Obituary of Marie Anne Schwandt

Marie Anne Schwandt (nee Onerheim), age 90, died on November 28, 2017, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Marie will be lovingly remembered by her four children Betty-Ann (Wade) Heggie, Bill (Janette), Doug (Patricia), and Gina (Rick) Houghton- Larsen, as well as by her ten grandchildren Eric (Katie) Schwandt, Jayne (Sean Gorrill) Schwandt, Louise Heggie, Elizabeth Heggie, Rae (Rob) Love, Paul (Sanae Mendoza) Schwandt, Annie (Tomer Sabo) Houghton-Larsen, Lynn (Brian MacDonald) Schwandt, Dane Schwandt, and Grace Houghton-Larsen. Marie's two siblings Dr. Bill Onerheim and Hazel Brown also survive her. Born in Climax, Saskatchewan on December 20, 1926 to Mildred and Oswald Onerheim, Marie was a strong woman from the very start. By age four Marie was playing cards as her mother's partner around the neighbourhood. Her passion for learning and love of playing games only deepened as Marie grew up. At only 17 years old, Marie was the first in her family to go to University. After graduating from U of S, Marie was working in Strasbourg when she met the love of her life, Harold (Hal) Edgar Schwandt. Hal caught the eye of the "long-legged school teacher" and they married on New Year's Day 1951. Marie and Hal worked as a team- they ran a hotel and a farm and created a house full of love, children and animals. Smart as a whip and even more capable, Marie worked as a high school English teacher at William Derby High, directed the Young Canadians choir to win the Saskatchewan Homecoming Contest, and wrote the Centennial History books for Strasbourg, Bulyea and Duval. Marie sewed costumes for the ice carnival, accompanied school band members on the piano for their festival performances, and served on many boards and committees. She was a voracious reader-especially once the kids were out of the house-often reading a book a day, unless a baseball game or curling match was on T.V. As a retiree, Marie spent her days in Saskatoon and the family cabin in Cypress Hills doing crosswords, playing bridge, reading, painting and golfing with her sister Hazel, a lifelong friend. Every kid and grandkid proudly displays a Marie Schwandt original. An adventurer, Marie travelled to Italy in her early 80's for a course on sketching and she continued to paint until a few months ago. She and her husband Hal were travelers enjoying trips to Egypt, China and even touring four young children around Japan in the late 60s. Marie was a source of great wisdom and comfort for everyone who knew her. She gave sage advice and just-right hugs. Family and friends know that their lives were better for having known Marie-she will be sincerely missed but never forgotten. Marie loved having a family of strong women, and men who supported them, for those so wishing memorial donations made to "Because I am a Girl'. https://plancanada.ca/because-i-am-a-girl would be appreciated by the family.