Obituary of Marion Forrest

"Right on top, thanks" was the typical response given by our mother and grandmother to questions about how she was doing. She was well known for being a positive person with a great appreciation for her family and friends. And she had many friends. Mom was born and raised at Loreburn and although she and dad retired to Saskatoon over 40 years ago, the farm and her rural community were very important to her. At age 90 she was seen driving the grain truck during harvest. During her school years she was active in school singing and drama productions, sports and her church. She graduated from Moose Jaw Normal School and began teaching west of Loreburn. She married our dad John on June 5, 1942. She finished the year teaching and then became a full time partner in their farm. Although she often expressed appreciation for the life her husband provided, we knew that it was very much a partnership. Our mother raised a garden, butchered chickens, drove farm machinery, took meals to the field all while dragging two sons with her. Because of the modern conveniences in their home, mom was often asked to host visiting celebrities. A trademark story of mom's was of John Diefenbaker. He was in the Loreburn area attending a function. Between speaking engagements Diefenbaker came to have a nap at the house, and as it turned out in the master bedroom. Later in life, during causal conversation, mom with a little smirk liked to mention "John Diefenbaker slept in her bed." Mom with our dad was very engaged in their community. Mom was a leader in the Loreburn Homemakers, the United Church Women, Lions Band, and the Rink Auxiliary. Their involvement in the Lions Club and their interest in sports allowed them the opportunity to make friends across Saskatchewan, Canada and in many parts of the world. They attended 21 curling Briers and 11 world curling championship, 5 Canadian Senior Curling Championships, some sea cruises and a few Grey Cup games. They took every opportunity to be with their sons and then their grandchildren to support and to be part of their activities. As a self taught pianist, music was important to our mother. Most days our return from school was met with the sound of music in our house and the smell of fresh baking. How fortunate we were! Her love of playing the piano continued through her life and just recently she was entertaining her fellow residents at Sherbrooke with Bringing in the Sheaves. Another favourite pastime was writing letters. Births, deaths, marriages, anniversaries and special occasions were often recognized with a letter from mom. Many recipients commented how thoughtful and inspiring it was to receive these letters. Celebrating her life are sons Trevor (Sharon) and Keith (Lois). Although she never had girls of her own she often commented she could not have picked better daughters than her boys found. Also left to cherish her kindness are grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Jason (Janelle), Ella, Parker, Brooke, Hailey; Scott (Tami), Ethan, Emersyn, Ryder; Justin (Theresa), Maximus, Capri; Robbie (April), Kale, Lexi; Trish (Mike) Adley, Kya. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews and countless friends. Mom was predeceased by "her Johnny" (April 18, 1994), parents David and Hannah (Smith) McLelland and siblings Bertha (Tom) Nisbet, Marjorie (Mark) Manderson, Eleanor (Don) Nelson, and Ron (Agnes) Mclelland, and dad's siblings Harold (Lillian), Edith Forrest, Margaret (Bob) Dunn, Alma (Bill) Keen, Alvin (Ruth) Forrest and brother-in-law Clarence Ritcher. She is survived by dad's sister Doris who was like a sister to mom. The family would like to express their appreciation to the staff at Sherbrooke Community Center and Extendicare Preston for the care provided to mom in the last year. Also thanks to her former neighbours at Preston Park 2, Chalet Gardens and in Eastview for making her retirement so pleasant. Memorial donations can be directed to the choice of the donor or to Sherbrooke Community Centre to help provide kindness like our mother was shown there. There will be a celebration of life later in fall when harvest is done and a notice will be posted in this newspaper. One of mom's goals was to each day show kindness to someone who was not expecting that kindness. In honour of our mother we would ask you to provide Random Acts of Kindness as often as you can.