Anna Rigmor Amtoft Mark

Anna Mark was born in Ravnkilde Denmark on November 14, 1915. Her parents Jens & Anne Amtoft were farmers in the northern district of Jutland. Anna was the seventh child of 9 siblings. When she was approximately four years old she was struck with the Spanish flu and almost died. During her mothers pregnancy with her last child she had a stroke and though the baby was fine her mother was confined to a wheel chair until she passed away years later. This no doubt helped sharpen Anna’s homemaking & homesteading skills that became such an important part of her life years later.

Nels Mark was one of 13 children born in Sonderp Denmark. He was proud of the fact that he was the ninth child born on the ninth day of the ninth month of 1909. Nels left his parents, Ander and Hansine farm at approximately 16 years old. For the next few years he would labour for other farmers in the area. Nels’ brother Albert was the first to blaze a trail to Canada. He arrived in or around 1925. The following year another of Nels’ brothers Peter came over to join Albert. Nels also caught the Canadian bug and arrived in Canada in 1927. Albert & Nels worked in the bush and sawmills in the Longworth area around Prince George while Peter found work with the railway. After some time, Nels and Albert became homesick and returned back to Denmark. In or around 1933 Nels caught sight of Anna riding by on a bicycle and said excitedly, “I’m going to get that girl”. They were married in 1934. Although Nels didn’t have a lot of education and wasn’t a business man he had a very good business sense. He was a skilled negotiator, a people person and liked to make a deal, especially a good one! Anna & Nels would buy and sell horses and cattle and grew produce and potatoes. Anything to make a buck. They moved around a lot buying, fixing up and selling property. During this period their first six children were born; Margit, Viggo, Svend, Vagn, Peter and Lena. In the early 1940’s they purchased a windmill farm in Stovring. The mill itself was in despair as it’s wings were snapped off in a fierce storm. Undauntedly, Nels heard of another windmill that was being dismantled in the southern part of Denmark. Accompanied by his brother William they set out to retrieve the used blades. A long wagon had to be constructed to transport the blades as they were 75 feet long. After it was up and running Anna & Nels used it to grind grain for the local farmers. Sadly after they sold the property, the mill was torn down to make way for redevelopment.

In 1945 after the war ended the economy in Denmark was in shambles and the taxes were high. This is when Anna & Nels made their big decision to immigrate to Canada. They departed June 5th, 1949. After landing in Halifax they took the train to Prince Rupert, B.C. with six children in tow. The kids ranged in ages 3 to 14 so this must’ve been quite the adventure. Nels’ brother William also came to Canada around the same time. Nels’ brother Peter and his wife Hilda helped Anna & Nels adjust to their new surroundings. They soon bought a house on 8th Avenue East and Anna found worked at the hospital while Nels worked at the local pulp mill that was just being built. It didn’t take long for Nels to get the itch to go back farming so in 1951 they found property on Airport road and relocated to Terrace, B.C. Their daughter Margit stayed in Prince Rupert where she found work in the fish plants and found her husband Ray. The sons found jobs in the Terrace area and during their spare time Nels would keep them busy hand clearing, fencing and with many other farm chores. Even Duke the horse was often employed hauling cords of wood to town to be sold.

Eventually all Anna & Nels’ sons became involved in the commercial fishing industry. Anna & Nels received their Canadian Citizenship on October 17, 1955 and their seventh and final child Alan was born in 1956.

In 1958 Anna and Nels when back to Denmark to show off their new kid. It was their last visit with their parents prior to their parents passing away.

Nels and William built two houses on the Terrace property south of the original homestead. Finally Anna had a house that was comfortable with a huge hand crafted fireplace with large slab of rocks over the hearth. Nels had a meat shop on the property and hundreds of chickens. Anna had access to a shotgun and kept a close eye on any hawks that came around. Regardless of size or shape of any raptor they were always a “chicken hawk” to her. One day she received a black eye by mistakenly firing both barrels instead of one.

Around 1963 they sold their property on Queensway and built again on acreage on the highway near Kitimat, B.C. They had a sheep operation of around 80 head or so, a hog or two for domestic use and of course more chickens. There was lots of snow in Terrace in those days so Nels had a bulldozer which he used to push snow into mountainous piles. Anna and Nels had some great Christmas parties at this location as all their children lived fairly close and had now started families of their own. On the Christmas holidays the gang would show up with loads of shrimp to cook and peal, smoked salmon and herring. Anna would have a roast goose or turkey for the main course and all the children would open gifts with great excitement and play endlessly on the snow banks. Nels would tell lots of stories and tip the odd shot of Akavit to keep the parties going. Anna loved to knit and would spend hours at it. She could turn out an adults sweater in 3 or 4 days. Prior to coming to Canada Nels had told her clothing and socks were very cheap here so she would never have to mend another shirt or knit another pair of socks again. Needless to say she never stopped knitting or mending till she was 90 years old.

