Pearl Rennie passed away peacefully on December 25, 2017 at the Kamsack and District Nursing Home. She was 92 years of age. Pearl was born Pearla Schrader on August 21, 1925 to Adolph and Magdalena (Fink) Schrader on the family farm in the Fonehill area. She was their middle child. Her early years were spent on the family farm. Pearl attended Jaroslaw School until Grade 8. It was there her lifelong love of sport began. She especially enjoyed playing softball. Through the years, Pearl had been an enthusiastic spectator of any and all sporting events. Needless to say, she was an avid and enthusiast Rider fan. When her parents moved to Myrtle Avenue in Yorkton Pearl moved with them. At that time she began work in the kitchen at the Yorkton Hospital. She worked there for four years, until she met her future husband. Pearl married Walter Rennie on June 20, 1959. They were together until Walter's passing on September 26, 1993. They raised three children together: Karen, who lives in Soda Creek, BC; Diane, who lives in Aberdeen, SK and Murray, who lives in Winnipeg, MB. Pearl and Walter farmed for many years just west of Yorkton. During this time, she worked hard both on the farm and in the home. Pearl had a love of gardening and a green thumb. While living on the farm, she had three huge vegetable gardens. After moving to Myrtle Avenue after retiring from farming, she still planted a vegetable garden. Pearl enjoyed cooking. She especially enjoyed trying new recipes, with varying degrees of success. No one left Pearl's place hungry. Visitors were greeted with the offer of a cup of tea and food. She really hated to see someone not eating. It was really difficult to convince Pearl that you were no longer hungry. Pearl always made sure there was lots of food available. She would bake bread and buns weekly. Canning season would mean fruit, jams, jellies, preserves and pickles. As the garden was harvested, there was a flurry of blanching and freezing. As a baker, Pearl excelled. There was a freezer dedicated to baking in the basement. This freezer contained bread, buns, cinnamon buns and cookies. Baking ramped up for Christmas, with fruit cakes being prepared and sent down to cure in July. Christmas baking included several varieties of cookies, cakes and squares. When it came to baking, Christmas was Pearl's favourite. Pearl had a positive outlook and a welcoming, friendly way about her that helped her make friends everywhere. When she moved to Queen Elizabeth Court in 2005, she very quickly became part of a group that met for coffee every afternoon. She participated eagerly in the activities offered there, until mobility issues made her cut back. When she was moved to the Kamsack and District Nursing Home, she continued to participate, especially enjoying the cooking and crafting activities. Through her life, Pearl enjoyed many crafts. She sewed clothing for herself and her children. Pearl was a talented needle worker who embroidered many tablecloths, tea towels and napkins. As time went on, she taught herself to crochet and made many doilies and table toppers. As her vision began to fail, these pastimes fell by the wayside. Pearl enjoyed helping others. She volunteered to cook at the Baptist Church camp during the summer. One of her greatest thrills was participating in the Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle Drive. Pearl helped at the places she lived by assisting with the monthly wellness clinics at Queen Elizabeth Court and acting as the Resident Chair during monthly resident meetings at the nursing home. She enjoyed new experiences. Pearl visited many historic sites and national parks while on vacation with the family. She went to musicals and concerts. She went to the rodeo. Pearl sampled many cuisines, eventually declaring Chinese was her favourite. She did love food. Pearl loved her teddy bears. She had an affection for all things plush, as was shown by her collection. Any place Pearl visited, she would get a teddy. They seemed to magically pop up and the collection was added to by her friends and family. They were warm and cuddly, like her. Through her life, Pearl was a resourceful, tough, stubborn woman who would never complain about what was dealt to her, even when she had every reason to. She would put everyone else's needs before hers and not complain. She accepted the world as it was. This acceptance was a result of her deep faith. A Baptist her whole life, Pearl was a member of the Central Baptist and Heritage Baptist congregations. When mobility issues meant she could no longer easily get to church, she continued to read her bibles and devotionals. When vision problems made reading difficult, she would attend and participate in the services offered at the nursing home. Her faith sustained her through her life. Pearl's superpower was the ability to remember history: who married who and when, how everyone was related, when everyone had their birthday and who gave her which bear. In her last years, she developed vascular dementia and lost this ability. During that journey, she remained the kind, friendly, accepting person she had been before. That part of Pearl stayed the same. Now, Pearl's journey is done. Pearl was predeceased by her parents, Adolph and Magdalena, her husband, Walter and her brother, Edwin. She is survived by her children, Karen (Stephen) MacDonald, Diane (Darryl) Kacher and Murray and her sister, Meta Knodel and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held on Friday, December 29, 2017 from the Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre with Rev. Kendall Buhler officiating. Amanda Buhler sang 'Blest Be the Tie that Binds', the congregational hymn was 'Silent Night'. The interment followed in the Garden of St. Mark with Karen MacDonald, Diane Kacher, Murray Rennie, Darryl Kacher, David Fink and Fred Schrader serving as the casket bearers. Condolences can be left at baileysfuneralhome.com.
