Obituary of Ida Jean Magnus

It is with great sadness that the family of Ida Magnus announces her passing on November 22, 2006 at the age of 74 in the Herb Basset Home in Prince Albert, SK. Ida was born October 21, 1932 in Saskatoon, SK and grew up in the Osgoode area near Tisdale. In 1949 she met Walter Magnus and they were married October 26, 1950 at the Lutheran Church in Tisdale. In 1953 Ida and Walter moved to the homestead in the Barnes Lake District. Ida was very involved in the community. She was part of the Spiritwood Housing Committee, the Ranger Ladies Club, and Bapaume 4H Club as the general leader. She also enjoyed volunteering at the Idylwild Lodge, calling bingo and bringing the residents birthday cakes. In the spring of 1981, Ida and Walter moved from the homestead into the town of Spiritwood. They moved again in April 2002 to Prince Albert to the Hill Top Tower apartments. Then in January 2005, Ida moved into the Herb Basset home in Prince Albert and this is where she spent the rest of her days. Ida's kindness, baking and crocheting will be missed by the family and by all that met her and were part of her life. She will be remembered and sadly missed by her two loving children Alvin (Audrey) Magnus of Spiritwood, SK and Arlene (Brian) Smith of Medstead, SK; 5 grand children and 10 great grand children; two brothers, a sister in law as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. She was predeceased by her loving husband Walter in 2005, her parents Wesley & Ida Mae Kenny as well as several aunts and uncles. A celebration of life was held on Tuesday, November 28th, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. from the Civic Center in Spiritwood with Pastor Daniel Graham as the officiant. A tribute was given by her grand children. The hymns were Amazing Grace and What A Friend We Have In Jesus which were played by pianist Sal Orange. Honorary pall bearers were all relatives and friends who shared in Ida's life and the urn bearer was her grandson Chad Magnus. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Renal Unit, Victoria Union Hospital. Ida was laid to rest in the Spiritwood Cemetery. The following is the tribute read by Ida's grand children: Our Grandma was a kind woman who sometimes was almost modest to a fault. The idea of a funeral was part of that, but we loved her so much, we wanted to share her life with everyone and remember what a special person she was. Grandma was born October 21, 1932 in Saskatoon, SK. Her parents were Ida May and Wesley Kenny. Grandma grew up in the New Osgoode area near Tisdale. She attended school in New Osgoode until finishing Grade 8 and then completed grades 9 and 10 through correspondence. In 1949, Grandma met Walter Magnus who was from the Tisdale area. They were married October 26, 1950 at the Lutheran Church in Tisdale. Grandpa spent a few winters working in the bush and Grandma passed the time working at the Arborfield Hotel. Grandma worked in the laundry department at the hotel where she caught her arm in the old wringer washer. After this, Grandma and Grandpa, along with brother Bill Magnus and cousin Vern Magnus, brushed in Mildred, Spiritwood and Junor area. They lived in a portable bunkhouse where Grandma did the cooking for the men. The yard they stayed in was full of gophers. Grandma would sit on the doorstep of their bunkhouse and shoot gophers until her aim was so true, she could shoot them in the eye. This skill came in handy when she needed to shoot a prairie chicken or grouse for supper. In 1953, Grandma and Grandpa moved to the homestead in the Barnes Lake District. They bought a � parcel of land and started with 3 cows named Blacky, Beauty and Speck. Two children followed shortly. On September 25, 1954 Alvin was born. Two years later on November 14, 1956, Arlene was born. Grandma worked very hard on the farm most often along side Grandpa, but on occasion, her babysitters were two 5 gallon pails just set out of harms way as she milked anywhere from 12-15 cows by hand. Grandma also helped with haying, combining and hauling grain. However late Grandpa worked in the field, Grandma was right there working alongside or sometimes off putting the grain in the bin until Grandpa decided it was quitting time. Bravery was another one of Grandma's great qualities, more so than the two men in her life sometimes. One day when dad, Grandpa and Grandma were moving a bin, tons of rats came flying out from underneath the bin as it left the ground. Grandpa ran away yelling, while dad took his station standing on top of the tractor seat. Grandma, the