Mrs. Magdalena Friedt Gress

Lena attended a country school until grade nine, when she was old enough she spent most of her time helping her mother in her home.

In those days there was no running water, plumbing or electricity. Farming was done with horse and man power. When meals were made for the threshing crews you would always find Lena in the kitchen helping her mother making pies, baking bread and doing what ever else was necessary. Our mother was such a wonderful cook, maybe it was because it was always made with love. When Lena was twelve years old she was hired out to her neighbors to help cook, clean and look after their children. The lady of the house was so surprised that our mother knew how to bake bread. She made the best bread ever.

Lena met Joe and they dated. Lena was a shy quiet girl and she won Joe's heart very quickly. They were married October 11, 1938 at Maryland country church at Steelman, Sask. They farmed and lived in various places, Torquay, Melita, Alameda and then finally settled in the Frobisher district, two miles west and three miles north of Frobisher. They had eleven children. Their oldest children, Leonard, Dorothy, and Gloria were born in Melita, Man. and the eight other children Gary, Lawrence, Carol, Barbara, Donald, twin girls Joann and Jolene and Dianna were born in the Frobisher district. What a lovely large family.

Lena and Joe worked very hard to provide for their children. This wasn't easy in those days, but we children always remember having plenty to eat and warm clothes to wear on those cold winter days. Lena and Joe farmed a variety of grains; raised cattle, chickens, pigs, etc. and always had a large garden which Lena put up for the winter.

What can we say about our mother, she was the most kind, caring, loving person anyone could have for a mother. She had a lot of good friends and family whom she always welcomed into her home. Especially Rose and John Gress, she often said Rose was like a sister to her. She always had a big meal ready just like that. If twenty extra guests showed up unannounced she would go down to the storage cupboard and do up a meal fit for a King.

Mom liked to sew, bake and work in her garden. She also enjoyed playing cards with family and friends. Her children kept her very busy and would sometimes get into mischief. It's amazing that her hair didn't turn gray until her later years.

We recall an instant when on the usual Saturday bath day she had bathed all the children and sent them out to play for awhile before supper time. Later wondering what they were doing she went to investigate and found some of them playing in the oilfield pipeline trenches near the farm yard. She at the time was babysitting Rose and John Gress's twin boys, Gary and Garth; they came out of the trenches black from head to toe. Mom said she could have cried as she had to repeat the bath session all over again.

Another incident of many, on a hot summer day in July some of the children, not to mention any names decide to cook some fresh eggs on an old discarded cook stove behind the barn next to the haystacks. Mom came out to check on the children and discovering they had a blaze going on in the old stove and the eggs were just a cooking. It's a miracle we didn't burn the whole country side and us with it. Let's face it with a family of eleven model children there never was a dull moment.

Lena and Joe retired in 1978 to a home in Estevan. Lena spent her time in the garden and looking after her new flower beds especially her roses.

The grandchildren always loved to go to Grandma's house and Grandma always loved to have them.

We loved our mother and will miss her dearly. Like Uncle Leo said after God made our mother the mold was broken.

We will miss you dearly Mom. Say Hi to Dad and we will see you one day in Heaven.