HELEN REDEKOP

1932 - 2014

Helen Neta Redekop, beloved wife of Henry Redekop, passed away in Lethbridge on Sunday, August 10, 2014 at the age of 82 years.
Relatives and friends were invited to meet with the family at Southland Funeral Chapel, 5006 - 48 Avenue, Taber on Wednesday, August 13, 2014 between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.
A private burial service was held at the Vauxhall Mennonite Cemetery prior to the funeral service.
The Funeral Service was held at the Coaldale Mennonite Church, 2316 - 17 Street Coaldale, on Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 2:00 P.M.
Besides her loving husband Henry, she is survived by her sons Randy (Janice) of Vauxhall, Gary (Jackie) of Warner, Bruce (Monika) of Vancouver and Tim (Pat) of Retlaw; daughters Shelley (Brian) Coffey of Lethbridge and Terri (Irene) of Coaldale; cherished grandchildren Kerby (Kathrina), Mark (Natalie), Andrew (Richelle), Nick, Sarah, Brendan, Christopher (Kym), Emily and Mariel as well as five great grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings Anne Martens, Ernie (Susan) Goerzen and Ricki Lane; special friend and sister-in-law Katie Goerzen; in-laws Ed (Liz) Redekopp and Karl (Ann) Redekopp; special friend Dee Field as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her sons Terence, Marvin and Lawrence; parents Anna and Henry Goerzen; sister Nell Enns; brother Hank Goerzen; brothers-in-law Rudy Enns and Bill Martens.
Helen was born on May 27, 1932 in Harris, Saskatchewan, the fourth of six children born to Henry and Anna Goerzen. After a few years in Saskatoon, Helen’s father bought a farm and moved the family to Vauxhall when Helen was eleven. The family attended Vauxhall Mennonite Church where they were all very involved in music and choir. Helen helped out on the farm until she left for high school at Rosthern Junior College. She had fond memories of her high school years, which included many antics and practical jokes. Immediately following high school, Helen attended Bible College in Didsbury for a semester. College life seemed too much an impediment to her education, so she moved back to Vauxhall and married Henry Redekop on April 29, 1951. The young couple lived in Lethbridge for a few months before moving back to Vauxhall to work on the Jake Schulz farm for a year. After a brief stint renting Henry’s dad’s farm, they eventually bought a tract of virgin prairie south of Vauxhall, where they settled their young family and started their own farm.
The challenges of building a farm and raising a young family left little time for other interests, though Helen had an ear for music, an eye for art, and could perfectly recite many poems and passages of scripture she had memorized in grade school right into her eighties. Helen devoted herself wholeheartedly to her family, raising eight children. It was a dreadful blow when two of her sons were killed in separate accidents within two years of each other. Nonetheless, Helen fought her way through this tragedy with the same determination and perspective that characterized her entire life.
Eventually, Helen and Henry moved to Lethbridge where Helen took up five pin bowling, a sport she enjoyed for many years. She also became an antique collector, and was a force to be reckoned with on Lethbridge’s Saturday morning garage sale circuit. Helen even ran her own antique store, Ali Baba’s Cave, for a time.
During these years, winters were often spent in Palm Springs or Arizona with other friends and family from Alberta. Helen had a sharp mind, a good memory and a great sense of humor to the end. Throughout her life, as more and more of her loved ones preceded her in death, she looked forward to being reunited with them. Her last words were, “See ya later! (pun, pun)”.
If friends so desire, memorial tributes in Helen’s name may be made directly to the St. Michael’s Health Centre (Palliative Care), 1400 - 9 Avenue South, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 4V5 or to the Mennonite Central Committee, Suite 210, 2946 - 32 Street NE, Calgary, Alberta T1Y 6J7.
A special thanks to Dr. Narula and the staff at the Chinook Regional Hospital, Unit 3C, especially Shanda and Alissa for their extra love, to Ruth Bates for looking after Mom’s needs whenever we needed you over the last few years, as well as the staff at St. Michael’s Palliative Care for their compassionate and wonderful care during Mom’s last twenty four hours.