fearless woman she was, along with the dog killed one rat after another until her two men were safe. In the spring of 1981, Grandma and Grandpa moved off the farm into trailer in Spiritwood. In September 1999, Grandma and Grandpa moved from the trailer into a house. Grandma loved to bake. Whenever company went to visit Grandma and Grandpa they were treated to Grandma's delicious baking. There was always a chocolate cake with the sweetest icing ready to serve and a bowl of raspberry candies for the kids. Grandma made many birthday cakes for the family and they were always beautifully decorated and delicious. At Christmas time she always made her famous brown beans and Christmas cake. Grandma always made the best hot chocolate we ever tasted as we dipped and dipped our toast in it. Grandma took pride in her flower beds. Grandma's flowerbeds were always full of bright beautiful flowers. Her favorite flower was the tiger lily. Chad spent many spare classes at Grandma's house in Spiritwood playing gin or Kaiser. Grandma was an excellent card player and she made sure that us grand kids also learned how to play if we wanted to. Grandma was also the best driver ed teacher there was. As each of us kids became of age she let us drive her car around Spiritwood as she gave us pointers and directions. We all took Grandma's car on the day of our license as we loved driving it. Grandma was so proud of us all as we drove her home and asked to borrow her car and go off on our own. She must have trusted us as only a Grandma could. Grandma loved crafts, especially crocheting which was her passion; she made doilies with intricate patterns, shapes and colors. Grandmas spent time volunteering at the Idywild Lodge during Grandma Kenny's stay there. She called bingo and brought birthday cakes for the residents. Grandma was also on the Spiritwood Housing Committee for many years. She was actively involved in the 4H Club as general leader. Grandma always loved watching her children as well as grand children in 4H show off their proud steers and heifers. Grandma also enjoyed being a member of the Ranger Ladies Club. She enjoyed the pot luck suppers and getting to visit with all her friends. Grandma also liked to tease. One day Rochelle got her back and Grandma never let her forget it. It was during harvest and Grandma was out combining or swathing in the field. When she came in for a break and glass of water, Rochelle asked Grandma to taste a cookie from a batch she had made earlier. Grandma tried her best not to make a face and spit the cookie out and told Rochelle that the cookie was okay, although there could be something missing. Grandma gave Rochelle her opinion as to what could be missing. Rochelle then told Grandma that it was actually made from dough art which is formed into patterns, baked and displayed on the walls. Forever after, Grandma vowed to get her back for making her taste a play dough cookie, but Grandma was a forgiving person and just reminded Rochelle of the incident often. However, Grandma was always a little leery to try something Rochelle made after that. In April 2002, Grandma and Grandpa moved from Spiritwood to Prince Albert. They lived in a two bedroom apartment in the Hill Top towers. Grandma made many friends throughout the building. Grandma enjoyed all the baking that the ladies in the building brought for her and Grandpa. Grandma would sit in her big blue chair and give Grandpa directions on exactly how to master the art of baking. She said it reminded her of the way she used to bake. Grandma appreciated and loved everyone she met. No matter what problem any of us grand children had we could talk to Grandma and she would make us feel better. Grandma used to say that here are many other people in the world that are worse off that I am so there is no need to dwell on the bad things. On January 21, 2006, Grandma moved into the Herb Basset home. What a big heart Grandma had even when she was not well. During her lifetime she had 20 surgeries. She always told her grand children that if she didn't need it to live, she didn't have it and even if she did need it she still didn't have it, only relied on a machine. During her stay in the Herb Basset home, she affectionately called the nurses in dialysis and the home her girls and lovingly mothered them as only she could. Grandma enjoyed spending time with her 2 children, 5 grand children and 10 great grand children. She will be missed so much by her family and those that knew her, but we know she's by Grandpa's side again and the legacy they've left will always be remembered.