Gladys Grace Bigg

Eulogy

Gladys Grace (Jenner) Bigg

~HOME~

Where I have gone I am not so small.

My soul is as wide as the world is tall.

I have gone to answer the call, the call

Of the One who takes care of us all.

Wherever you look, you will find me there-

In the heart of a rose, in the heart of a prayer.

On butterflies' wings, on wings of my own,

To you, I'm gone, But I'm never alone-

I am home.

Good Afternoon, My name is Kim Sabourin and I am the oldest granddaughter of Gladys Grace Bigg. It is my honor and privilege to pay tribute to our dear Grandma Bigg on behalf of her daughters – Phyllis Borle, Pam Sutherland and Heather Cramatte, family and friends.

Gladys - Mother, Auntie, Grandma, Great Grandma, Friend and Neighbor

Gladys Grace (Jenner) Bigg was born in Huxley, AB July 7, 1916. As a child she lived in BC & Florida and spent most of her younger years with her family in Willows, Saskatchewan, on the family homestead. Her early years were spent in a very loving, close-knit, happy family. In 1927, at the age of 11, she suffered a bone infection in her left thigh which almost took her life. The doctor in Moose Jaw wanted to amputate her leg and her father took her to Regina for a second opinion - an amazing feat for those days when doctors were next to God, and it was unusual to question their wisdom!! This was also prior to the discovery of antibiotics! She suffered with recurring bouts of Osteomyelitis throughout her lifetime. Despite this she never let her sore leg stop her from doing amazing things!

Gladys originally wanted to become a teacher but the ``Great Depression`` robbed her of that opportunity. With 9 children in the family she had to quit school. While she never fulfilled her goal of being a teacher, she taught all of us many things throughout her 101 years. Grandma went to Marvel beauty school and this showed as her hair was always properly coiffed in a French roll. She was rarely without lipstick, a powdered nose and light pink or coral nail polish.

Gladys met Jack on a blind date in 1935 - She described him coming up the stairs: “I saw his beautiful wavy hair first and was in love before he even crested the landing.”

After a lovely courtship, Gladys traveled by train to Saskatoon where Jack got down on bended knee and proposed to her with his RCMP Stetson full of wild roses. How could she resist! Jack always gave her 7 roses for any occasion – They met on November 7th, Gladys was born on July 7th (7th day of 7th month) Pam weighed 7 lb 7 oz and so on! Grandma always loved roses – tea roses, coral roses, pink roses, wild roses – this must have been the reason why!

They married in March of 1937 and in March, 1938 were blessed with the birth of their daughter, Phyllis. The war came between them for 5 ½ years – Gladys stayed in Winnipeg while Jack fought overseas until 1945. In 1946 Pamela was born in Winnipeg. The family moved to Ottawa where Heather was welcomed in 1948. In 1953 Jack was transferred to Westlock, AB where he became RCMP Sergeant. In 1958 Jack retired from the RCMP and was elected Member of Parliament for Athabasca constituency where he remained a Member until 1973. Gladys was Jack’s gracious and loving helpmate throughout their 37 years together - running election campaigns, acting as his local secretary and lovingly supporting him; especially raising their daughters. While on holiday in California, Jack passed away suddenly in 1975.

Throughout her 52 years in Westlock, Gladys was extremely active in the United Church, most notably serving as UCW President for many years. Grandma also felt it was important to contribute and support her town - She was elected Westlock Town Councillor for several terms & acted as Deputy Mayor on occasion. She was instrumental in starting the Westlock Museum & Westlock Daycare. She worked tirelessly, even climbing ladders at the age of 89 to paint the walls. She was Chair of Westlock Nursing home & served on the Hospital Board. Gladys was appointed to Governing Council of Athabasca University, where she served several years. Gladys served in both Provincial and Federal Conservative Associations, working in many capacities for several elections. She was honored with a Lifetime Membership in the Provincial Conservative Association. She started the Westlock Duplicate Bridge club where she played for 50 years.

Gladys loved her town of Westlock – from the fair days and parade (which she grand marshalled) to having everyone over for coffee, tea and cookies.

