma, made the move to LTC and was with her for her very last sleep.
I Corinthians 13:13
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Grandma wrote ‘my love goes to all my family’.
And all our love goes to you, Grandma. Thank you for being a huge part of each of our lives. You will always be remembered for your kindness, strength, independence, and your smile with lipstick of course.