Katherine Nellie Lange

Kae was born in Souris, Manitoba, in 1933, of Ukranian parents and lived on the family farm with her mother, father and brother, Denis. She had polio when she was five and always considered herself lucky to have survived the epidemic without serious physical disabilities. A story she shared with her family was when she came home from the hospital after being treated for polio and was unable to walk. She was listening to the Lone Ranger on the radio and called for her mother to turn it up so she could hear it better. When Kae’s mother didn't come to help her she walked very slowly on her own to the radio and turned it up herself. That was the beginning of her recovery.

Kae’s family moved to Dawson Creek, BC, when she was 15, where she eventually met Joseph Lange, or “Joey” as she fondly called him, the true and everlasting love of her life. They were married there in 1950 and three years later welcomed their first child, Jocelyn, and then their son, Vernon, in 1955. While the kids were little and before they went to school the family went wherever Joe worked in the road building industry, so lived in many different places in Ontario and BC before finally settling in Kelowna in 1960. Kae loved meeting new people and she and Joe met life-long friends during this “travelling” period of their lives. As we grew up many of our favourite stories were about all the different places we lived.

Both Kae and Joe had come from the Prairies, so when they first drove through Kelowna they saw it as an absolute paradise with blossoming fruit trees and beautiful gardens and knew it was the place for them. They moved here permanently in 1960.

Kae was a homemaker and took the job of wife and mother seriously. She was devoted to her husband, children, grandchildren and to her beloved dogs. And yet for all that she was very much her own person and loved a good discussion about politics and kept up to date on news concerning the world around her.

To say that Kae excelled at everything she did is an understatement. She was an amazing gardener, seamstress, cook and baker and was a beloved source of information for her kids. She was also a best friend to many and was generous with her love and kindness.

One of Kae’s favourite things was entertaining. Drop-ins were welcome and our house was open to company day and night.

There is a favourite picture of a New Year’s party held in the early 50’s in a wall tent Joe and Kae and the kids were spending the winter in at a job site. The place was decorated with streamers and balloons and the ladies were all dressed up in their taffeta dresses having a great time - a party was wherever Kae was.

Kae was also famous for her “Christmas in July” party every summer. Friends and family would come for a wonderful yearly get together and BBQ and Mom’s famous potato salad.

One of the way’s Kae expressed her love was by cooking and feeding her family their favourite dishes. One of many memories the grandchildren have of Grandma is how after a big turkey dinner she would bring out huge servings of strawberry and/or raspberry shortcake. No one could say no to that, despite how full they were!

Kae is survived by her loving husband of 75 years, Joe Lange, son Vernon (Calli) and daughter Jocelyn (Dave), grandchildren, Calvin, Justin and Tiegan and her nephew Thom. She was predeceased by her parents and her brother, Denis.

We would like to express our gratitude to the staff of David Lloyd Jones who cared for Mom with love and compassion and helped us through this difficult time.

Words cannot express the sadness and loss we feel with Kae’s passing but we know that a love as strong as she had for her family will remain with us until we all meet again.

At Kae’s request there will be no service. A get-together of family and friends will be held at a future date.