At the age of 94, after a long and largely charmed life, Olga Erma Irene Mehrer (nee Phillips) passed away without complaint on December 7, 2022, in Nelson, BC. She leaves behind one daughter, Nova Wheeler (Jim) who lives in Nelson, and two sons, Les (Donna), who lives in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and Mark (Ye Chu), who lives in Vancouver, BC. Also left behind are seven grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.
Those that predeceased Olga are many. Foremost was her husband, helpmate, and love of her life, Herman, who passed away in 2000. She survived all her siblings, including John (Vida), Arnold (Minnie), Hertha (Andrew Abstreiter), George (Isabelle) and the twins (Ana and Olga Helena) who died as infants. Her father, August, died when Olga was three, and, because of this she forged a special and lifelong relationship with her mother, Dorothea, who passed away in 1980. And, through the years, there have been so many good friends and acquaintances…
Olga was born near Shellmouth, Manitoba on February 19, 1928, the last of seven children. She was born into relative plenty – her father was purportedly a successful businessman. But his untimely death coupled with the Depression that followed meant that Olga’s early years were focussed on survival. When she was fourteen, Olga quit her schooling as she and her mother set out to find work, leaving the farm to her older brother. Work eventually took them to Medicine Hat, where Olga worked at a plant nursery, and then at Medalta Potteries.
When Olga was about fourteen, she met Herman when visiting acquaintances in Langenburg, Saskatchewan. The meeting became a relationship, and then a romance, despite the counsel Olga received. Olga and Herman wrote often and longingly while Herman completed his schooling and apprenticeship program in Saskatoon. On October 20, 1945, they were married in Medicine Hat, where they made their home and gave birth to their three children. Olga worked at a jewelry store and then, when Herman went into business on his own, worked at the family upholstery shop. A fine home was important to Olga, perhaps due to having to leave the grand house where she was born. As a result, Herman and Olga became builders, building the first two homes in Medicine Hat, and a third just outside the city on a flood prone acreage. Each home was progressively larger.
Olga was active in many areas, but most important to her were her faith and her church, where she was, by turns, a Sunday School teacher, Sunday School Superintendent, leader of the Women’s Missionary Society, of Kupples Klub, and oversaw the Youth Group. Many of her closest friendships were forged through this time. Olga also volunteered with other organizations, including the Soroptimist Club, Christian Business Women’s Club, for UNICEF – where she would distribute and collect the Halloween penny boxes – and the World’s Day of Prayer. When she was 40, Olga learned to drive, so that Herman would not need to chauffer her to her many meetings where he would wait patiently for her.
Although perfectly happy with her life in Medicine Hat, when Herman decided to retire and move to Nelson BC, she agreed. In 1978, they built a home close to Kootenay Lake, a dozen miles out of Nelson. It featured a white stone fireplace that rose two storeys. Olga and Herman helped Nova and Jim as they arrived with their children, both to set up an upholstery shop and to provide a place to live while they built their own home. Once the Nelson upholstery business was underway, Olga again worked at a jewelry store in Nelson where she was known to chase and apprehend unsuspecting thieves. Somewhat distant from their church home in Castlegar, Herman and Olga moved from Nelson to Raspberry-Robson, just outside of Castlegar, where they again built a home, this one an extensive renovation of an existing home, that would feature an all-glass roof facing south, making up for the sunshine they missed at Kootenay Lake.
It was at this time that Olga showed herself to be a political animal, taking an active role in the Conservative Party, attending policy meetings, canvassing for, and helping with the logistics of elections. At this time, she also had a program on public tv interviewing local people. Seeing the need for housing for seniors, she worked on a committee to bring seniors housing to Castlegar. Eventually, she was instrumental in connecting a developer with an opportunity, creating Stellar Place seniors’ community in Castlegar, the last of her and Herman’s building projects, but one which served many.
After Herman died, Olga continued to live at Stellar Place. In 2017, she suffered a stroke which affected the left side of her body, but mercifully, not her mind or speech. After rehab, she quickly returned to her home, to living on her own, and to delivering newspapers throughout Stellar Place.
In 2019, Olga moved to Lake View Village in Nelson, where she had an apartment on the ground floor. She was happy for the location: when things were locked down due to COVID, she could visit through her open window. To the very end, Olga kept her wits about her, despite her fading hearing. After a couple of falls in as many days, and a diagnosed hip fracture, Olga spent her last month at Nelson’s Kootenay Lake Hospital where she received exceptional care. Even there and under those circumstances, when asked, she would say she was “as good as can be expected” and that she had no complaints.
At the celebration of one of Olga’s significant birthday thresholds, family members–including children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren–were asked to provide a word and brief paragraph summarizing their experience of Olga. The key descriptive words are telling: loving, active, collector, grit and grace, giving, independent, hospitable, captivating, community minded, foodie, diligent, and awesome.
A Memorial Service will be planned for late Spring/early Summer of 2023, with details to follow. Bill Clark of Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services™ has been entrusted with arrangements.
As an expression of sympathy, donations can be made to Shareword Global, 501 Imperial Road North, Guelph, Ontario Canada N1H 6T9 sharewordglobal.com/ca/
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence.
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Olga Erma Irene Mehrer December 7th 2022 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
Death notice for the town of: Trail, Province: Colombie britanique