God peacefully called Mar home on November 27, 2012. Even though the family was deeply saddened, this was something Mar has looked forward to. She could finally meet Jesus and be reunited with her husband, son, family and friends gone before. Mar was born in Reewyk, Holland on Jan 11, 1919. She had five brothers and four sisters who all resided in Holland. She met Cor at a bicycle parking lot and Cor immediately went head over heals for her. He was bound and determined that she was going to be the one that he would marry. Sure enough, that was exactly what happened. Cor and Mar were married on January 5, 1940. It didn't take long and soon Leo their first son arrived. Then, the war broke out and Cor was called away. This meant Mar was pretty much a single parent for a few years. Upon Cor's arrival back home safe and sound, shortly thereafter, they were blessed with three more children within a very short time-William, John and Jannette. Cor and Mar heard that there were many opportunities to be had in Canada. In 1953, they made the very hard decision to both leave all their family behind and move to Canada. Imagine, neither one knowing a word of English, had absolutely no idea what the country was like, where they would live, or what would be in store for them when they got there. They just heard that it would be a great place to live. Mar was a very dedicated wife and mother. She was an "at home" mom believing that was where she needed to be. She loved being at home and being there for Cor and the kids. Five years after moving to Canada, there was another big change in her life. Jerry arrived. This made baby number five. As much as they both loved Canada, they truly missed their homeland. They decided they would return to Holland for a visit. Of course this required a lot of funds to be able to take a vacation with five kids. So Mar decided she would help raise money for their trip by going out and cleaning houses for people as this is what she was super at. She was an immaculate housekeeper. You never found a spot of dust anywhere! Along with her housekeeping talents, she was also a great cook and baker. We all know Mar for her very famous "flat cookies". Many people have tried to make these but somehow just haven't mastered it. However, her daughter has, so if you want a taste of Mar's famous cookies, give Jannette a visit. There was never a time you went to Mar's for coffee when there wasn't baking in the house. She also enjoyed going camping, but not fishing so much. She always felt sorry for the fish getting a hook in his mouth. Mar's greatest courage came out in 1980 when she lost her very dear husband of 40 years. Mar and Cor did everything together and their motto was, "If we both can't go, neither one of us will go." Cor had always done the driving, so this meant Mar either had to walk a lot, or try for her licence. Poor Mar had to do many practice tests that Jannette created for her but with great determination she completed them. Low and behold, when she wrote her written test at the age of 62, she passed with flying colors! Mar absolutely loved kids! She could not pass a child without saying "give me five!". She babysat in her home for many years. She spent many hours with her granddaughter, Angela, when she was so sick for a couple of years. She would rock Angela for hours. She had a rocking lawn chair that she used and it would continously move as she was rocking her. She would start in the kitchen and end up in the living room making sure Ang would sleep. Sometimes she would have to restart back in the kitchen and do the process all over again. "G o ockey ockey now" were some of Angels's first words. This was a special time for the two of them. Mar was an avid bowler and received many trophies through her bowling career. She also loved playing games. She would always say, "Let's play something." One of her last enjoyments were the shuffleboard tournaments at Legion Towers. She looked forward to those so much. Mar was very family orientated. She loved it when all of her family would come together for special events and have all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren celebrating together. She also looked forward to having coffee with Will and Jannette every morning. If they had to miss a morning, it was very disappointing to her. It was only coffee, for which she only had a half a cup, but to her it meant the world. They would always hassle her about leaving her spoon in the cup while drinking, as they kept telling her that one day she would poke her eye out, but you know what, she never did! Church was a very important part of Mar's life. She loved the Lord with all her heart. She taught Sunday School for many many years. All the kids absolutely adored Mar and wanted her as their teacher. It might have helped knowing there were always treats for the kids at the end of every class. She sat on the church board, sang with the church choir, and on occasion would treat the congregation with her harmonica talents. Mar, along with Thea Hall and Beth Gurajadowski formed the well known harmonica group known as "The Windmills." During her last few months at the Weyburn Nursing Home, she would treat the staff with her yodelling. Whenever Mar felt she didn't know how to answer, she would respond with a yodel. The staff would often ask her, "Yodel for us Mar." Mar was predeceased by Cor, her loving husband of 40 years, in 1980. She also lost her oldest son, Leo in 1990 and her daughter-in-law, Alice in 2010. Mar lost four brothers and three sisters who resided in Holland. She will be sadly missed by her sons, William (Sharon), John (Betty) and Jerry (Connie) and her daughter, Jannette (Gord) Tonn; 11 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren; a brother and sister both residing in Holland as well as many friends. A Celebration of Life was held at 10:00 am on December 3 at Fletcher Funeral Chapel. Thanks to Pastor Dennis Hall and Randy Harriman for officiating, pianist Diane Greening, special song by Jeff Greening and to the pallbearers, Michael Drygas, Darcy Tonn, Cory Van Roon, Jeremy Van Roon, Pat Frericks and Jeff Greening. Interment was at Green Acres Memorial Gardens. Donations may be made in memory of Mar to a charity of donor's choice. Thank you to Fletcher Funeral Chapels for their excellent service and to Captain's Hall for providing lunch. Our family thanks everyone for their visits, cards, phone calls, food, flowers, and most of all, your prayers and support to us. The family would also like to thank Dr. Fong and the staff at the Weyburn Special Care Home for their excellent 24/7 care while Mar resided there. Condolences may be left at: www.fletcherfuneralchapel.com. Arrangements entrusted to Fletcher Funeral Chapels, Weyburn (306) 842-5432.
