Obituary of Autumn Hall

BIOGRAPHY HALL ~ Autumn Marguarite Hall passed away peacefully at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan at the age of 64 years. Autumn will be sadly missed by her four children: Tracy and Ron Anderson of Lloydminster, Lisa and Marc Lemoine of Westlock, Craig and Leesa Hall of Lashburn, Clint and Lindsay Hall of Grande Prairie; nine grandchildren: Kolten, Kelby, Tyra, Brandyn, Josh, Travis, Ryan, Kian and Emma; siblings: Gloria and Elmer Adrian, Pat Parkyn, Bob and Betty Richardson; mother-in-law Helen Wilson as well as numerous other relatives. Autumn was predeceased by her husband Melvin Hall in 2005. The memorial service was conducted from the Lashburn Community Hall, Lashburn, Saskatchewan on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 2:00 P.M. with Reverend Peter Yeung officiating. The eulogy was read by Don Wheeler. The hymns sung were "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" and "Blest Be The Tie That Binds" accompanied on the organ by Jo Klassen. The honorary pallbearers were the Community of Tyrone. The urnbearers were Clint Hall and Lisa Lemoine. Interment was held in the Lashburn Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY ~ by Don Wheeler In Memory of Autumn Marguarite Hall Born in Lashburn, Saskatchewan on Oct. 28, 1945 16 years younger than her eldest brother, Autumn grew up north of Lashburn with her brothers and sisters Wally, Ray, Gloria, Pat and Bob on the Richardson Farm. She attended Garvoch country school until it closed in 1951 with a school enrollment of 9. Then it was off to Lashburn School in an improvised pickup 'bus' consisting of a plywood shelter built in the truck box. It was here that Autumn met her high school sweetheart Melvin Hall and embarked on a life that we are celebrating today. Is it strange that Autumn makes me think of spring and summer? Autumn is like the best of every season wrapped into one. The brilliant colors, the new growth, the warmth, and the sparkling crystals. The sudden flash of lightening and the following rumble. She is the fragile new crocus and the firm drifted snow. Autumn is the reflection on calm water and the shimmering heat wave over the fertile field. Autumn is each of these and something different to every one of us. It is my honour and my humble task to share with you some thoughts and memories of my friend Autumn Hall. Mother of Tracy, Craig, Lisa, and Clinton. Mother in Law to Ron, Leesa, Marc, and Lindsay, Grandmother of 9, Auntie by blood to many and auntie by love to many more, friend and neighbor to us all. Autumn attended Reeves Business College after graduating from high school then worked for CKSA in Lloydminster and CFRN in Edmonton as well as for Husky Oil, the Tropical Inn, and the RM of Wilton. Autumn married Mel in 1966 then moved to the farm in Tyrone where they raised their family and assorted critters over the years. Here they built a home at Brightling Farm, literally and in all senses of the word home. Autumn loved the farm and the Battle River hills and shared this love with so many of us over the years. My wife Holly and I moved to Tyrone in 1982 and became fast friends with Autumn and Mel as well as the close knit Tyrone community. It was very easy to become friends with Autumn. The single most often used word to describe Autumn is FUN. All caps. F.U.N. Grandchildren recall Grandma as fun to be with, funny, always having fun, "My grandma was a really good person. She was fun, nice, and great with kids" "Grandma always had games to play and watched movies with us until 3am when we had sleepovers" "I liked grandma because she cared about me. She had lots of dogs to play with and she was nice and a really good cook" "When I was sick, Grandma would take care of me and we would bake cookies and buns. By the end of the day, I would always be feeling better." The older grandkids remember Grandma kicking some butt on the ping pong table just a few years ago and her ability to do tough math problems and remember what each of them liked or disliked. Just like Disneyland markets fun, Autumn was the purveyor of good times. She knew much hardship as well. Being a farm wife and mother was not easy and hard work and sacrifice was often the norm. Losing her best friend, her husband Mel the hardest of all. Autumn continued to create an atmosphere of good times and intentionally brought laughter to any gathering. She also brought baking. Grandma's famous buns were mentioned by many. Autumn said she wouldn't give any of her daughters in law the secret recipe so that her boys would always remember mom's buns as the best. She challenged Clinton to distinguish between her baking and store bought many times. Autumn's baking often never made it to the buffet table at public functions. The ladies in the kitchen knew quality when they saw it. Mom's famous buns were also the subject of other stories that Craig and Ron will have to share with you later. Autumn was a master at charades and had a few classics like 'first man on the sun' and the tube of toothepaste. She loved fun and games and brought the fun back into holidays for kids of all ages with big celebrations and traditions. The son in laws describe the excitement of having birthdays and holidays celebrated in a big way when they joined the family but the wives wonder if grown men really need their lunches made, blankets fluffed, and a good night kiss from mom every night. Autumn had her own set of rules. She could produce the perfect gift she just happened to pick up… or overrule grandchild feeding rules or sleeping rules or age appropriate behaviour rules. One neighbor talks about being with Autumn at a Kinsmen convention and laughing for five hours straight. Not a word of a lie. It was five hours. Another remembers a Kenny Rogers concert as the best girls' night out ever. Laughing so hard it hurt and almost being kicked out of a restaurant. "And we weren't even drinking!" Many of you would remember a Kinsmen campout where Autumn and Mel left for the evening and returned to find their camping trailer parked 100 yards out in the lake. After the initial shock they casually made their way out to the honeymoon suite complete with a clothesline strung with intimate wear. Autumn was very proud of her children. And their children. She lived all of their adventures with them. They were impressed with her sincere interest in the details of their lives and her ability to remember the various unfolding stories. Tracy remembers her mother's toughness. Her ability to put her pain aside