Bernice's family invites family and friends to VIRTUALLY join them at the Funeral Service on Tuesday via Facebook Live on Narfason's Funeral Chapel Facebook Page. Here is the link to the live stream: https://www.facebook.com/265613770120845/videos/751206842354208/?v=751206842354208 Bernice Laura Hoffman Bernice Laura Hoffman (nee Hanson) was born on June 25, 1925 to Hans and Annie (nee Wodhal) Hanson. Her birth was assisted by a midwife, Inez Nessett on the family farm east of Sheho near the Whitesand Lutheran Church where later she was baptized. Mom was the second oldest of four children and only girl. They moved to the farm on the flats North of Sheho before Mom was two years old. Her parents had bought the farm from the Darlings. This is where Mom would spend the rest of her childhood. Mom started school at 6 years of age at Dunrobin, a one room country school. Elsie Bergman was her first teacher who taught all the grades. There were 35 - 40 students in the one room. Mom went to this school finishing Grade 8. She and her brothers would drive a horse and a two wheel cart that had metal rims on the wooden wheels to school. In the summer they put the cart wheels in the dugout so they wouldn't dry out. Mom always enjoyed the annual school Christmas concert. Dressella Orlowski was Mom's good friend in school. This friendship lasted as she was one of Mom's bridesmaids. Mom’s favourite subjects were Math and Social Studies. At the farm Mom had many chores such as gathering eggs, feeding pigs and chickens, milking cows, separating milk and feeding calves. Mom just loved the little calves. Mom always had a favourite calf. She liked the colour of the calf - red with a white head. It was always the cutest one. Grandma and Grandpa could never figure out why Mom’s calf always grew faster than the others. This was because Mom would secretly feed it whole milk while the others got the skim milk after the cream had been separated from it. One of Mom’s wedding gifts was her favourite calf. They milked up to 18 cows twice a day. One of Mom’s jobs was to separate the milk in a little shack next to the barn. Given there was no electricity at the time, they hung the cream down in the well to keep cool. They also had an ice house to keep the cream. Once a week, Walter Korpatniski would pick up the cream at the gates to the road. Their farm house had two fence gates that had to be opened up to get to the house. Grandma Hanson had a big garden with lots of potatoes. Mom helped Grandma take care of the garden and harvest the vegetables. The potatoes were used to make one of the family’s favourite foods – lefse – mostly at Christmas, sometimes for Easter. This was cooked on the top of the wood stove that was used all the years while Mom was growing up. As children they played ball a lot, played hockey on the dugout (her brothers had skates, Mom just had shoes). The neighbours would come over such as the Romanovitch’s, the Ogolbie’s and the Hrehor's. Mom started to work at the Sheho Hotel when she was 16. She lived at the Hotel since commuting back to the farm just wasn’t done back then. Mom cooked, worked cleaning the floors and the beer parlour, and packed beer. She was known for her excellent pies – the best amongst the towns on the CPR line that served Sheho. Mom worked at the Sheho Hotel until she was married. The first time Mom met Dad was in the Elite Café in 1945 after Dad had finished serving in World War II. Mom and the girls were in for coffee. Dad invited them to sit with him and they did. A few days later when Mom was sweeping the snow off the hotel steps Dad stopped and talked and asked Mom out for a date. They dated for several months and the next June they were engaged. Dad and Mom picked out the engagement ring together at a jewellery store in Yorkton. They were married October 24th, 1946 in Yorkton at St. Andrew's United Church. Grandma didn’t attend the wedding as she had to get the supper cooked in the Sheho Town Hall while they were in Yorkton getting married. They had over 100 people at the wedding reception and dance. They started building the house on the farm before they were married. Once they married they stayed at Uncle Fred's house. He stayed in town at their sister Elnora's because he worked in town with her husband Walter Zoski. They moved into the house before it was finished. The upstairs rooms were not finished for a while. It was a four bedroom home with a front veranda that many years later was converted to extend the living and dining rooms. For cooking Mom started with a wood stove and got an electric stove later. Power arrived at the farm in the late 1950’s. For phone service they were on a party line until 1973 with their number being 1r22 (Line 1, 2 long rings, 2 short rings). They had a mixed farm growing grain and raising cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys. At first they had horses to hall the manure away from the barns. Eventually Dad developed an allergy to the barn smell so he couldn't go in anymore. Mom had to go in to load the manure onto the stone boat until her children were old enough to help with this work. While her eldest were young, she left Arnold and Arlene alone in the house when she did chores. Sometimes they were with her when she did the separating in the well house. Accidents did happen. One time Mom was pumping water and Robert fell over and got his fingers in the belt. He was crying like crazy. She had to leave everything and take him to the doctor. They were bruised bad but were not broken. She came back and finished what she was doing. Work was a priority for Mom. When night came during those days she was exhausted. When Mom and Dad were in their early married years there used to be a wedding every weekend in town. Most young couples took their children with them. As they partied on, Mom would lay Arnold, Arlene and Robert on the stage with the other children where they went to sleep until the wedding dance was over. Rudolph and Lilly Bode