Obituary of Margaret Theresa Fraser

Margaret Theresa Fraser (nee Vavra) February 22, 1923 – April 9, 2015 It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Margaret Theresa Fraser (Vavra) on April 9, 2015, at age 92 years. Margaret was predeceased by her husband Jack, son Thomas, granddaughter Megan, parents John and Anna Vavra, sisters Marion and Mary, brother Frederick and many aunts and uncles. She is survived by her sons, Michael (Betty), James (Wanda), Stephen, and daughter-in-law Karen; grandchildren Mary (Chad Salewich), Heather (Andrew) Haugen, John (Sheila), Kyla, Matthew (Carly), and Andrew; great-grandchildren Paige, Caleb, Tora, and Ava; her siblings John Vavra, Ann Romanoski, Bill Vavra, Vivian Friesen, Veronica Orton-Johnson, Evelyn Kennedy, and Barbara Fletcher; aunts Margaret Ciuca and Elizabeth Hardy; uncles Bernard and John Ballek; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends. Margaret was born on the farm near Conquest, Saskatchewan, the first of eleven children. Early on, the homestead moved to nearby Outlook, where the family grew and worked the farm together. It continues to be a treasured family gathering place near the South Saskatchewan River valley, drawing generations to its ever-changing landscape. The farm and river valley were Margaret’s favourite places, and she visited often. Margaret began life off the farm in Saskatoon. She first stayed with her Aunt Mary and Uncle Jimmy Girgulis and worked at his restaurant, the Elite. She took a commercial course and worked at the Star-Phoenix newspaper, where she created the cartoon Sassy, a mischievous cat who would do outdoor activities to portray the day’s weather. Sassy was so popular it was painted on the nose of a B-25 bomber in the RCAF squadron based in Saskatoon. Margaret contributed other artwork to the Star-Phoenix, the U. of S. Sheaf, and other publications. Margaret was very active in the Saskatoon theatre scene, directing and acting in several plays. It was during this time, on a golf course, when she was introduced to a handsome social worker, Jack. The couple was married in Saskatoon in 1954. Soon after, they moved to Regina and raised four boys, with Margaret providing a loving home. Margaret worked for a time at the Leader-Post. She continued her passion for acting in theatre, radio, and film, and was a mainstay at Regina Little Theatre, where she made many life-long friends, and used her artistic talents for many of the plays’ programs. As the family grew, Margaret became a loving grandmother with seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. She was a devoted member of the Holy Rosary Cathedral parish and active in the Catholic Women’s League. Many will remember the lively poster ads she drew for the annual bazaar and bake sale. Several years ago, Margaret was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She lived her final years at a private care home, Princess Villa, where she was lovingly cared for. The disease slowly took her memory but her vibrant personality shone through. She loved to listen and move to music and always had a smile for everyone. Margaret lived life with theatrical flair and spirituality, sharing her creative talents and artistic style. She had a deep love of family, cherishing every moment with them. She will be missed by all who knew her. Prayers will be held in the Chapel at Wascana Rehabilitation Centre, 2180-23rd Avenue, Regina on the second floor of the old hospital section at the north end of the complex on Thursday, April 16, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. Parking is located at the north end of Avenue G. The Funeral Mass will take place at Holy Rosary Cathedral, 3125-13th Avenue, Regina on Friday, April 17, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. Interment to follow in Broderick Cemetery at 4:00 p.m. A memorial gathering will be held at the Legion Hall in Outlook at 4:30 p.m. on the same day. Donations in Margaret’s memory can be made to the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan, 301 - 2550 12th Avenue, Regina, SK S4P 3X1. Eulogy: So, on to Mom. What a life! Mom had such an interesting life, and I have to say she was quite unique. We are all unique, but I think Mom was a little more unique than most. She had her own style, and lived live life the way she wanted to. So where to start? I guess at the beginning. Mom was born and raised on the farm, the eldest of 11 but two died early in life, and the remaining 9 spread out over western Canada, except Uncle John who stayed to work the farm with his own family, and Aunt Veronica who’s been living in England for many years. She made the trip to be with us at this time, which is so nice for us. Life on the farm would have been tough in the 1920’s and 30’s, and being the first born, Mom was called on early to help out, particularly to help take care of her brothers and sisters. Aunt Vivian told me that when the original house was closer to the river, Mom would haul water in pails from the river. Her first days of school were difficult too as she only spoke Slovak, same for Uncle Johnny, I think. Mom mentioned a few memories from those early days. She said when it was really cold the window in the kitchen would frost up so much she couldn’t scrap it, so she took the lifter handle from the wood stove and held it to the window to melt a spot to see out into the yard. And they ate rabbits. Mom remembered them being skinned, and she admired the clean, muscular form hung on display, maybe this was the start of her artistic appreciation. I think there was a few simple rules on the farm in those days: if something moved, you either or fed it or ate it, and in some cases, both! Mom didn’t complain about life on the farm, though, and I think over time she realized that it was the base of her strength and character. She always cherished her time there; she was very nostalgic about it, and many of her collectibles were related to farm life. She brought us kids out to the farm over many summers so we could experience it, too. It was a great time, spent with our cousins exploring the farm, the sand dunes, and the river. Uncle Johnny must have pulled his hair out with all of us underfoot. We stayed at Grandma’s house. There was no running water in her place. Didn’t need it, didn’t want it. So water was hand pumped from a well nearby into pails. Water did get installed, when Grandma was in her 80’s, I think. But there was no sewer system. At first, we thought it was cool there was an outhouse to use, but the novelty wore off after using it about…one time! Mom’s theatrical side started