Matilda Cecilia Jansen (née Weisgerber)
February 11, 1928 – January 15, 2024
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that the family of Matilda Jansen announces her passing on January 15, 2024. She was 95 years of age. Matilda’s entry to the WDM 100 Years of Saskatchewan History Exhibit in 2005: I was born on Section 14 Township 2 Range 13 West of 2nd [close to Bromhead, Saskatchewan]. I was the seventh child and sixth daughter of John and Mary (Morosova) Weisgerber.... During the thirties we had no crops for seven years. Each spring my dad would seed the fields but never harvest anything in the fall. During those years grasshoppers would move in and eat everything. During the summer we children would have to keep the wash moving on the clothesline so that the grasshoppers wouldn’t eat holes in them. Then would come the army worms. The worms would never go around anything, they would just climb up and over any obstacles in the way including our house. We were fortunate during those years to get relief food by rail cars from the East. After so many years of no crop my dad and mom decided to move away. The government supplied rail cars to move anyone to other places where it was better. My dad and my two sisters went north to help with the harvest. While he was there Dad found land to rent so he sent for us. He ordered rail cars to come and move us at the end of the school year. After a delay the cars finally came July 13, 1937. We loaded all our belongings into the cars and moved north to the Englefeld area. After Mom’s family moved to Englefeld, Mom attended Greenside School. When she completed grade eight, she worked as a hired girl. Mom and Dad were married April 29, 1952 and lived on the homestead 5 miles east of LeRoy. Their first child, Delwyn arrived in February 1953 and another child was added (Bernadette, Timothy, Geralyn and Benedict) each year for the next four years. Life on the farm was busy for Dad and Mom as they raised five children and maintained a mixed farm. In the late 1970’s they bought a house in Humboldt and over a period of years they transitioned to live there full time. Dad passed away in 2016 and Mom stayed in her residence until December of 2019 at which time she entered Quill Plains Lodge in Watson for a month stay before moving into St. Mary Villa until her passing. Mom will be remembered for many things. She was industrious, frugal, a loyal friend, and had strong opinions that were not weakly held. Mom enjoyed being involved in the community and her Church. She not only had five children to raise, but also was involved in the LeRoy 4-H Club, LeRoy Legion events, Catechism coordination and Holy Rosary Parish Ladies Aid. Later, when in Humboldt, she was active in St Augustine funeral choir, funeral lunch coordination, and prayer group. Mom was a great cook and baker. We fondly remember coming home from school to find her weekly 10 loaves of bread cooling on the kitchen table. Other honourable culinary mentions would be her meatballs, sour cream noodles, Neapolitan Christmas cookies, and the airy chiffon cakes made for every family member’s birthday. She also had a gift for crocheting and knitting. Prayer takes many forms and Mom’s prayers for us were woven into the creations she made for her children and grandchildren. Her winter mitts were very popular and became an annual request from the grandkids. Mom was also the family historian and a dedicated researcher. She spent an inordinate amount of time collecting genealogy, cataloguing graves for the cemetery project, and preparing veteran cemetery maps for Legion flag day. And then there was Mom’s love of singing which drew her into many singing groups, most recently the Silver Belles (not “Bells” because, in Mom’s words, they were “no ding-a-lings). She found great pleasure and many good friends sharing her musical talent with others. Mom leaves the following with many memories: Delwyn; Berni; Tim (Lynn McGillivray), Andrew (Melissa Wolf), Vincent and Amaya; Bonnie (Christian Haus), Arie and Summer; William Dean (Heather Stevenson), Eleanor; Camille (Emmett Fortosky); Geri (David) Hall, Donna (Aaron Rogers), Aidan and Natalie; Jon (Alina Janzen), David and Olive; Dan (Madelene Karlsson), Leon and Zac; Ben (Lorraine Mann), Benjamin (Kristen Dietrich), Veronika, Gretta and Alice; Myron; Erik (Kylie Honoroski), Henrick; Breanna; and one sister-in-law Rose Weisgerber; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She is now reunited with her husband Barney, parents John and Mary Weisgerber, all her siblings, and many of her singing friends. If there is a singing group in heaven, Mom has already joined. Special acknowledgement goes out to Berni who visited Mom almost every day over the past eight years. A Private Funeral Service was held. St. Mary’s Villa Foundation(PO Box 1743, Humboldt, SK, S0K 2A0, 1-306-231-8765, smvf@sasktel.net,Web: http://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/st-marys-villa-foundation-inc/ ) or Royal Candain Legion Humboldt Branch #28 (P.O. Box 1981, Humboldt, SK, S0K 2A0).
This Notice Is Courtesy Of
Schuler-Lefebvre Funeral & Cremation Services - Humboldt, Saskatchewan
(306-682-4114)