June 28,1929 - January 30, 2021
Our beloved mom passed away at home peacefully in her sleep just like she had hoped to. Mom was born at Kevisville, Alberta to Tom and Maggie Benson. Mom was the youngest of a family of five. She was born in an era when money was tight and if you wanted to eat, you grew it, caught it or killed it. Nothing was ever wasted and pig weed greens were better than spinach because they were free. Mom made ends meet by growing all we needed in her huge garden combined with the help of the monthly family allowance cheque which in those days wasn't very much. She fished too and many a meal was complete with the addition of fresh fish on our plate. She was a wonderful cook and could stretch a little food into a complete meal.
Mom married Clarence Miller in 1949. From this union were born three children. Gerald in 1951, Faye in 1954 and little sis, Debora in 1960. Gerald died in 1966 the result of a farming accident. Soon after Gerald's accident, Mom and Dad sold the family farm and moved to Enderby B.C. After a few years they found they were missing family and returned to Alberta to settle in Innisfail. Mom and Dad eventually divorced in 1999. A mother-in-law suite was added to the Ulry house in 2009, giving mom her very own home in the country. Mom happily lived on the farm at Trevor and Faye's in Sundre and enjoyed the fresh air, birds and animals to the very end. Even in her 91st year she spent the summer canning and putting aside food for the winter, enough to take her through into the next year. She knitted, crocheted and sewed quilts and made her own sweaters and skirts during the winter months. She made enough quilts so there was enough available for each of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to keep as a treasured memory. She kept her son-in-law Trevor busy cutting firewood all summer long for the upcoming year.
We will miss her laughter at her great grandchildren's antics; Carisa with a new name for each of her animals, and Caleb with his turtle stories. The girls will miss her saying "You know that is edible, don't you?" and "Deb, don't forget to wind the clock before you go please". Her son-in-law Rock had given her a pendulum clock which mom loved. Mom didn't want to accept the clock without payment and Rock wouldn't take any money for it so they struck a deal that whoever was done with the clock first, the other one would get it. She loved that clock as it reminded her of her father's clock when she was a child growing up. Crystal and Sarah also have many fond childhood memories of grandma making them ice cream with syrup, chocolate chips and coconut, not to mention the homemade fish and chips and onion rings. Mom and her girl's spent many an afternoon and evening sharing ancestry/history stories. We talked at length about her grandfather, Charles William Kevis whom Kevisville was named after. Many a day was spent doing what she loved with Deb and Faye, wandering through Faye's beautiful garden and answering their many questions about plants, trees and life in general.
Mom was predeceased by her son, Gerald, her parents Tom Benson and Maggie Kevis Benson, her brothers Tom Jr. (Dot), Buster (Meta), Ray (Elizabeth) and her sole sister, Gretta (Ted) Bioletti as well as her ex-husband Clarence Miller. She is survived by her two daughters; Faye (Trevor) Ulry, their two children, Kelly Richardson and her children, Carisa and Caleb all of Sundre AB. Brad (Darlene) and their two children Jasmine and Isabelle of Edmonton AB. Her daughter Debora (Rock) Dueck of Calgary, AB who enjoy a blended family; Crystal (Brent) McMillian and their two children Marysia and Dakota and Sarah Husband of Red Deer AB. Christie Dueck (Frank Beitzkreuz) of Lacombe and Christie’s children, Bethanie, Alychia, Grady, Brooke (Tristan) and baby Levi and R.J. Dueck of Calgary, AB. This would mean that mom was a great grandma. Special thanks to Kelly, Carisa and Caleb who came literally anytime night or day to help when Mom needed the ambulance on one of her many emergency calls.We will miss you dearly mom, you were a very special lady who could turn your hand to anything. There was no task too great or too small for you. We were so blessed to have had you for a mom, mother-in-law, grandma, great grandma and friend.
Mom will also be greatly missed by her dear friends, Ivor and Margo Wilde who, prior to covid, dropped by regularly for a visit which mom looked forward to and enjoyed thoroughly. A special thank you to Norm and Judy Miller particularly for giving mom a beautiful picture of a bird which she loved and of course, it had to be hung on her wall immediately. Mom had requested cremation and no service. In light of the Covid issue, we will have a graveside gathering at the Kevisville Cemetery during the summer if that is possible.
