Tribute

Esther Gladys Marjorie Zuehlke, nee Rider, of Oliver, passed away peacefully at Sunnybank Centre on Monday, September 7, 2015 at the age of 96 years. She was born on November 22, 1918 at her parents’ farm near Buffalo Lake, in the Bashaw/Donalda district of Alberta.

Marjorie was predeceased by her father and mother, Thomas and Elizabeth Rider, her brothers Tom, Jack, Percy, and Alf, and her husband of 71 years, Charles Walter Zuehlke. She is survived by her children, Sharron and Grant, of Oliver, and Mark (partner Frances Backhouse), of Victoria, her grandchildren Gordon Zuehlke, Réanna  Zuehlke (partner Dustin Platz) and Shelann Cropley (Marc), and great-grandchildren Chelsy and Hudson Platz and Mylee and Hemy Cropley, all of Kamloops, her brother-in-law Bill Zuehlke (Beverley), of Abbotsford, British Columbia, and her sister-in-law Evelyn Porterfield, of Dorian, Ontario, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Marjorie’s father died when she was only eighteen months old, and so most of her childhood days were spent helping her mother and four older brothers work the family farm. Nonetheless, she found time to excel in track and field sports at school, and later play baseball and softball in a local women’s league. Like many of her generation and background, Marjorie was an excellent horsewoman.

On November 14, 1939, Marjorie married Charlie Zuehlke, and throughout the War Years they rented a farm near Donalda, Alberta. In 1947, Charlie, Marjorie and their three-year old daughter, Charlie’s parents and several other relatives moved to Falkland, British Columbia. For most of the next decade, Charlie and Marjorie owned and operated a farm on the Pillar Lake Road, and it was during that period of time that the couple’s two sons were born.

In 1956, Marjorie and Charlie sold their farm and moved into the hamlet of Falkland, so that their children could be closer to school; and in the autumn of 1965, the moved to Summerland. Early the following year, Charlie was hired as the permanent steam engineer / maintenance man for the new courthouse in Oliver, and so Marjorie and the children relocated to that community. For the first twelve years of Marjorie’s life in Oliver, she and Charlie rented the house that is presently the local museum; and then in 1978 they bought Marjorie’s forever home situated at what is currently known as Fairview Place.

Marjorie was an active member of the Anglican Church of St. Edward the Confessor, and she belonged to the Anglican Church Women and the now disbanded Golden Heart Rebekah Lodge. To earn additional housekeeping money, Marjorie worked as a janitor for the Southern Okanagan Lands Irrigation District from the early 1970s until the takeover of S.O.L.I.D. by the Village of Oliver.

Marjorie was fond of horses, dogs, wild birds and animals, and the desert habitat of the South Okanagan and beyond. She enjoyed gardening, reading, music, dancing, church functions, camping, hiking, bird watching, wildlife viewing, and road trips. She and Charlie travelled extensively throughout British Columbia, Alberta, and the United States – firstly by car and tent, then by Volkswagen van, and finally in their motor home. One of her greatest thrills was a trip to Oklahoma in 1977, as the aforesaid state was the home of her paternal grandfather and his family prior to their emigration to Alberta. She was proud of her hiking accomplishments, the paramount being a one-day trek from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River and back again to the Rim.

Marjorie was a devoted wife and an infinitely loving mother. She freely, and without reservation, dedicated her life to assisting her husband and nurturing and helping her children.

Cremation has taken place; and a memorial service will be held at St. Edward’s Anglican Church on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 11:00 a.m., followed by interment in the Oliver Cemetery and a reception at St. Edward’s Church Hall.

In lieu of flowers, donations would be gratefully accepted for Sunnybank Centre or the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).

Condolences may be sent to the Zuehlke family personally or in care of Nunes-Pottinger Funeral Service and Crematorium by visiting  www.nunes-pottinger.com  

Arrangements entrusted to Nunes-Pottinger Funeral Service & Crematorium, Oliver & Osoyoos.