Rhea LeyhOur mother, grandmother and great grandmother Rhea, passed away peacefullyon April 11, 2011 with her family gathered around her at the Medicine Hat Hospital. She was 95 years of age. She was born in the Irish colony south of Humboldt, Sask. on April 20, 1915 to Harold and Gertrude (Harder) Hayes. She grew up in Humboldt and attended Catholic School and Humboldt High School. One of the greatest testaments to her personality was her ability to collect very close and loving friends during all the phases of her life. We heard many stories of her exploits with long time friends from her childhood in Humboldt. Her memory was such that she could construct a great story and relate vivid details. Through her, we came to know fully the life of her parents and of all of the Irish relatives from the oldIrish colony and from Sheenboro, Quebec. She also engaged significantly with the children of her friends and relatives. This later generation of friends kept her young in spirit and vital with life. One person who Grandma welcomed into her life, and ultimately into her heart, was Russ. Theirs was a long and beautiful partnership. She travelled with him with his gravel hauling business and also building andworking at a fishing lodge in Lac La Ronge, Sask. She and Russ later spent many years operating the family farm near Viscount, Sask. While there she tended a very large garden and kept a very large house. She supported Russ's many activities: baking pies and making sandwiches for his trapshooting events, getting up early in the morning to prepare breakfast and sandwiches before our hunting excursions, and offering coffee and lunches to the many people Russ would meet along the way and welcome into their home. After selling the family farm, they moved toHumboldt and Russ supported her many interests, such as when she was playing bridge at their house with her friends, he would pick up those that needed a ride and then he would hide away in the house while the girls had their evening. He would then drive them home while Rhea counted her winnings. Russ enjoyed taking her shopping, he would wait for her on a bench in the mall, talking to those who chanced to sit beside him. He would keep her informed by reading the news to her while she cleaned the kitchen or cooked up lunch. And when she wasn't working after her so-called retirement, they would find time to play their daily round of cribbage and share time watching the "soaps." One could just tell when meeting them, though, that they loved and cared for each other deeply. One of their favourite social activities was playing cards, especially the game known as "Smear." They had many groups of friends who would come over and spend the evening at cards, having very many laughs, and always ending the evening with a midnight lunch. Theirs was a life truly shared. After their son-in-law Leo Barbeau's passing they moved to Maple Creek and befriended those who associated with Lona. When she moved to Cypress Lodge, she enjoyed meaningful relationships with those she met there. Her fun-loving, welcoming and benevolent nature was such that she was able to build friendships wherever she went and with whomever she met. She loved to dance, to sing and to cook, sew, knit and crochet. She always wore stylish clothes, such that the people who shared her life in the lodge called her the "Queen." She grew to love the sport of curling and was an ardent viewer right up until the recent world matches. And, of course she loved the old movies on Turner Classic Movie channel. She knew all of the great actors and actresses from her era and we enjoyed watching them with her and appreciating them through her. Rhea only had the bounty of one daughter, Lona, to love and cherish, but that eventually grew into three grandchildren: Blair, Lori and Shayne. Asmall number yes, but did we ever get to experience the full weight of her love. And then came the great grandchildren: Jayme, Julian, Kira and Braden and through marriage, Misha. Then only a short time ago, along came Natalea Rhea who brought her great joy so late in life. She loved us all and welcomed fully those we brought into her life: Leo, Eve, Don and Tanya, and ultimately a second son-in-law, Leo, plus the extended family they all brought with them to share in ours. Like all of those classic movies, hers was a life with a happy ending. A life not without its dramas, normal ups and downs, joys and pains, laughs and cries. But ultimately, the event of her passing allowed the time for her loved ones to gather around her, the chance for each of us to express our love and thanks, and in turn, the opportunity for her to comfort us. We were very thankful for that blessing. If there was a legacy she gave each of us, it was that of hospitality, and how to be a great friend. She was predeceased by her husband Russ; her parents Harold and Gertrude Hayes and her son-in-law Leo Barbeau. She is survived by her daughter Lona (Barbeau) and Leo Sellinger, grandchildren Blair (Eve Kotyk) Barbeau; Lori (Don) Lloyd and Shayne (Tatiana) Barbeau and great grandchildren Mark Kotyk, Michelle (Afshon) Ostovar, Jayme, Julian, Kira and Braden Lloyd, Michael Mykhaylov and Natalea Rhea Barbeau and the extended Sellinger family. The funeral service was held in St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Maple Creek, Sask. Interment will be at a later date at St. Augustine Catholic Cemetery in Humboldt, Sask. Binkley's Funeral Home in Maple Creek was in charge of the arrangements. To email an expression of sympathy you may visit www.gonebutnotforgotten.ca.
