Well done good and faithful servant

My mother-in-law passed away almost two weeks ago. It was a sad time for us, yet  during this time there were so many reasons to be so thankful.

For the godly mother that she was for my husband and his siblings.

For the wonderful church family and retirement community that they were a part of.

For the wonderful care she had been receiving from St. Joseph's Hospital since March.

For her ability to communicate with us until very close to her passing. 

For medication when the pain increased. 

For the singing we were able to do the day before. She was able to sing along and while the voice was scratchy and slow - it was simply a beautiful testimony of God's care for her - and us.

For the fact that Dad was with her when she passed and that it was peaceful. 

For the family ties that held together during the week of preparing for her memorial service. 

She had wanted so much to go back home to be with her husband but her medical condition simply did not make that possible. I believe that now she is where she longed most to be - at home with Jesus. I had prepared a bit of a biography to be included in the bulletin for the memorial service. It follows:

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Sjoukje 'Shirley' Everhardus was born on April 2, 1930. She grew up on a family farm in Groningen with 11 siblings. In 1950 Mom's family gathered to meet a visiting friend of her brother Bruin. He was a young man from Drenthe named Henk. As the evening wore on, the family all left the room until Henk and Sjoukje were alone. Sparks began to fly. They were able to spend 3 1/2 months getting to know each other before Dad left for Canada to start his own farm.

When Dad moved to Canada facial hair made its way to his upper lip. They corresponded by mail for 1 1\2 years and the letters kept getting longer and longer then plans were made for Mom to come to Canada. When she arrived Dad was told he could have a moustache or a wife. He chose the wife. They married within a month during the Sunday evening service in the Jarvis CRC on October 19, 1952 .

Their first home was a little farm on Army Camp Road in Hagersville. No running water and no electricity. The children began to arrive: first was Sylvia and then Martin and then Chris.

Then they moved to Mount Hope where Harriet joined the family and they all eventually moved to Hamilton in 1965. Dad worked in construction and then started his own concrete business in 1967.

Mom would help Dad by taking phone messages and mending his ripped pants. When Dad first started working in different cities Mom did ask him why he was always going to work for this Mrs. Sauga.

Mom was an environmentalist long before it came popular. Waste was not good. There was always a big garden and lots of canning done. Mom spent many hours sewing clothes for her family. She was able to knit with her eyes closed and even with her hands behind her back.

Quite often when we would visit Mom and Dad we would end up leaving with something or other - some knick-knack or dinges that they thought we could use. One of our favourite family stories is about the time that Mom and Dad had given Chris a pair of Dad's pants that they thought might fit. Then years later Mom and Dad went to a garage sale held by Chris and Cathy. Dad and Mom saw a pair of pants there that looked good and went to try it on. It fit well so Dad and Mom bought the pants. It wasn't until later that they discovered that they had just bought Dad's pants back.

Was it always easy? Not it was not. Along with much joy there was sadness and losses along the way. Despite challenges with her health for many years Mom was still able to take care of her family quite capably. Through it all Dad was by her side caring for her and loving her. When Mom's health deteriorated her granddaughter Cara was particularly helpful.

Mom's family would like to thank Mom and Dad's Wellingstone family, their church family and pastor who have been very supportive. In particular Henny Haveman has been beyond wonderful to Dad by daily driving him to the hospital to visit Mom for months. There were many tangible ways for them to see how much they are loved.

Mom's faith was something that defined who she was. Her love for God and her longing for heaven was clear to all of us who knew her well. We will miss her.