Obituary of Rita Finlay

It is with great sorrow that the family of Rita Finlay announces her passing on March 24, 2005 at the age of 75 years in Prince Albert, SK. She was born on February 24, 1932 in Vanguard, SK. She was the eldest daughter to Matt and Evelyn Schreiner. Rita had two sisters, Frieda and Lorna. They lived on a farm about three miles North West of Glen Bain. She received her education at Busch School and Arnold School where she finishes with her grade ten. In April of 1952, Rita married Albert Smith. They farmed at Glen Bain and had one son, Ronald. Albert later passed away of lung cancer. In November of 1956, Rita married Clarence Finlay. They had one son, Brian. They farmed at Vanguard until April 1, 1964 when they moved to the Mayfair area where the family still lives. Rita always played an active roll in the farming operation, whether it was milking cows and shipping cream, helping with the field work, or helping with the books and record keeping. She always grew a big garden and always had plenty of fruits and vegetables canned and frozen to get us through the winter. She passed her love and knowledge of gardening and canning on to her daughter in laws, Mary Ann and Hilda. Every spring, Rita could be found in her green house nurturing the new plants and flowers that would later decorate her yard and garden. Rita also passed on a love of baking and crafts to her grandchildren: Laura, Wendy, Debbie and Jason. Every Saturday she would have craft and baking classes for them and taught them how to bake something new of make some new craft. These were happy times for Rita and her grandchildren, and remembering such times always brought a smile to Rita's face. Rita was also active in the community. She was a sewing instructor for 4-H, volunteered for and worked shifts at the skating rink in Mayfair. She spent eleven years on the board of the Senior Housing in Mayfair and was a founding member of the Mayfair chapter of TOPS. She also wrote a column called "Out Mayfair Way" for the North Battleford Telegraph for three years. Rita also loved to play cards and bingo and spent many evenings playing both at the hall in Mayfair, often in the company of one or more of her grandchildren. In 1988 the "Country Folks Variety Shop" was started. The shop was in Spiritwood and was started with the help of some local women from Spiritwood. They sold everything from crafts, to kitchenware, to clothes. In 1991, Clarence passed away after 35 years of marriage. Rita continued working at the craft shop until the building they were renting was sold and they closed the shop in 1993. After the shop closed, Rita filled her times with her houseplants, writing a family history and gardening. She always enjoyed a family get together when her children and the joy of her life, her grandchildren, were around. Another pride and joy of Rita's life were her great grandchildren: Gracie, Megan and Holly. Every time she saw them a huge smile lit her face. She was always very proud of her family and their accomplishments as well as their failures and was always quick to give you her opinion- asked for or not and whether you agreed with her or not, she always put in her two cents worth. One of her favorite sayings was "Clean your plate and tomorrow will be a nice day." She said that her mother used to tell her this as a child. She also told her grandchildren that if the cows are lying down in the field, it is going to rain tomorrow. She will be remembered and sadly missed by her sons Ron (Mary Ann) Smith of Mayfair, SK and Brian (Hilda) Finlay of Mayfair, SK; her grandchildren Laura (Craig) Taylor and their daughter Meagan of Dundurn, SK, Debbie (Neil) Gaboury and their children Gracie and Holly of Spiritwood, SK, Jason Smith of Paradise Hill, SK and Wendy Finlay (Shane Small) of Saskatoon, SK; her sisters Lorna Talbott of Weyburn, SK and Frieda Doling of Redcliff, AB as well as aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She was predeceased by her first husband Albert Smith, her second husband Clarence Finlay, her parents Matt and Evelyn Schreiner as well as numerous brother and sister in-laws. The funeral service was held on Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 at 2 p.m. from the Mayfair Community Hall with Rev. Don Unger as the officiant. The soloist was Bill Martodam who sang In The Garden. The congregational hymn was Amazing Grace. The eulogy was read by Laura Taylor and Debbie Gaboury. The honorary pall bearers were all relatives and friends who shared in Rita's life and the active pall bearers were Craig Taylor, Gordon Weenk, Neil Gaboury, Albert Heide, Jason Smith and Morris Prescesky. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan. Rita was laid to rest in the Meeting Lake Municipal Cemetery.