Lena’s Obituary
Lena Toderian passed away peacefully in her apartment at the age of 97. Mom was a faith filled strong woman who loved her family and her friends. Mom’s passing was a glorious day for her. She would meet God who she believed in with her whole heart and soul and would have a blessed reunion with her children Patrick, Virginia and Vivian and her grandchildren Patti Lynn, Holly and Clayton. Dad, her sister Rosie and brother Lawrence would also be there to welcome her. She was really looking forward to going to heaven. With her faith, gratitude, love and forgiving nature, there is no doubt she passed on to a wonder filled heaven.
Mom will be missed by her children Garry (Susan), Larry, Sheila (Henry),her daughter-in-law Lynne, son-in-law’s Richard and Brad, her grandchildren Dalene (Rocky), Craig, Travis(Vanessa), Mark, Kevin(Gillian), Teri(Nelson), Rooke(Candice), Shannon(James) and Corbin(Lynsey), and her great grandchildren Khloe, Kate, River, Willow, Matthew, Jillian, Sam, Jessica, Heidi, Reid, Madison, Isabelle, Claire, and Will. She will also be remembered by her extended family Debra, Zach and Nathaniel; Zack and Abby; Andrea(Chris), Danielle(Peter), Kate and Eli.
Mom was born and raised in Shell Valley Manitoba. She married Peter Toderian and they had 6 children. They lived on their farm until they had a couple years of poor crops. Dad found a job in the mine in Balmertown in the 1950’s and they moved to Red Lake and later moved to Balmertown. Mom said it was like moving to a different country moving from the farm, but she was a woman that adapted to change. Mom loved living in Balmertown where she could go fishing, pick all types of berries and tend to her garden. Mom especially loved growing flowers. Mom’s idea of diamonds was the glitter on berries or the sunlight on the lake. She was a woman of true substance.
Mom worked as a pastry cook at the Campbell mine cookery. She loved the independence she had from this job, especially after dad died. She was well liked as a pasty cook and many a person raved about the butter tarts, cakes and pies she made. She was proud that people enjoyed her baking especially when one of the mine managers, Mr.Peacock, asked her to make a birthday cake for his wife. Food was important to mom. She showed all her family how much she loved us by making family favourites such as blueberry and banana muffins, perogies, cabbage rolls, and “gramma’s special buns”. Getting together to eat, especially at holidays was very important to her to teach us about family values and faith. We sang Christmas carols for many years on Christmas Eve for fun, but also to make sure we knew what Christmas was really about.
Mom loved spending time with her children at Coli Lake. Mom and her special friend Barney liked going to see their kids at the cabin and having a hot dog or smokie roast. Mom and Barney picked a pile of blueberries, but they also enjoyed their travelling. They had a great time in places like Nashville, Texas and Hawaii. As they got older, they still enjoyed going to the casino in Winnipeg.
At the age of 90, she made another big move. She moved to the Benedickson Seniors Apartment Block in Kenora. She wasn’t sure how she was going to manage the elevator and she was afraid of heights, but she quickly fell in love with her Lake of the Woods view from her 5th floor apartment and had no problem with the elevator. She loved all the friends that she made in the building. She was amazed at how nice everyone was at Benedickson. She also felt blessed by Jan and all the support workers. She loved them and she knew they fell in love with her too. Thank you to all the staff and people in the building for being so caring to mom. She would often call and say she was overwhelmed with the kindness she felt in Kenora.
Mom looked forward to all the teas as Benedickon. In her honour, her family in invites you to join us at a tea at the Benedickson Seniors Building common room on Wednesday July 3rd from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. where we can enjoy tea, food and friendship.
Thank you to all the people that showed mom love and kindness in her life. She will be missed but we have many wonderful memories in our hearts. Thanks for being an awesome Mom, Gramma and Great Gramma.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Lena Toderian February 26 2019 June 25 2019..
Red Lake Funeral Chapel Limited
Décès pour la Ville:Red Lake, Province: Ontario