were Mom and Dad's best friends when they were first married. They were their best man and maid of honor at their wedding. They played cards and visited. They had children about the same time which made for many fun get togethers. They started with 2 quarters of land. They built the barn at the same time as the house. They shipped cream for years as a source of extra income. When first married they milked 5 cows. Mom sold eggs as well to people in town. They eventually bought an additional 5 quarters plus rented land to farm. Mom loved to garden. She always had a big garden. She planted lots of potatoes when her children were all at home – often 1100 hills of potatoes. She liked it all. Liked to see it grow – the potatoes, carrots, peas, beets, etc. She canned pickles, peas, string beans, etc. at first because she did not have a freezer. She made rhubarb, strawberry and raspberry jam. She canned lots of raspberries as well as peaches and other fresh fruit she bought. Mom never had running water for the first 20 years that she was married. For washing dishes, she heated water. They had a pail for drinking water that we carried in. They had a tin bathtub that you had to fill with water and then heat the water. Saturday was bath day. The family bathed from youngest to oldest. The cistern water was used for bathing and washing clothes. At first Mom had a washboard for doing clothes and then a wringer washer. She never had a dryer until the late 1960’s. She hung the clothes outside to get dry. In the winter she had a line in the house between the kitchen and living room where she would hang the frozen personal clothes brought in from the outside to complete drying. Mom loved the outdoors and helped with the farm work. Often she would be out picking the stones with her boys while Arlene looked after the younger children and cooked the meals. In harvest she would haul grain. When she was pregnant with Daryl and Gerald as she got out of the grain truck at the elevator, a couple farmers noted that with how big she was there was no way she was going to make it through harvest. She did it though since the twins weren’t born until December. Mom was an excellent cook. As she said, nothing fancy – just meat, potatoes and vegetables. Raising seven children meant a lot of potatoes were peeled! During seeding and harvest times Mom would also deliver the meals to the field. She baked her own bread and buns. One of her grandchildren reasons for loving to visit Mom was to eat her freshly baked buns. When she had more time in retirement she would send home with her children after a visit one or two pails of perogies. It was not unusual for her to make over 700 dozen during the winter. She was always busy. Once the children left home, Mom took on mowing the farm yard grass. She would start at 5:00 in the morning and by noon have the riding mower portion cut. She would then finish the job with the hand mower cutting around the trees and areas where the riding mower could not be manoeuvered to cut. Mom started work at the Foam Lake Jubilee Home in 1975 where she worked for 15 years. She enjoyed this job working as part of the housekeeping, dietary and laundry staff. She often said she would have liked to continue working there after she turned 65. Knowing her work ethic she likely would have worked until it was time to be a resident! In retirement Mom spent time crocheting. Each of her children was given one of her home made afghans. Each of her grandchildren was given one when they graduated from Grade 12. Most of her great grandchildren also have one waiting for them once they graduate as well. Mom cleaned the Legion Hall for many years taking turns. Usually two went to clean – Mom’s partners were Clara Holmes and Helen Wunder. Mom was a member of the Silver Lake Ladies Club, United Church Ladies Aid, the Legion Auxiliary, the Sheho Legion Branch #356 and the Golden Age Senior’s Club. Mom regularly volunteered to work at the Sheho Sports Day. Mom bought a house in Sheho in 2009. She continued to grow a garden, attend bingos and visit and play cards with friends and family. Due to a heart condition requiring 24 hour care, she moved into the Foam Lake Jubilee Home in August of 2015. Here she resided until her death. Mom was a Christian. Mom attended church at Sheho United Church where all her children were baptized. Once the church in Sheho closed she attended the Theodore United Church. More recently she attended the church services held at the Foam Lake Jubilee Home. Mom was predeceased by her loving husband of 55 years, Joe, in 2001. She was predeceased by her Mother Annie and Father Hans Hanson, her brothers Neil, Lorne and Herb and sister-in-law Hazel Hanson. She was also pre-deceased by Joe’s parents John and Minnie Hoffman, his 17 brothers and sisters and his 13 brother/sister-in-laws. Mom is survived by her seven children Arnold (Linda), Arlene (Ed) Scratton, Robert, Daryl (Shelley), Gerald (Cheryl), Faye (David) Jack and Glen (Sherry); her 18 grandchildren Kiri (Ryan) Heibert, Alia (Shane Daye-Fraser), Reid (Mary), Marcel (Joanne) Scratton, Janelle (Quinn) Hayden, Jaclyn Scratton, Dustin (Jen), Clinton (Tegan), Jason, Shannon (Jamie Holland), Preston, Austin (Chantelle Pulock), Acara (Kyle) Wyonzek, Adon (Lindsey), Claudette (Olaf) Carlson, Trent (Laura) Jack, Landon and Elissa; and 20 great-grandchildren Addison, Arlyn and Cole Hiebert; Carter Daye-Fraser; Lincoln; Steven and Evan Scratton; Jack and Riley Hayden; Landyn and Levi; Cailyn and Emily; Kendra and Carson Holland; Arista and Acelyn Wyonzek; Soren; and Paige (Cody King) and Hope Werner; and one step great-grandchild Kaelan Hayden and one great-great-grandchild Brinley King. Also surviving Mom are her sisters-in-law Jean and Ellen Hanson and Ann Hoffman. Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Thank You The family thank you sincerely for sharing in their sorrow. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated and will always be remembered.