SUSANA NICKEL

1919 - 2009

Susana Nickel, beloved wife of the late Henry Nickel, passed away in Taber on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at the age of 89 years.
She will be lovingly remembered by her daughter Joyce (Otto) Bose of Lethbridge and their sons Robert (Karen) and James (Chris); her daughter Josephine (Richard) Marose of Fort Macleod and their daughters Jo Ann Odney, Jean (Derek) Cope, Jeraldine (Doug) Whillans and Janice (Del) Hildebrandt; her adopted grandchildren Lonnie Marose, Natasha Featherstone, numerous great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. She is also survived by two brothers, Jacob (Elizabeth) Thiessen of Lethbridge, Peter (Lena) Thiessen of Kelowna, a sister Katherine Neufeldt of Langley and a brother-in-law Jake (Lydia) Nickel of Toffield.
She was predeceased by her husband Henry Nickel; brother & sister-in-law Wilhelm & Mary Thiessen; sister & brother-in-law Ann & Aaron Dyck; brother-in-law Herman Stobbe and sister-in-law Helen Thiessen.
Susana was born to Wilhelm & Susana Thiessen in Hague, Saskatchewan on August 27, 1919. Although times were desperately poor and made even poorer by the death of her father when Susana was eleven, she remembered many happy times growing up. Life on the family farm was filled with various adventures and many chores and she learned early the contentment of a job well done.
In 1940 she married Henry Nickel at Swan Plain, Saskatchewan. Her wedding dress cost all of two dollars and they could only afford buns, jam and coffee for the wedding reception but a good time was had by all. They spent some time working in a fish cannery on Lulu Island in British Columbia, a job that forever ruined her taste for fish. They later purchased a fruit farm at Matsqui, British Columbia. The flooding of the Fraser Valley in 1948 completely destroyed their crop so they became pig farmers until 1951 when they moved to Taber where Henry owned and operated the Taber Feed Mill until the fall of 1958. They then moved to a small farm south of Taber where Susana was in her glory. She had a passion for gardening, taking care of milk cows (especially Bossie) and calves and chickens, ducks, geese, dogs and cats. The only pig she ever grew attached to was Arnold, a female runt who became a pet.
In 1989, after Henry’s death she sold the farm and moved to Pioneer Place where she bravely made a new life for herself. For the last seven years she has been a resident of the Clearview Lodge. She loved to sew (a trait she did not pass on to her daughters) and bake and she especially liked to make borscht which she always shared with everyone. Singing was a special joy for her. She was a part of a group that sang at the extended care for years. She could harmonize to any tune (another gift she did not pass on to her daughters) and sang her way through her hymn books, both German and English many times.
Susana especially loved the Lord Jesus Christ and read the Bible through from cover to cover often. She was a real prayer warrior and one always knew she was praying for family and friends. Her church was of great importance to her and even in the last few months she attended, although it was a struggle for her physically. She leaves a tremendous legacy for her daughters and the rest of the family - faith in God, perseverance through tough times and joy in simple things. We will cherish her memory and look forward to a grand reunion someday.
Relatives and friends are invited to meet with the family at the Southland Funeral Chapel, 5006 - 48 Avenue, Taber on Sunday, April 5, 2009 between 3:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M.
The Funeral Service will be held at the Evangelical Free Church, 5431 - 48 Avenue, Taber on Monday, April 6, 2009 at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Ron Gartly officiating. Burial to follow at the Taber Memorial Garden.
If friends so desire, memorial tributes in Susana’s name may be made directly to Southern Alberta Bible Camp, Box 99, Lomond, Alberta T0L 1G0 (www.sabc.ca).