and think of others. She treasures the bonus time after the initial battle with cancer and talks about all of the things the family was able to do together in the past few years. Lindsay feels so fortunate to have had the chance to know Autumn and to share the special times with her. Lisa and her mom shared a special, almost uncanny connection. Many stories were told of each one purchasing exactly the same top or purse with no communication or plan. This psychic connection even extended to physical conditions shared while miles apart. Autumn had one great fear. She assigned a specific job to Craig's Leesa to make sure it never happened. Leesa was instructed that if Autumn were ever too weak that Leesa would promise to pluck her eyebrows so they wouldn't grow bushy like her brother Bob's. Leesa complied. Autumn's creative side showed itself in her poetry and creative writing as well as her quick wit. Her innocent voice sometimes concealed a more devious or urgent situation. Neighbors on the CB radio circuit will remember the soft voice saying, "Chief, are you by? What does it mean when there is smoke coming out of the combine?" Autumn could react instantly to diffuse tricky situations. She told of the time when the Scottish rugby players stayed at their place. Autumn cooked a full breakfast of bacon and eggs and placed the full platter on the table. One of the visiting players pulled the platter in front of him and dug in, quite impressed with the generous portion. Unfazed, Autumn turned back to the stove and opened another carton of eggs… Autumn did have a line where fun and games weren't funny. She took a dim view of unsafe or dangerous behaviour or bad language. Her close friend tells of the time when they drove up behind Autumn while she was rototilling and honked the horn. Autumn jumped, left the tiller running on its own across the garden and went straight to the house. Not impressed. One son in law found her limit when he made an April Fools call saying his wife was in labour. Autumn was spun into a flurry as she answered the phone on her way out the door. Just in time. On his next visit he drove around the driveway holding a bouquet of flowers out the window until Autumn finally came to the door and waved him in. Hell hath no fury… Long time neighbors share stories of adventures at the dump, becoming uncontrollably giddy while planting seeds, laughing hysterically over a snowmobile trip or quadding experience. Curling bonspiels and card games and the famous pig roast. Moving outhouses, transporting miniature horses, river raft races and impromptu picnics are the stuff of great memories. Autumn loved the farm. She enjoyed many adventures and family vacations in the mountains, at the lake, and visiting relatives but was always happy to be home. Home. The place where you feel safe and cared for. Home is a feeling as much as a location. Her friends know this and appreciate Autumn's true and deep friendship. So many great times. Quality times. The kids recall mom weaning them from Halloween treating and introducing tricking to them at an early age. Brother Bob takes some credit for toughening up Autumn during her earlier trick or treat days. Something about a double barrel shot gun from the roof of their mother's house… The boys talk about mom's creativity with games like the birthday game of 'pass the bag'. Autumn filled a bag with various clothing items and the birthday guests would close their eyes, reach in and remove an item, then have to put it on. Imagine your teenage friends removing hats, scarves, bras… Autumn loved the shock factor and shared her 'body beautiful' philosophy with the unsuspecting on some occasions. The crash diets and surprise chocolate treats may seem contradictory but Autumn could be like that. She loved a good joke but had a hard-nosed side as well. Just ask the unfortunate sales clerks who tried to argue when Autumn wanted to return a faulty item. Stubborn may be an understatement. This same will allowed her to put her needs aside and focus on the loves of her life. She did not want to burden others. Even at her low points, Autumn wanted others to be happy. Autumn had a soft spot for the underdog and the less fortunate. One New Year's Eve Autumn and I made a stealth mission to Maidstone hospital where Glenn Harbin was incarcerated. We slipped in with a wee nightcap to bring in the New Year since he wasn't able to be at the party. Injured animals, pets and small children were a weakness for Autumn. She cared deeply for those in need. The kindness was returned since Mel's passing by neighbors down the road making sure Autumn was never alone. The love was returned by friends and family through all the ups and downs over the last years. Through the hours at her side, the trips to Vegas, and the many visits. Aunty Autumn affected so many. My sons looked forward to their Christmas present delivery run to Auntie Autumn. She always fussed over them and made them feel special. She had a way of doing that. Making you feel special. She wasn't naïve, she just chose to make her world a better one than the one on the news. She created a kinder, gentler world that we all wanted to be part of. Bob and Betty gave me an email that will go in the memory box. Here is a quote from it. "Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, She's the smell of certain foods you remember, Flowers you pick and perfume that she wore, She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, She's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day. She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, The colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning. Your mother lives inside your laughter. She's the place you came from, your first home, And she's the map you follow with every step you take. Good bye Autumn. You are in our hearts. CARD OF THANKS Autumn's family would like to thank everyone who sent flowers and food, extended kindness and support, thoughts and prayers, as well as the donations made in her memory. Special gratitude goes out to the Honorary Pallbearers - the past and present Community of Tyrone, for the tremendous support they have shown our parents over the last few years. We are truly grateful for your kindness. Thank you to the wonderful team of Palliative care nurses at the Lloydminster Hospital who gave our mother such excellent care. Clint, Lindsay Hall Craig, Leesa Hall Lisa, Marc Lemoine Tracy, Ron Anderson & families Donations in memory of Autumn may be made to the Lloydminster Hospital Palliative Care Division.