ALICE META JENSEN (DRACHENBERG)

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ALICE META JENSEN (nee DRACHENBERG) January 30, 1935 - October 20, 2018 It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our loving wife, mom and grandma. After a year-long struggle with failing health, Mom passed away suddenly on Saturday, October 20, 2018, at the Grace Hospital, at the age of 83. Alice is survived by her husband of 55 years, Lloyd; her son James, his wife Heather and granddaughter Natalie of Oak Bluff; and her son Robert and his wife Lavonne of Abbotsford, BC. She will also be remembered by her nieces and nephews, especially Laura, with whom she shared a special and lifelong bond. She was predeceased by her infant twin sister Eleanor Kate, her parents, Henry and Laura, and her sister Margo Talbot. Alice and Eleanor were born at home in Spearhill, MB on January 30, 1935. After a brief return to Germany, her family came back to Canada and settled in the west end of Winnipeg. She attended Pinkam School and Daniel McIntyre Collegiate. Upon completing high school, she was employed by Great West Life until 1966. Although they first met many years before, Alice and Lloyd married on April 27, 1963. She and Dad moved to their new farm home in Oak Bluff later that year where Mom began her career working tirelessly beside Dad as they built their farm, raised their sons and volunteered her time to community projects and events in every way she could. They retired from active farming in 1985. In 2000, Mom and Dad moved from the farm to retirement living at Assiniboine Crossing and then to the Lindenwood Terrace in 2016. Mom and Dad began their winter travels south in the early 1980s and enjoyed good times with relatives, old friends and many new friends made during the 20 winters they lived in Yuma, Arizona. They travelled in their motorhome, seeing many parts of Canada during the summer and much of the USA in the fall and spring on their way from and to Arizona. It was rare to find Mom and Dad at home on a Saturday night. If they could not find an Old Tyme dance somewhere within a couple hours of home, they could be found at a local legion enjoying good music and good company or playing Pinochle with their friends. In the summertime, they simply did not miss a Fiddle Festival weekend anywhere in Manitoba. Even though she suffered with severe arthritis pain for too many years and her sore feet would eventually slow her down, Mom loved to dance with Dad so much that she refused to let her aches and pains stop her. Mom loved the cruises they took to the Caribbean, the Panama Canal and a family cruise to Hawaii at Christmas 2007. In her words, "there was no better way to travel!" There was nothing that made Mom happier than to be the first Grandma to hold her new granddaughter Natalie that Sunday morning in November 2008. She loved watching Natalie grow up, excel in school, dance, swimming and ringette, and was so pleased when she saw her a few weeks ago "just acting silly" with her friends. She hoped to see so much more as Natalie grew up. Thank you to the staff at Lindenwood Terrace, the nurses and care aides from Winnipeg Home Care, the doctors and nurses in Urgent Care at the Victoria Hospital and in the ER and ICU at Grace Hospital. Funeral service will be held on Friday, October 26 at 10:30 a.m. at Epiphany Lutheran Church, 200 Dalhousie Drive, followed by a reception at the Oak Bluff Recreation Centre to celebrate Mom's life. A private family burial will be at the Oak Bluff Cemetery. We ask anyone wishing to make a donation in Mom's memory to consider the Oak Bluff Cemetery (Box 51, Oak Bluff, MB R0G 1N0) or the Arthritis Society. Ken Loehmer Funeral Services 204-886-0404 - www.klfuneralservices.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 24, 2018