Gladys moved to Ironwood Estates in St. Albert in 2004 and was an active card and bridge player. She maintained her excellent flair in the kitchen by winning the Ironwood`s Chili cook off in 2011, beating out several restaurants in St. Albert! After 11 active years at Ironwood Estates Gladys moved to the Citadel Care Centre where she suffered a fall and broke her hip.

How can one possibly summarize 101 years of such a fine lady? Many of you here today have provided me with some of these thoughts and memories.

Some Quotes from G’ma:

“Always smile – or your face will freeze in that expression – a frown will cause wrinkles”

“Put on some lipstick – it will make you feel better!”

“If you’re going to do a job do it to the best of your ability or don’t do it at all!”

If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all!

When you told Grandma that you loved her, she would reply “I LOVE YOU MORE!”

Manners were not only important but ESSENTIAL – she used Amy Vanderbilt`s Complete Book of Etiquette to TRY to teach us to be ladies, asking, “Would you do that at the table if the queen were here?”

She could serve an elegant cocktail party for 100 people – making hors d'oeuvres and a 7 course meal, and served it looking elegant and never flustered

Picnics included tablecloths, roast chicken, potato salad, and homemade cookies

Her home was always beautifully decorated – she loved floral arrangements

She was very nurturing both to her family and plants! With her Green thumb she could make ANYTHING grow – often rescuing plants that Pam had given up on

Grandma was a lifelong learner – was always up on current affairs and politics

Grandma was independent

- She drove well into her late 80’s although many of us would agree she wasn’t the best driver – in fact a bit of a speedster, but she was never in an accident!

- She picked apples from her trees well into her 80’s – insisting to climb the ladder to get the best apples from the top of the tree. She was a top notch cook – and many of us use her recipes to this day.

- At her 99th birthday, at the farm, Mom said to Phyl, “I need to get up!” We were all surprised when she said she wanted to make a speech! She made a lovely speech thanking everyone for coming and for their birthday wishes.

Grandma had a fabulous spontaneous sense of humor! Playing hand & foot canasta – Pam said to mom, “pick up your foot and Gladys slipped her shoe off and raised her foot. At her 90th birthday, she and her sisters were posing for pictures. Pam asked them to show their best side and all 3 sisters turned around together to show their backsides!! – no rehearsal! And just a few weeks ago, at her 101st birthday Grandma commented to Joanne that it looked like her hair was getting a bit grey when they took a selfie!

Grandma loved to travel:

She accompanied Jack as NATO delegate in The Hague, Netherlands in the mid 60’s – she toured England, Rome and many places in the United States

Took her 3 daughters on a “trip of a lifetime” to England, Scotland and Europe to celebrate her 70th and Pam’s 40th birthdays

Family travel to Saskatchewan, BC and Alberta - She Adored her family and extended family – enjoyed MANY family reunions on the Jenner and Bigg side where everyone enjoyed laughter, cards & games, joke telling, singing and especially the food!

Grandma liked…

• dark rum and coke with a slice of lime

• fine cheeses and Smoked oysters when Donna came to visit

• Loved Root beer pop and her favorite meal to order in a restaurant was liver and onions

• She had a sweet tooth but did not over-indulge – almond Roca, licorice allsorts, chicken bones, horehound, humbugs, licorice pipes) and ribbon candy at Christmas. She always had peppermints in her car and After Eight Mint patties on her coffee table!

• She Loved a warm bath – usually with bubbles or rose milk

• She looked beautiful in whatever she wore, but her favorite colors were turquoise blue and coral

• Loved to fuss over men from Jack, to her sons-in-law, to her grandsons and great grandsons

• Loved dolls and babies – many of us have gifts of collectable china dolls and recently she enjoyed the company of her latest Great, Great grandson Jackson Borle at her birthday party.

