Obituary of Mildred Slager

SLAGER - Mildred Slager, late of the Bentely Manor in Yorkton, widow of Emil Slager, formerly of the MacNutt-Calder district, passed away on January 31st, 2017. She was 85 years of age. Mildred (Mehrer) Slager was the 10th of 11 children born to Fred & Johanna (Meier) Mehrer on June 23, 1931 at Halbrite, Saskatchewan. When she was 3 Mildred remembered her Mom & Dad packing them up to move to a farm in the Shellmouth area. That was a short stay because only 6 weeks later their furniture was loaded onto a horse drawn wagon for the trip to the Beresina District north of Churchbridge. The house there was so small some of them had to sleep in the granaries. Mildred said she could remember her sister Annie getting her ready for bed & carrying her to the granary for night. Walking the 3 & ½ miles to school was broke up in winter by riding on the horse drawn toboggan & sometimes in summer by the horse drawn cart if the horse wasn't needed for work on the farm. Mildred was a self proclaimed tomboy with her "boyish haircut & slacks" & had a blast playing back catcher in the baseball games she loved. When she was 13 she started taking piano lessons but often had to be told to stop tickling the ivories so her brothers & sisters could go to sleep. In later years after she moved to Yorkton she would accompany Pastor Brian, as his pianist to the "Old Folks Homes" to do services. In her youth she also did lots of chores on the farm; taking care of the chickens & pigs, milking the 5 easy cows while her mom milked the 5 hard-milking ones, driving the tractor & picking roots & rocks. That turned out to be great training for what was ahead…when the love of her life Emil came a courtin' on his Ford tractor…& they were married on July 21, 1951. After their honeymoon in Winnipeg they came back to live in the 'old rickety log house" on Section 22, where they live until they moved into the new home they built there in 1960. On June 1st of 1952 Dawn was born & almost 4 years later, on January 3, 1956 she got a baby brother, Randy. To quote Mildred: "During the earlier years of our married life, when our children were small, I spent much time at home alone. Emil hauled cattle for Toderian Trucking and later drove a semi-trailer for Yanke Transfer, taking cattle to Winnipeg and bringing freight on his way back. He would make about two trips a week. This, however, was a winter job as in summer all of his time and energy was put into farming. Good health and lots of ambition are two important qualities necessary in the farming occupation. There were acres of bush to be bulldozed. The windrows would have to be burned and re-piled by hand with the help of a bulldozer, many times over. Then there were the stones to be coped with. They were and still are an endless menace. Every spring, Emil and I would haul over a hundred loads of rocks on the flat bottom behind the tractor. That meant loading and un-loading each and every rock by hand. Later on we bought a stone picker. What a wife saver! The stone picker was especially good for the bigger rocks. They are the ones that cripple the back. We couldn't complain much for we thought we were quite biblical in doing this. In Genesis 3:19 we read, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Emil had always been quite an aggressive fellow. With God's help and blessing and a good set of reliable machinery, the Lord allowed us to prosper." At the time of his death on January 6, 1999 Emil had seeded and harvested 55 crops. He was community minded, known for excellent farming, good management and unwavering loyalty and honesty. Mildred loved the Lord & reading His word…she prayed for her children, grandchildren & great grandchildren every day of her life. We're gonna need y'all to pray for us now 'cause she's gone. Playing piano, knitting, sewing & painting were all things she loved to do…& then there was gardening & taking care of her lawn. If she could have had a maid she'd have been outside every minute of the day. One great story about Mildred & her lawn…she'd mow one day & sweep the next…faithfully & one time she went away on a holiday for 3 weeks but not before making Randy promise that he would look after her lawn. He did not share her affinity for lawn care at that time. One of her trusted informants had let her know that said grass was now hiding walking toddlers so 3 weeks minus a day the lawn was mowed…or perhaps…the hay was scythed. She was not amused when she came home. In April of 2002 Mildred moved into a beautiful new condo in Yorkton. It was difficult to leave her farm but she was pleasantly surprised to find it was easy to make friends who had come from the lifestyle she knew. And then in November of 2013 she decided that she was moving to…as she said… "the Riviera"…really the Revera/Bentley were she enjoyed the rest of her days not ever having to cook again & having all kinds of awesome activities to enjoy. And on January 31, 2017 Mildred fell asleep in Jesus' arms & woke up in heaven. She's having an awesome time with her Emil…her siblings who went before…Minnie, Annie, Frank, Martha, Frieda, Fred, Herman, & Jake… her mom & dad Fred & Johanna & her darling great-grand daughter Phoenix. So many here mourning her passing…her daughter Dawn & Kelvin Wiebe & their family; Cam & Lorrie, Tommy, Robbie, Jamie & Jon, Clayton & Shawna, Connor, Hudson & Mya, Carma & Richard, Brooklynn, Braeden & Acacia; Her son Randy & Char Slager & their family; Jesse & Jean, Octavia, Zoe, Gabe & Hunter, Bobbi Jo, Quinn & Keri; her sisters Leotha & Lydia; her sisters-in-law Emma, Olga & Eleanor; numerous nieces & nephews & so many friends. The funeral service was held on Friday, February 3rd 2017 from the Heritage Baptist Church in Yorkton with Pastor Brian Kirsch officiating. Grandson Cameron Wiebe gave the eulogy, followed by Mildred's grandchildren giving family tributes. The hymns sung were 'In the Garden', and 'What A Friend We Have in Jesus', accompanied by son-in-law Kelvin Wiebe, who also sang 'Going Home'. The interment took place in the family plot in the Garden of St. Mark at the Yorkton Memorial Gardens with Cameron & Clayton Wiebe, Carma Bankert, Jesse, Bobbi Joe & Quinn Slager and Darcy Mehrer serving as the casketbearers. Condolences can be left at baileysfuneralhome.com. Memorials were to the Heritage Baptist Church Building Fund. Service Information Friday, February 3rd, 2017 1:00pm, Heritage Baptist Church Interment Details Yorkton Memorial Gardens