in high school and in grade 12 she was awarded a bursary to attend the Banff School of Fine Arts. She was then off to Saskatoon where she started working at the Elite restaurant, owned by the Girgulis brothers, one being Uncle Jimmy, who was married to Mom’s Aunt Mary. Mom was very close to the Girgulis family and Aunt Bea who lived with them too. She printed the menus, and did some bookkeeping, I believe. Aunt Vivian said Mom turned some heads when she walked around that restaurant. That’s my Mom! She took a commercial course, Office Education we’d call it today, and was hired as a librarian at the Star-Phoenix. It was while working there she invented Sassy, the weather cat. The cartoon ran for more than 16 years, starting in 1948. She continued to submit cartoons even after moving to Regina. She was involved in the theatre in Saskatoon and acted in a number of plays. She learned to golf, and one day met Dad on a golf course. After they got married, Dad was transferred to Regina. They had us 4 boys, poor Mom – 4 boys. As early as I can remember, Mom was involved in acting. We just got use to her reciting lines and singing songs around the house, sometimes helping her remember lines by reading the other parts. Eventually she got Mike and I involved, and some neighborhood kids too. Mike and I were both in “A Christmas Carol” for a few years running, which she directed and acted in. She also did school radio shows and I remember listening to her in the classroom. She had some film roles as well. And Mom liked to doodle and draw at home. But her doodles were portraits and caricatures that she just whipped up on the spot, and they were really good. She did many of them on whatever was handy at the moment – an envelope or the margin of a newspaper. She took some drawing and painting lessons over the years to hone her craft, but she did those more for the sheer enjoyment, I think. Life at home with Mom was always fun and interesting. Sometimes she got flustered when she was mad at one of us kids, and struggled to get right name, so she would list off our names until she got the right one. For a while, I actually thought my name was Tommy-Michael-Jimmy. And Mom treated all cuts and abrasions with Vaseline; it was her cure-all. Either that, or Vic’s Vapo rub for coughs/colds. One time, we brought an injured bird into the house, and Mom used Vaseline on it. I think that was more for us than for the bird. Mom and Dad had a great group of close friends, and I see Evelyn Petroski, which is really nice to have her here with us. And we had great neighbors on our block too. Everyone knew each other. One friend of Mom’s was Marie Kramer, who lived across the back alley. No matter the time of day, or condition of the house, Marie would drop in the back door at any time. No knock, no doorbell. Just Hello! That’s how it was then. We had a tendency to collect various animals at our place, led by Michael. We had cats, mice, turtles, a guinea pig, a hamster, frogs, salamanders, lizards, a hawk, a duck, a bat. Mom took it all in stride – farm upbringing I guess. We lost the hamster in the basement once, when Grandma was staying with us. She was sleeping down there and volunteered to catch it for us. Mom didn’t drive at first, but she eventually took driving lessons, in Outlook actually, probably thinking the country roads would be easier to learn on than in the city. She then got her own car, a Vauxhall Viva, that had its problems. On one special occasion, when I was about 15, Mom was to drive me to the airport, to visit my friend Carl who had moved to Van. Island. Just a block from home, the car quit running. So I ran back home and called a taxi. Mom soon got the car running again and wanted me to go with her instead of the taxi. Not a chance. I just made it to airport in time. Mom thought that was a pretty funny story. I didn’t. When she went to sell the car a few years later, she said in the newspaper ad that the car ran on TLC. We got more phone calls from people wondering what TLC is than from people wanting the buy it. TLC - Tender Loving Care. Mom was a great cook and liked to have big meals at home, particularly on special occasions, like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, when she traded duties with Aunt Ann with New Years, too. Sunday suppers were special, usually roast beef, and we had something for dessert at every meal, but we had to finish our supper to get dessert. She’d say, clean your plate, or it will be in soup tomorrow, and it usually was.   Mom always had a special place in her heart for her grand-kids, babysitting them often. She enjoyed them so much, and played with them, even as babies. Her favourite thing was to lay them on the floor, get down on her hand and knees and dangle her hair in their face, so they would grab and pull it, the harder the better, she loved it, squealing in pain and crying, maybe trying to get the kids to feel bad and stop – but they never did, just kept pulling. It was quite special being kids of Mom and Dad, because they were special people. They were both dedicated to family, to their art, and to the community. We learned a lot about life from them, how to live, how to treat others. They were quite a combo and created a very interesting and fulfilling environment to be brought up in. It’s not lost on me. I know how lucky we are to have had them. Soon after Dad passed away, Mom’s dementia started to become evident and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s after a number of tests to rule out other causes. We convinced her to move to a retirement community, Marian Chateau. After only about 6 months there, it was clear that Mom needed more help so she moved to a private care home located in Lakeview, not far from our old neighborhood. They have lots of activities and music was Mom’s favourite. She lived at the home about 6 years, and died there. She was pretty good up until then, but one day she decided it was time to go, and started to shut down, and after one week, she was gone. In closing, I just want to mention this one last story. I was visiting Dad and Mom, during Dad’s last few days, and was I sitting with him. From the other room, Mom was giving Dad some advice, which was not unusual. He said that Mom wasn’t always easy to live with, and then he looked up at me with a big smile and said, “but there’s never a dull moment”. I think that spoke a lot about them, and about how Mom lived life. I think anyone who spent time around her would agree that Dad was right, there never was a dull moment with her. Thanks, Mom. We’ll love you always. Till we meet again.