• Loved music – played the piano and her eyes would light up and toes would tap when Great grandchildren Matt, Aaron and Teresa would put on piano concerts for her

• Loved her homeland and Canada in general from tiger lilies, and the coulees around Willows, Saskatchewan to the majestic beauty of the Rocky Mountains

• Playing cribbage – she taught many of us how to play

• Loved to visit & play cards - COMPETITIVE canasta games that until the last couple of months had evolved into what Jim & Pam called senior canasta - “It’s only a game!” became the refrain when Ken & Pam won

• She loved to give and receive Butterfly and Eskimo kisses

• She was always Optimistic - Had Faith that tomorrow would be better

• She loved her family and was a great friend to many!

• She loved the beauty of butterflies, owls, and hummingbirds – recently Mike came across a flock of butterflies and it reminded him of Grandma. She had several broaches and decorations depicting them.

• She thought it was important to keep her mind active and was adamant in her attempt to prevent Alzheimer’s – from her vitamin regimen to doing crossword puzzles, playing scrabble, playing any card game and when she didn’t have anyone to play with her she would play solitaire.

What did Grandma mean to others?

Several of the family have shared what Grandma/Gladys meant to them – kind, gentle, thoughtful, elegant, and poised - a lady thru and thru. Many people likened her to the QUEEN. She had clear blue eyes that melted your heart but twinkled with mischief too! Her middle name is Grace and she was graceful and gracious. She always looked like she stepped out of a magazine – beautiful clothes (many she made herself); high heels which she wore into her 90’s (she never wore sensible shoes); matching purses, jewellery, gloves and hats for the occasions. If you take a deep breath, I’m sure we can still smell the soft scent of her Emeraude perfume.

She was elegant, well read, soft spoken, a stickler for etiquette, artistic, and kind! She never raised her voice, or said a bad word against anyone and never swore. She was a gourmet cook and loved to fuss over her friends and family! She entertained Premiers, Prime Ministers, MLAs and MPs – she even had tea with the Queen! She painted beautiful images of roses and butterflies on porcelain – many of us have these treasures in our homes and some are on display today at her memory table.

We all have our childhood memories of visiting in Westlock – going to the fair, berry picking in the sand hills near Clyde, playing croquet in the back yard, eating amazing holiday meals, and going on picnics. We drank Tahiti treat in fancy glasses. We had plastic fancy shaped ice cubes for our drinks. We played dress up in her Klondike outfits. We all loved to go to Grandma’s for a visit and sleepovers. Once after a visit, Joanne decided she wanted a sleepover at Grandma’s. After mom was sure she had all 5 of us in the car, Joanne snuck out and slipped back into the Gma’s house. Mom didn’t notice till we arrived back at the farm. Despite Gma’s pleas, Joanne was picked up later that evening and didn’t get to spend the night.

I lived with Grandma during my teenage years while I worked my summer job in Westlock and for a couple of years before I married my husband Norm. During those years grandma and I were “roommates”, but this roommate was like none other. We played cards and scrabble, enjoyed watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune and even enjoyed Eskies football. We both loved to read and often shared books. She taught many of us how to play solitaire the old fashioned way - with a deck of cards! Grandma knew I did not like eggs or peas and never cooked them. Instead she made me Sunny Boy and I tried other exotic fruits such as papaya and cantaloupe. The table was always set in proper order. She taught several of us how to knit afghan’s (I still have the patterns and needles she gave me).

Helen Keller once said: “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.

Everyone here has been touched by Gladys in one way or another and she is truly a part of us - A kind word, a gentle touch, a mischievous smile, a piece of art, an appreciation of birds, nature, politics, flowers (especially roses), great food/recipes, gardening, knitting, crocheting, needlework, competitive card and board games.

Gladys - Mother, Auntie, Grandma, Great Great Grandma, Friend and Neighbor …

Has left a legacy of memories entwined in us all. She will be dearly missed and in our memories for many years to come.

IN CLOSING….

One of Grandma’s favorite pastimes was reading. She read to her daughters, her grandchildren and great grandchildren. A family favorite is Winnie the Pooh and I thought it was fitting to close today’s memories with the following quote…

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together - there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. I'll always be with you."

God Bless you Grandma for the legacy and memories you have given us!

Xxoo