Obituary of Nancy Marie Monseler

Nancy Monseler died at home on 13 March 2019 in the arms of Leo, her husband of nearly 67 years. It was exactly what she wanted. The last words she said to her daughter were “Tell everyone I love them.” Born 10 July 1930 in Regina, SK, Nancy Marie was the only child of Mary and Earnest Philp.
Nancy’s wonderful life will continue to be celebrated by: her husband, Leo; sister-in-law Nora Gattinger; children: David (Sharon), Nancy-Jean Taylor (Bob), Robin (Donna), Richard (Hali) and Dean (Sandy) plus all her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. We are all better people because of Nancy.

 Nancy had many qualities that made her a one of a kind woman who will be deeply missed:
* Always listened & willing to help *
* Best mother-in-law * Giving *
* Compassionate * Loved *
* Kind * Non-critical  * Warm *
* Selfless * Strong * Role model *
* Thoughtful  *  Welcoming *

       She was my hero.

Nancy accomplishments were many but she wasn’t one to brag so there were accolades she received that not everyone knew about. Highlights of her accomplishments:

Her lifelong relationship with her Regina nursing class;
Raised five children (or as one son said - Somehow she managed, even with all the obstacles, hurdles, and interference that were thrown into the path by her children, to raise them to adulthood.);
Looked after about 45 foster babies;
Raised one special needs foster child for 15 years;
Did all the canning, freezing and baking. One son said that his relationship with his Mother always involved food: Mom taught him the skills to cook and bake and she instilled in him the confidence to be able to try;
Put up with her children’s white mice, gerbils, fish, cats, dogs and budgies;
Enjoyed her own dogs, Patsy and Jetta and her two love birds;
Volunteered at local, provincial and national levels of United Church committees;
Was an original member of St Martin’s United Church Women’s Miriam Unit since 1958;
YWCA Executive Director responsible for the new building constructed in 1984;
Earned the 1983-84 Trader of the Year for her time on the Board of Trade;
Founding Board Member of Saskatoon Council on Aging (1991);
Helped adults learn or improve their English;
Read to seniors at Sherbrooke until she was older than many of her listeners;
Was a beekeeper with her husband (she specialized in cleaning the extracting room);
Spun and wove wool, did needlepoint and cross-stitch but avoided mending until the pile was too big to ignore;
Worked for Wellness Information Services for the Elderly (WISE);
Became Bumblebee the clown in the late 1990’s to cheer up Palliative patients;
Loved animals, hats and flowers created with balloons;
A voracious reader of murder mysteries, Clive Cussler and anything that grabbed her interest;
Volunteered at St Paul’s Palliative Care Unit;
Was a spiritual caregiver at St Paul’s Hospital and during the last few years wrote all the memorial cards right up until October 2018;
In 2016, received her 15 year service award from St Paul’s Hospital; and,
Was on many other committees too numerous to mention but you get the idea – she contributed wherever she could.

Special thanks to everyone at St Paul’s Hospital for helping Nancy to get well enough to go home.
Nancy wanted us to celebrate her life with a real fun party and not a funeral. The party will be in July. In lieu of flowers Nancy asked that donations be given to your favourite charity.
 “A lady, a mother and leader, An encourager and more, Blessed repose until we meet you, Nancy, Welcoming and gracious, At Heaven’s door.” (Part of a poem by Cathy S. who was a good friend)