Anna and Nels would get the travelling bug in the summer months and needing a little free time Alan would be placed with their daughter Margit and her husband Ray in Prince Rupert. Margit and Ray had two children of their own, Brian and Debby who were close to Alan’s age so they would all have a ball at 1451 Plaza Place.

In 1966 having spent a little time in the Okanogan, Anna & Nels decided to make a move to the valley. They received a good price for the farm which was later slated for a subdivision. Having bid The Pacific Northwest good-bye Anna, Nels and Alan settled in Vernon, B.C. Nels promptly bought 4 or 5 places in and around town. They lived at 3303 15th Street for approximately 18 months when Nels found a “good deal” in Enderby, B.C. They sold off their Vernon interests, each one valued around $6,000.00. The Spring bend place in Enderby had good water, lots of fields and bush, about 80 acres or so. This provided a feed lot for cattle so Nels would by 30 or 40 head at the auction sale in Armstrong. He would buy in the fall, feed over the winter and sell in the spring hoping to make a profit.

Anna and Nels had made some good friends and they had great neigbours, the Emenys, Andrings, Brodaways to name a few. They would all get together in the Spring bend hall for Christmas parties, card playing, dances and other social events. With the Suswap River close by it made a good place to cool off in the summer. Also with Mara Lake just down the road 10 klm or so the lake made a nice location for family picnics.

John Mays place came up for sale which was the adjoining property to Nels and Anna’s farm. On the property was a large framed house with a nice view of the valley. It also had a huge old style barn with post and beam construction, it still stands today. With another 30 acres or so it made quite a difference in the hay production, 800 – 1000 bales depending on the growing season. Later on they rented out the house.

In 1968 the department of highways cut the farm in half to accommodate a new cut off road to Salmon Arm. Nels went to work for Amell Anderson Construction building fences for the Highways Department. It was the only time Alan could ever remember his dad having a job. No sooner than all the fill for the new road was in place there was a landside on the Mark property. There was a mountain of mud 300 yards long and 150 yards wide. As Anna & Nels didn’t feel safe in their home they bought two other houses in Enderby to fix up while the dust settled.

Anna worked so hard in those days, if she didn’t have some sort of cooking utensil in her hand it was a hoe or shovel, knitting needles or a paint brush. Anna painted a lot and many rooms were painted light green which must’ve been her favourite color.

In December 1971 Anna’s & Nels son Peter went out to fish shrimp in Chaham Sound, the boat was lost and only one body was recovered. Peter’s body was never found. It was a sad Christmas that year, friends rallied around the Mark family to help them with their loss. They carried on with the farm, but Alan thought his dad must’ve gotten tired of chasing cows as one day Nels went to Kelowna on business and on his way home he stopped by a local farm in Winfield to pickup some fruit, but instead of buying fruit he bought the farm. True to form Nels went back to Enderby and announced to Anna that they would be moving.

Five months later in January, 1973 Nels loaded up the hay wagon with all their possessions attached it to the tractor and made the journey from Enderby to Winfield taking him approximately six hours. Though Nels & Anna didn’t know a lot about growing fruit, their “retirement” farm consisted of 7 acres of fruit production. They had 3 acres of pears, 2 of apples, 1 of prunes, 1 of cherries plus a few peach & apricot trees for good measure. Nels method of harvest was simple, he would send Anna & Alan up the tree. When they couldn’t reach anymore Nels would come along with a long stick with a hook on the end, attached it to the tree and shake the remainder down. The fruit that hit the ground was generally bruised but to Nels it didn’t matter, it was still Alberta bound.

The Mark family had many customers in those days, unlike nowadays folks had more time to preserve fruit for the winter months. There was no fruit stand so the fruit would be piled in wooden boxes under the tree’s in the yard. Anna was the sales girl, keeping a guest book for the customers to sign. They had visitors from around the globe, who, if they requested were permitted to pick their own fruit and of course to take a few pictures. Many locals worked picking on the farm over the years, the Caspers, the Mckays and so many others.

