Peacefully on May 8th, 2020, Ellen “Grace” DeCock passed at the age of 96.
Grace is preceded in death by her parents August and Sarah Sigurdson, husband Fernand “Fern”, daughter Darla, son Daniel, sister Pauline and brother Tom.
She is survived by her daughter Jerrilynn DeCock and son-in-law William Steinke. Grace had six grandchildren: Carolyn, Chris, Tamara, Cory, Kim, and Kristi; thirteen great-grandchildren: Felicia, Jacob, Kiera, Ava, Alexander, Aidan, George, Bella, Julia, Derek, Adam, Avery and Finley; two great-great-grandchildren Eloi and Kitana. Grace will be missed by many nieces, nephews, and friends.
Grace was born in Winnipeg and spent her early years in Wynard, SK. She later moved to Winnipeg where the family settled for good. She began her career at Eaton's in the mail order department, moving to the main store to work on the fashion floor and lastly had a role in the photography studio as a photographer’s assistant.
She met her husband Fern at the Winnipeg Roller Rink at age 14 and married 4 years later. They lived for a short while in Lethbridge, AB, and Victoria, BC before Fern was deployed overseas during WWII. They started their family upon Fern’s return from the war and moved to their first home in St. Vital in 1947. In 1954 they moved to Fort Garry where they raised their three children.
Grace had a life-long love of curling and became a very accomplished curler in Manitoba. Along with Lil Van Walleghem, they started the Pembina Business Girls Club which paved the way for working women to have their own ice time in the evening alongside men. She competed out of the Pembina Curling Club during her curling career and is a lifetime member of both the club and the Pembina Business Girls Club. You always saw the DeCock name represented in curling bonspiels and playdowns around the province.
In 1971, Grace and Fern started Ferns Jewellery Ltd. where they operated a very successful business with a loyal following of customers. While Fern was a very skilled craftsman, Grace developed a strong business acumen that together helped them retire as successful entrepreneurs.
After Fern’s passing, Grace spent nearly 35 years as a widow traveling the world for both pleasure and to support the men’s and women’s Canadian curling representatives at the World Championships. Some of the places she traveled were Sydney, Australia; Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; Glasgow, Scotland; and Lausanne, Switzerland to name a few.
In her later years, she enjoyed playing bridge and socializing with her friends and family.
Special thanks to all those at the Pembina Place Mennonite Personal Care Home, who made Grace’s final few years peaceful. In place of flowers, donations in memory of Grace may be made to a charity of your choice.
Following Grace’s wishes, cremation has taken place. A graveside service will be held at a later date.
This life for me is truly past,
I have loved you all to the very last.
Weep not for me but courage take,
And love one another for my sake.
Mum
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Memoir from Jerrilynn Annette
May you be with God mom, Amen.
I am the youngest and the last survivor of this immediate family. Mom lost dad in 1983 at the young ages of 67 for him and 60 for her. I spent a lot of time with them in his final days and after that mom and I drew closer together in our travels; just the two of us. We went on a lot of great trips together across western Canada to Victoria and in the United States of America. The love and closeness that I had with both my parents in our younger years goes without saying. This is a memoir primarily of the latter years after dad’s passing and mom lived alone.
In 1988 we had Christmas with Bill and Darla and then flew to Reno, Nevada. From there we took a side trip to San Francisco where we toured the redwood forest and Alcatraz prison. We photographed each other in one of the cells. Then we went back and spent New Year’s Eve in Reno. Over the years we took several trips to Las Vegas and Reno where we toured places like Death Valley and London Bridge. One year in Vegas we took a champagne flight to the Grand Canyon. It consisted of a Cessna 206 and 207 (single engine, six-seat aircraft) that landed near the canyon and they served champagne and crackers with squeeze-tube cheese. Then we took off and flew to the canyon at very low altitude and down into the canyon not far above the river. Mom was a real sport.
In 1989 mom sold the house (69 Crowson Bay) we kids grew up in to adulthood and bought her condominium on the third floor (top corner suite NW) of Palm Springs (3281 Pembina Highway), South of the Border; just south of the Perimeter Highway.
