Obituary of Marian Evans

Marian Joan Evans passed away on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at the age of 69 years surrounded by her family at her home in Lloydminster, Alberta. Marian will be sadly missed by her husband Earl; children, Rick and Julie Evans, Murray and Ramona Evans, Mark and Teresa Evans and Leanne and Sanj Bhardwaj; eight grandchildren Caroline, Andrew, Colby, Laurelle, Nate, Lily, Maya and Kai. Marian was survived by her brother Jack Teskey of Islay, Alberta and predeceased by her parents William "B" Teskey and Lillian Teskey. The funeral service was conducted from Southridge Community Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Friday, July 27, 2012 at 1 p.m. with Reverend Bob Aldrich Officiating. A solo, "You Raise Me Up" was sung by Karen Fawcett. The hymns sung were "Because He Lives" and "It Is Well With My Soul". The pianist was Michelle Andres. The Honourary Pallbearers were: Bob and Gail Hiltz, Vern and Doris Crowthers, Elgin and Elsie Pawlak, Hugh and Deena Forrester and Ed and June Jakubec. The Active Pallbearers were: Rick Evans, Murray Evans, Mark Evans, Sanj Bhardwaj, Andrew Evans and Colby Brosseau. The Eulogy was given by Leanne and Sanj Bhardwaj Eulogy When mom asked me to do her eulogy, I asked her to tell me her about her life before I was born so I could include it. Mom replied, "I don't live in the past, so say what you know about me and that'll be good enough." So this is what I know to be true about my mom. Mom was a loving daughter, this I know because I witnessed how caring and kind she was to my Grandma Teskey. She was a sister to my Uncle Jack. He was her only sibling. Even though they both could go for months doing their own thing, when they got together it was like no time had passed between them. She cared very much for her younger brother and I know it broke her heart that she was too ill to be there for him, Angie and Judy to support them these last weeks. Mom's cousins were more like siblings to her. She enjoyed visiting with them at the Shaw family reunions and looked forward to weddings and anniversaries as a chance to catch up. I know she was especially looking forward to spending more time with Sandra since moving to Lloydminster. She was a sister-in-law and an aunt to many nieces and nephews on my Dad's side of the family. She shared the same yard and raised us kids together with my Uncle Kirk and Auntie Betty's family for many years and she managed to do it with a lot of respect, patience, love and friendship. She also knew how important my Dad's family is to him. I know she appreciated the support they have given him through her illness and over the past few difficult days. Since getting sick my mom has mentioned to me many times how lucky she was to have such good friends. Her honorary pallbearers and all her friends here today meant the world to mom. She was a loyal and trustworthy friend always interested in what was important to them and cherished the visits, card games and shared meals together. Reading, baking, knitting, clothes shopping, and planting her garden and flower pots were things she truly enjoyed. My mom had a great sense of humour and always loved a good laugh. She had the ability to laugh with people not at them and often would throw out witty one-liners here and there. Watching the news at least twice a day and discussing the news were also important to mom. Church and her faith in God were a huge part of my mom's life. She never used her faith to judge others and was accepting and open to other people's religions. In my mind that made her a true Christian. Mom really did enjoy the simple things in life. Her bucket list didn't contain trips to Hawaii or crazy adventures. The type of things on her bucket list were getting one last chance to enjoy a homemade peach pie, being able to finish the afghan she started, writing out her favourite recipes in her own handwriting to pass down to her grandkids and to just have a little bit more time with my dad to enjoy their beautiful new home. Mom often put others first which definitely made her a bit of a worrier. I like to think that she was more of a worrier warrior. My mom had an inner strength, quiet resolve, and a fierce dedication to the ones she loved. Underneath all the worrying was a very strong woman. If my mom felt something wasn't right or she believed something needed to be done a certain way, she had this quiet way of correcting it or making it so. Mom raised my three brothers and I with a high expectation that we were to be moral, respectful, loving people and she had a way of commanding that from us - not through anger or punishment but, by quiet resolve in her beliefs, a lot of dedication to things that were important her and to us, and by example of how she treated others. She often would marvel, maybe boast a little, about how amazing she thought us kids were. Every family gathering of ours was filled with a lot of laughter, eating, good conversation, card playing and love. It was no accident that that's how our family turned out. Us kids owe our never-ending gratitude to her. As we all got older and got married she ended up loving