Nels borther, Peter Mark passed away in Abbotsford in 1977. In the mid 1980’s Nels and Anna made yet another move off the farm property to a house directly across the highway. About this same time the highway was widened to 5 lanes which left the old property with a lot less parking area and most of the trees in front gone. The place had lost it’s charm.

Anna kept busy, yes, with cooking, knitting, painting and keeping a very nice garden. Again, she had a wonderful circle of friends and was able to do some travelling.

Nels’ brother William Mark passed away in Terrace in 1988. In December of that year Nels suffered from a stroke. He went to rehab and learned to walk again with assistance. The Mark family was stricken with more sorrow when their son Vagn’s boat was lost in 1989. All six crew members were lost at sea and no trace of the vessel was ever found. After two difficult years Nels passed away in February 1990.

Anna was a strong lady, very rarely showing emotion and knew the only option was to carry on. Anna started with reno’s to the house but with all the memories there the family urged her to move on. Alan knew of a nice rancher style home on the flats for sale that the listing had just ran out. As he thought his mom could get a “good deal” (takes a bit after his father), Alan and Anna approached the owner who was eager to sell and a deal was made on the spot.

Anna enjoyed her new place and, yes, kept busy with cooking, knitting, painting and entertaining. She immediately started working on her garden and was a frequent and busy member at the local seniors centre. Card games and the Tuesday senior’s lunches were seldom missed. Yard sales were also a favourite past time often heading out on Saturdays with a friend. Anna was an active member of the Lake Country garden club. Often others would donate to her plastic flower pots or she would buy them at sales and from her flower garden she would pot up dozens of plants once or twice a year to be sold at the Elks sale in Kelowna and later at the garden club’s annual sale. Anna was also involved with the Senior’s bus society who raised a lot of money other the years for transportation for those folks who could no longer drive.

The house on Reiswig Road was spiciest and housed many guests both family and friends. Anna’s was famous for her hotcakes and rye bread which she often served her guests. She loved to entertain and hosted many lunches, dinners and Christmas & New Years eve celebrations. Her beautifully decorated tables came complete with flowers from her garden. Anna was so energetic that even the younger ones in her family found her hard to keep up with.

Again, the Mark family was struck with sorrow after the sudden death of Anna’s daughter Lena who was the second youngest of the family.

At 91 years of age Anna felt it was time to give up driving. The “green” Jetta was kept in the family to run errands and to transport her to any appointments. Also at 91, as Anna felt she was “slowing down” she decided to sell her home on Reiswig and move to the newly constructed assisting living residence on Main Street.

Anna adjusted, like always, well to her new “condo” life. With assistance with her walker she would stroll outdoors, walking over to the shopping complex to shop and even to the L.C. Beer & wine store for the “odd” bottle of wine. The Blue Heron Villas was directly across the from the farm property so from Anna’s apartment she had a perfect view. Of course what she missed the most from Reiswig was her garden, so in spring planting Alan would pick her up in the Jetta and take her across the street to sit under a fruit tree and break a part plants. That’s where she loved to be.

On Febraury 24th, 2011 Anna passed away. Being, the strong willed lady she was, she was independent till the end. Anna always said, “I’ll live till I die”.

(OBITUARY)

Anna Mark passed away on February 24th, 2011 at the age of 95. Anna was predeceased by her loving husband Nels, her sons, Peter and Vagn, her daughter Lena and son-in-law Ray. Anna will be fondly remembered by her daughter Margit, her sons, Viggo (Mimi), Svend (Marg) and Alan (Allison), her many grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, her “favorite” niece Marna, her family back in Denmark and all her “special” friends. She will be with us always, in spirit and in heart. Anna lived life to its fullest and enjoyed many passions, among these were gardening and playing crib, and though she never had a 29 hand she made herself a 29 hand in the game of life. The Mark Family would like to express their sincere thanks to Dr. Cosmann, Dr. Snowsell, L.C. Lab Techs, L.C. Paragon Pharmacists and the Blue Heron Villa “Angels” both past and present for their compassion and care, your kindness will always be remembered. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, March 26th, 2011 at 1:00 P.M. at the Winfield Seniors Centre 9832 Bottom Wood Lake Rd. with celebrant Cathy Nesbitt. In lieu of flowers donations would be appreciated to B.C.’s Children’s Hospital Foundation, 4480 Oak Street, B321 Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.valleyviewfuneralhome.com Funeral arrangements entrusted to VALLEYVIEW FUNERAL HOME, Honoured Provider of Dignity Memorial. 250-765-3147.