Obituary of Bertha Irene Annable

Peacefully with family by her side, Bertha Irene Annable passed away on January 1, 2024, at Concordia Hospital.

Bertha was predeceased by her father (Michael), mother (Irene), and husband (Lloyd). Left to cherish her memory are sons Gary and Doug, daughter Sandra (Mark), grandson Harris, sisters Deanna (Bob) and Betty.

Bertha grew up in Elmwood and started her family with Lloyd in East Kildonan. They spent 13 years in Saskatoon and Brandon before returning to EK for the last 42 years.

As a young girl she learned to sew from her mother and sewed many of the smart outfits she wore as a young woman when she worked at the Legislature and long into adulthood.

Gary, Doug, and Sandra all arrived in the space of less than three years, and Bertha rose to the challenge as a devoted mother. (In her final days, however, she insisted she was NOT a helicopter parent.) She remained important in her children's lives as adults, always ready to listen and lend a helping hand.

Birthday and holiday dinners were always a major production. She seldom sat at the dinner table for more than a few minutes before scurrying back to the kitchen to tend to something.

Mom was proud when she bought her first car around 1970 (a 1963 Chevy Corvair), and was fond of the others that followed, including an Oldsmobile Cutlass she let Gary and Doug drive (and abuse) as teenagers, an AMC Pacer, and a Plymouth Topaz.

She kept in touch with many of her childhood friends, gathering for regular lunches until she outlived most of them, so her final years were increasingly solitary.

Mom loved her little dogs (Buffy and Princess (Fuzzy Fur) but was too heartbroken to get another after Princess died about 20 years ago.

She curled and rode a bike into her 70s. She enjoyed music, especially Engelbert Humperdinck and Nana Mouskouri, and a radio was always on in the kitchen.

Mom was curious about the news, continuing to read the Free Press with various magnifying devices after being diagnosed with macular degeneration. Going through her things, the kids have found hundreds of newspaper clippings about things that interested her tucked away almost EVERYWHERE in the house.  Until mom’s last days her mind was sharper than the rest of ours and the reminiscing was great.

Bertha was fiercely independent until the end, living alone in her house until 3 weeks before passing, ignoring any suggestion she consider other alternatives more suitable for somebody increasingly frail with limited vision.

Thanks to the doctors, nurses, and health care aids at Concordia Hospital N2 East who cared for mom in her final days. Cremation has taken place. The family will hold a private celebration of her life at later date.