Anne Wiest

Anne Wiest (Holtz) of Edmonton Alberta, passed away peacefully surrounded by family, at the Grey Nuns Hospital May 13/24 at 96 years of age. She grew up on a farm near New Sarepta and was one of 13 children of Paulina and Henry Holtz. She was predeceased by her parents, husband John Wiest and all of her siblings. She leaves behind her son Brian and his wife Abigail.

Anne enjoyed reminiscing about working in the cafeteria of the University Hospital in her early twenties and all of her friends, going to dances every weekend and once bicycling all the way from Edmonton to St Albert. She would take a streetcar to work with no heating except for the operator. Today its known as the LRT. That’s why the first time she seen an LRT car, she asked if they have heating now.

Then she worked at Northwest Industries as an aircraft riveter, patching bullet holes in aircraft returning to civilian duty after the end of WWII. Anne was ahead of her time doing a job that was traditionally male dominated that required mechanical aptitude and the use of her own hand tools. Northwest Industries was later known as hangar 11 in Blatchford and recently burned down.

Eventually she met the love of her life, John, on a blind date through mutual friends. They had a son together, Brian. At that time Anne decided to be a stay at home Mom to Brian and really enjoyed creating delicious meals and running the household, which included three dogs over the years. Anne, like all the women in her family was an excellent cook. She would start preparing for Christmas dinner at 5AM until friends and family would arrive later in the evening. Then after the last person left, cleanup would last into the early hours. For a tough sharp witted farm girl, this was merely routine. Eventually Anne slowed down but still enjoyed having friends over to visit on weekends.

When Brian was about 2 years old, Anne and John bought a new house on the south side of Edmonton. Living in Kingsway Trailer Park in a small trailer adjacent to the then Edmonton Municipal Airport, was not very pleasant. Many aircraft engines were still piston driven with propellers at that time. Dishes would literally vibrate right off the kitchen table. Kingsway Trailer Park today is known as Kingsway Garden Mall.

Anne had dementia in her later years and forgot some things in life but never forgot who Brian and his wife Abigail were. She also had a strong affection for their cat, Lady. She would often ask how Lady was doing and if she is still looking for me. The other thing she never lost was her sense of humor. This was obvious in a restaurant when a waiter asked how her lasagna and meatballs were. She replied, did someone forget to add meatballs? There were only two. Another example was when she asked Brian how old she was. The reply with disbelief was no, I cannot be 96. Oh well, at least I am not 120.

Special thanks to unit 53 at the Grey Nuns hospital for their excellent loving care of Anne in her final days. Also special thanks to all the staff of Lifestyle Options on Whitemud (assisted living) for taking loving care of Anne in her final years.

Please remember Anne in your own way as there will be no service.

This is a picture of Anne at around age 22