OLGA JECKEL (HANET) peacefully entered the gates of heaven on Aug 17/22 continuing her joyous labor at tending her flower & veggie garden to use her crops to cook for anyone that came around and made sure no one went hungry. She was the first child to be born in Canada on January 11/1930 at home in Black Mountain area. She was born into the middle of her 7 siblings who have all predeceased her as well as her parents. She was also predeceased by an infant son, her daughter, Marlene & Olga's husband, Oscar. In mourning, she is survived by Ellen & Mike Wall, Elaine & Rick Buchi, Harvey Jeckel, grandchildren Charlene, Rhonda (Bill), Heather, Matt (Drennen), Deanna (Shaun), Sandor (Lindsey), Justin, Taylor, Brydon, Kristin (Cam) & Danielle (Brandon) as well as 18 great grandchildren & some great great grandchildren. What a legacy!
Olga was like the energizer bunny, doing whatever task at maximum speed; very strong work ethic which was get the job done & don’t quit until it's finished. She was up at the crack of dawn and went to bed late in her younger years before a stroke limited her mobility. Even then, she continued to read, learn something new every day and keep up on current events.
Olga was very talented and skilled at a lot of things. As a teenager, she learnt how to knit and during the war, knit socks for Canadian soldiers. She kept this going by knitting socks, mitts, Indian sweaters, Fishermen knit sweaters, regular knit sweaters and blankets for family members who benefitted from this. Apparently (in her mind), she knit 21 pair of socks last winter & this winter, was going to knit more by using bigger needles & bigger yarn. She always had some project going in cross-stitch, petit-point or crocheting. When the kids were younger, she went to night school to learn how to type and to learn how to sew shirts, pants, coats and dresses as money was not in abundance & besides, homemade had much better quality that what was at the store. To challenge herself, she sewed prom and wedding dresses which she achieved well.
In spring, she always pored over seed catalogues to plant vegetables and had flower catalogues to plant various flowers to make the home place very colourful. She used all her vegetables to make delicious, tasty meals.
Olga was a bit of collector. She collected Bradbury plates, "B" bears, Beanie Babies, books (loved to read), shoes to wear, jewelry and bright, colourful clothes which she wore well. She liked to travel and was able to go to Japan, Disneyland, Israel, Greece, Egypt, Alaska, & Hawaii. From her travels, she had a charm bracelet full of charms. For many years, she was part of a bowling team & collected many pins & trophies for strikes, high score and for her team being #1.
Before the onion farm was profitable, Olga worked at the packing house & would wrap tissue paper around the apples so they wouldn't bruise, & guess what, she held the record for wrapping the fastest & wrapping the most. Then Crown Zellerback came to town, she went to work there. Once the farm was paying well, she stayed home to help with the onions. At one time, 22 acres were planted and harvested consisting of Walla Walla sweet onion, silverskins, and a winter onion to last the winter before rotting.
Some of her sayings were, " if they're talking about me, they're leaving someone else alone"; "be cheerful"; "have a positive attitude"; " be thankful in everything"; "what goes around, comes around"; "do unto others as what you want done to you"; & "do the best you can at whatever you do".
The last 10 years, Olga was a resident at Sun Pointe Village. She was known to be cheerful, a non-complainer, witty, had a great sense of humor and had a positive attitude for the situation she was enduring (no mobility). The family would like to thank ALL staff members for caring for our mother over the years. A Celebration of Life for both Olga and Oscar will be held at Mission Creek Park (across for the new Costco), 2363 Springfield Road on May 21, 2023 from 11:00 - 4:00 pm. In memorium, donations can be made to Heart & Stroke.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.valleyviewfuneralhome.com for the Jeckel family.
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