In 1990 we did the following driving trip:
Sept 1: Fort Snelling at Minneapolis
Sept 2: Sioux Falls Zoo
Sept 3: Mitchell Corn Palace and Doll House, South Dakota Badlands
Sept 4: Rapid City: Reptile Gardens, Bear Country, Rushmore Cave
Sept 5: Rapid City: Jewel Cave, Mount Rushmore
Sept 6: Devil’s Tower
Sept 7: Shell Falls
Sept 8 & 9: Yellowstone National Park
Sept 10: Yellowstone Canyon
In 1996 we drove via Highways 16 and 5 to Victoria (in my 1990 Daytona) where we intentionally went to the Butchart Gardens on the Saturday to see the gardens, have dinner, and enjoy the fantastic fireworks they did only on Saturday night. Mom said this was the first time that she had been back to Victoria since her and dad were there for her brother’s wedding (Thomas August Sigurdson) in 1960, I think. We visited Royal Roads College that used to be military and also has beautiful gardens. We went to the Victoria Wax Museum, Craigdarroch Castle, and Miniature World. Mom and I took the Victoria Harbour dinner cruise. On the way back to my place in Edmonton we saw Takakkaw Falls, the Continental Divide, Columbia Icefields (mom was disappointed they had receded so far), and we stopped at Penticton where mom and dad and I had visited in 1982 when mom had said it was like the Hawaii of Canada and she would like to retire there. Unfortunately dad passed in 1983 and she stayed in Winnipeg where she had friends and family. I can only imagine what was going through her mind that night he passed knowing that I was overnighting in Regina and arriving the next day for a visit. She met me at the front door crying and telling me he died the day before.
Mom came to Edmonton in 1997 for her Birthday and I got her (our favourite) Jeannie’s birthday cake (that was also available in Edmonton then). We went on a driving tour to the Royal Tyrrell Museum near Drumheller.
In 1998 I travelled to Winnipeg and was given the responsibility to drive mom to a hall (without blowing the surprise) on Saturday, June 27th where a huge surprise party of extended family and friends was waiting for her for her 75th birthday (June 29th). This should also be uplifting for her after the depression of my brother (Daniel Jerome) passing on March 13th that year. Mom and my sister (Darla Jo-Ann) flew to Edmonton and I picked them up to attend his passing in the hospital. Mom then made the decision that she would be cremated (not embalmed like dad) so that Dan could be cremated and share her grave site with her.
In June 2005 mom flew to Kelowna while I was on vacation at Apex Mountain Guest Ranch (as I was doing most summers since 1999). She was using a walker then so she stayed in Penticton as the guest rooms at the ranch were upstairs. In September 2004 I bought my retirement property up Apex Mountain Road near Apex Ranch and she came to spend her birthday there and see my new property, where I now live. We also visited the Nk’Mip Desert & Heritage Centre on the Osoyoos Indian reserve. I’m pretty sure that trip was when we both had rack of lamb at Bogners of Penticton for her birthday dinner. In 1982 I went with mom and dad to Three Mile House in Naramata which was the ultimate in dining at that time (but closed before 2005).
In 2011, I flew to Winnipeg to visit mom in the assisted care home, Dakota House (1145 Dakota Street), where she lived then. I stayed in a hotel on Pembina Highway. Each morning I picked up mom’s favourite, egg mcmuffin, at McDonalds and had breakfast with her and we had very nice talks. That was the last time I ever saw her. We talked on the phone and in May 2012 I learned that she was living in a nursing home. She had been falling a lot, which was landing her in hospital. Later, her phone was disconnected and I never knew where she was moved to and we never had any contact again. For me, that is when she died. My very nice brother-in-law phoned me on the night of her passing; Bless his Soul.
Besides these notable trips we visited back and forth between Winnipeg and Edmonton.
I love you Mom; and I will remember you for all tomorrows, until I cross the Rainbow Bridge with my dogs and horses and join you and dad and family on the other side.
Your loving daughter,
Jerrilynn Annette
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