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Obituary
Bernice Margaret Roski (Graw)
May 1, 1941 – April 5, 2023
Resident of Manning, Fairview, Peace River and Grimshaw
Married to Edward Stanley Roski on August 22, 1962
Mother to Joan (1964) and Diane (1966)
Grandmother to Brad (1988) and Adam (1990)
Bernice had a life of amazing resilience, a positive spirit and a capacity to love unconditionally, laugh until tears filled her eyes, and find the small joys in each and every day. She inspired so many people and lives forever in our hearts.
A short and intimate service of remembrance was held at Stone Brook Assisted Living on April 10, 2023 for residents, staff and immediate family, Fr. Chukwudi officiating.
We encourage you to add to this list of memories.
15 Things You May Not Have Known about Bernice Roski:
1. Bernice’s first language was German. Mom grew up on a farm in North Star, near Manning, the third in a family of fifteen children. They only started speaking English at home when she was a preschooler. In her forties, Mom accompanied Grandma and Grandpa to Germany and she reported that she could understand almost everything her relatives were saying.
2. Mom won awards at the Ag Fair for her beautiful handwriting. We can only imagine the high standards she set for her grade 3 students. When her MS had reached the point that she could barely hold a pen, she would look at her signature, shake her head, and apologize for her poor penmanship.
3. Mom and Dad prayed out loud every night before they went to sleep. Their Catholic faith was an unshakeable part of their identity. When we would go camping in the summer, there was always a copy of the booklet “Sunday Mass Times in Alberta” in the glove compartment of the car. On Saturday night, we’d wash the smell of campfire smoke from our hair because there was no way we would miss going to church on Sunday.
4. Mom loved to sew. She made our clothes when we were kids, she sewed matching square-dancing outfits for her and Dad, and she even made little dresses for our Barbie Dolls, taking painstaking care to sew little sleeves and hems. She also crocheted. MS took away her ability to do needlework, but Mom never complained. She just found other things she could do instead.
5. Mom started teaching at age 19. Back then, you didn’t need a four-year degree, just a one-year certificate. She stopped teaching when Joan was born, went back part-time when Diane started kindergarten, and then began teaching full-time shortly thereafter. She took evening courses and went back to the U of A for summer sessions to get her Bachelor of Education. She was so incredibly proud to walk across the stage at Convocation Hall to receive her degree. How she managed to do this while working full time, keeping house, and raising two rambunctious girls who never lacked their mother’s love and attention is beyond us.
6. Mom was the master of the 20-minute power snooze. Growing up, we thought every mother came home from work and took a nap. Mom listened to her body. We could all take a lesson from her in that regard.
7. Mom couldn’t swim. She could dog-paddle, but she would never put her head under water. She says this is because she learned to swim in the river in Manning and it was just too dirty. In 1987, she and Dad bought the acreage property along Shaftesbury Trail and had a swimming pool put in the house for water exercises. She did those exercises faithfully every day to slow down the progression of her multiple sclerosis. Even when she could barely walk, Dad (or later an aide) would lower her into the pool with a mechanical lift and get her out after her regimen was complete. She was that determined.
8. Mom learned how to make a bed properly when she worked as a chambermaid at the Banff Springs Hotel. Joan remembers Mom teaching her how to do a nice, tight hospital corner. And Diane remembers Mom coming to her bedside to talk. Inevitably, that would lead to Mom running her finger along the bed headboard to make sure there wasn’t a speck of dust. Doing the dishes was not complete until the sink and faucet were polished and shiny. If cleanliness was next to Godliness, Mom was a saint.
9. Third grade was her favourite. Mom taught many different grades as a substitute teacher, but she hit her stride when she landed a job at Springfield School teaching grade three. She loved that age group and stayed there year after year until she was forced to take long-term disability leave. Many people still come up to us and say that Mom was their favourite teacher.
10. Mom ate healthy organic food long before it was the trend. She grew up on a farm, so we always had a back garden. We both remember whining about having to get up on perfectly good teenager-sleeping-in-mornings to have to shell peas, pick weeds, or deadhead flowers – funny that we both ended up gardeners! Mom made bread and buns from scratch, made homemade pickles, and jar after jar of raspberry jam. She was very interested in natural medicine and herbal remedies as ways of slowing down the progression of multiple sclerosis.
11. She liked me best. I told Diane I might put this on the list and she says I’m not much of a school librarian since I obviously can’t tell fact from fiction. In all seriousness, Mom had a blind eye towards favoritism. She went out of her way to ensure we were treated equally and no one doubted her unconditional love. Mom believed in the goodness of everyone she met. She treated everyone with kindness and respect.
12. Mom and Dad were hugely active with the Peace River Chapter of the MS Society. They were a regular part of every Trail Ride … even though we don’t remember ever seeing either of them ride a horse. Mom won a provincial award for her volunteerism with the MS Society.
13. Mom made the best cinnamon knots. These were strips of bread dough, rolled in melted butter, dipped in cinnamon and brown sugar, tied into a knot then baked until sticky sweet. Before there were microwaves, we used to reheat frozen cinnamon knots in the oven for a special breakfast. That is, if there were any left in the freezer. We both got pretty good at sneaking frozen baked goods out of the freezer and eating them with the naive hope that Mom wouldn’t notice a few more going missing every day. Mom, we are SO SORRY for trading your cinnamon knots in our school lunches for Twinkies.
14. Mom never complained. Really. We don’t believe there exists another person on this planet who faced life with such fortitude and positivity. Joan remembers once, and only once, did she ever display bitterness over her lot in life. Brad was a baby and Mom said, “I really wish I didn’t have MS. I would love to be able to walk and hold my grandchild.” Mom’s strength and resolve has always been an inspiration to us. Dad was once asked who his hero was and he said Mom. She inspired everyone she met.
15. Mom enjoyed a good game of cards. If there exists a game-playing gene, both Mom and Dad expressed it with gusto. Every Sunday after church, we’d have lunch, Mom would rest a bit, then once the roast or chicken was in the oven, we’d play games. Visits to Manning, whether for Christmas, Easter, weddings or funerals, were not complete without card games. As adults, whenever we got together with Mom and Dad, we’d play Kaiser, 500, Hearts, Schmeer, cribbage, euchre … or another new game they had learned.
Dad passed away in October 2015. We all miss him terribly, and we will miss Mom as well. But we are at peace knowing that she has finally shed the prison of her MS body and is back with Dad again. We’d like to think Ed greeted her in heaven and took her to a table where there was a hand dealt and ready. “Bernice,” he would have said after their embrace, “Honey, what took you so long?”
May 1 1941 April 5 2023
Chapel of Memories Funeral Homes & Crematorium
Death notice for the town of: Fairview, Province: Alberta
death notice Bernice Roski May 1 1941 April 5 2023
obituaries notice Bernice Roski May 1 1941 April 5 2023
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Bernice Roski May 1 1941 April 5 2023 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