our spouses as if they were her own. She was not a mother-in-law to Julie, Ramona, Teresa and Sanj - she was their mom. One of her biggest legacies is that she died knowing she raised us well enough that we would all be okay without her but that we would all miss her presence in our lives terribly. Mom was a loving supportive wife to my dad for 48 years. They were a perfect pair. My mom loved to worry, my dad likes to fuss; my mom loved to cook and my dad enjoys a good meal; my mom was a good listener and my dad likes to talk things through; my mom was a bit of a homebody and my dad is a bit of a social butterfly. When playing cards, my mom never got good cards, my dad almost always did. However, they were alike in the ways that mattered. They both enjoyed time with their friends, were both involved in their community, they loved travelling together and were committed to family. Most importantly, I think my mom and dad truly enjoyed each other's company. My dad has told me often that in all their driving and trips together they never had the radio on, they would talk the entire time. Their 40th anniversary trip across Canada was one of the highlights of their marriage and my dad is so grateful they got the chance to do it. I know he will deeply miss her friendship, love and support every day. The thing I am most certain of about my mom is she was an amazing grandma! Andrew pretty much owned the sun and the moon in her eyes. He was her only grandchild for nine years and she quite simply, to this day, thought he could do no wrong. In 2000, her brood expanded suddenly. That year Murray started dating Ramona, and Colby and Laurelle became part of our family. With my mom's loving accepting nature, it took no time at all for mom to become Grandma Marian to them. Also that year Rick's daughter Caroline was born. Eight months later mom became grandma to another granddaughter, my daughter Maya. For years, Caroline and Maya together would terrorize Mom's Tupperware drawer, get into her knitting, wreak havoc while baking with her, and scatter her house from top to bottom with American girl dolls and Barbies. My mom loved every minute of it. Two years later, my son Kai was added to the mix. Kai had a special bond with Mom over their mutual love of baking, white bread, white rice, non-spicy food, and boy did Kai love his grandma Marian's homemade buns. Mark's kids Nate and Lily completed her family. Nate was very much a grandma's boy. When grandma and grandpa would come to visit them Nate would get excited and say, "Yay, Grandma Marian's here and that man that drives her around everywhere is with her." We are all sad that Lily may not remember her Grandma Marian but I feel confident that we all have so many wonderful memories of her like her playing games - which she never would win - of UNO, Trouble, and Apples to Apples; Christmas mornings; turkey suppers; homemade baking that seemed to be always available; piling all the grandkids on her lap from biggest to smallest to read them stories; signing contracts with the grandkids that she would sit at the kids table for ten years; when the grandkids would put on Christmas plays every Christmas Eve, she was their biggest fan; and she faithfully made it to curling, ball, football, soccer games, dance and music recitals. We will share those memories and celebrate her at every family gathering so much that Lily will absolutely grow up knowing that she had a wonderful grandma. My mom was many things to many people but I was her youngest child and her only daughter and because of that we had a special bond, she was my strength and at times I was hers. We knew how to give each other space but be there for each other when needed. Together we both could find the humour in things even during difficult times. I was so blessed to have a special woman like her as my mom for nearly 38 years. I will miss you Mom! Internment followed in the Kitscoty Cemetery. Donations to Kitscoty Community Church and National Pancreatic Cancer Canada Foundation (www.pancreaticcancercanada.ca) were accepted. Card of Thanks Earl Evans and family would like to thank all our friends and family for the cards, flowers, donations, food and support shown Marian during the past several months. Thank you to Dr. Chan and the Lloydminster Home Care staff for the excellent care provided Marian that allowed her to be at home during her final days surrounded by family and friends. Thank you to the congregation of the Kitscoty United Church for your kindness and for keeping Marian in your thoughts and prayers during the past 18 months. We are especially grateful to Reverend Bob Aldrich for conducting the service and for providing comfort, care and compassion to Marian and our family during her last days. We would like to express our appreciation to Karen Fawcett and Michelle Andres for sharing their gift of music during the service. Thank you to McCaw Funeral Service for the professional and compassionate service provided in administering the funeral arrangements. Donations can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Canada Foundation (www.pancreaticcancercanada.ca) or Kitscoty Community Church