In Loving Memory of

Rosemary Eileen Mills

Born August 5,1932 died Feb.3,2000 

from an accidental death in her home. Rosemary was born in Edson, Alberta, the 5th youngest of Cynthia and Tom Mills’ children. She attended Trail School on the Grande Prairie Trail along with her siblings. Rosemary moved to Saskatoon in 1950 with her family where she met Reginald Bovill. They married on December 19, 1953 at the Salvation Army Citadel on 20th Street East.

As delivered by Dale Heath

February 9, 2000

My wife is Candy, one of Rosemary's sisters, and I am honored to have been asked to do this tribute for Rosemary on behalf of the family.

Over the past week, there have been many gatherings as the family members comforted each other through this time of great sadness.  One of the get-togethers, a few nights ago, offered a chance to put some thoughts on paper--recollections of the many happy memories of Rosemary and of the joy she brought to everyone in her family.  What I have for you today is a collection of some of the recollections of how Rosemary touched so many lives.

Firstly, Rosemary was devoted to her family:  Chuck, Norma, Cathy, Reg and Dale.   She and Reg spent many years and a lot of time with their children and their grandchildren: Rosemary, Aimee, Allan Dale, Wayne, Jonathon, Emerald, Opal, Samantha and Darrin....and during the past 10 years, with great-grandchildren, Michael, Stephanie, Krysten, Sasha, Brittany, Brandy and Miles.

Rosemary loved the outdoors.  She and Reg lived many years in Big River where they spent many hours fishing and just enjoying camping.   She was a hunter.   Rosemary was always proud that from thousands of entries, she actually won a moose hunting license one year.  She really and truly cherished her time in the outdoors, especially the days spent at De La Ronde Lake.

As a result of that interest, she probably had the keenest awareness of environmental life of any in her family and extended family.   Rosemary loved sharing that joy of the outdoors by taking her children and their families on camping and fishing trips in Northern Saskatchewan, and she spent many years at the lake with Chuck, Cathy, Dale and Elsie and their young families.  In later years, she took the great-grandchildren camping whenever she could find the time, and of course, the necessary dollars.

Rosemary loved LIFE!  That was really apparent at all the extended family gatherings.  She had such fun, it would have been hard not to have had fun along with her.  Boxing Day gatherings were a true source of pleasure for all and she had many ideas as to how she and her sisters could provide a "fun-time" for everyone with their Boxing Day "Aunties on Stage" routines.

Rosemary was one of the "Seven Sisters Crafts" group.  Along with her sisters and cousin Doreen, she spent a lot of time making and selling her crafts.  Some of the family are fortunate to have a quilt that she made, or a hand embroidered table cloth, or perhaps one of the little bird cages made from birch bark.   She would never cut a tree for the bark, she used the ones the beavers brought down for her.

She loved traveling--anywhere, anytime.  All that was needed was to pick up the phone and say, "Rosemary let's go!".  She and Norma spent many hours traveling back and forth to Calgary to see Cathy and Allan and their children.  When Cathy and her family moved to Yellowknife, Rosemary gathered up a bunch and drove up there not only once, but twice.   Her family all enjoyed her photos and memories from those trips.  I think everyone still has the "Yellowknife" pins she collected for them. 

Another trip that meant a great deal to her was when she, Cathy, Allan, Allan Dale, Emerald, Opal, Michael and Wilma went to Disneyland.  Wilma still talks about the fun they all had.  Rosemary regaled her family with many tales about THAT trip!  She and Candy went on a great many trips together.  As a matter of fact, as Candy was trying to deal with the shock of losing a dear sister, she lamented, "I have lost my traveling partner."  They went to places like Williams Lake, Edmonton, Hinton, Jasper and Calgary.   Lots to Calgary each time our son, Darcy, moved to a new place to live--and he moved quite often.

Rosemary always said the most memorable trip she ever took was in 1980, when she and her sisters, eleven of them, decided to re-visit their roots during Alberta's 75th anniversary homecoming celebrations,  *Stamp Around Alberta*.  They covered the province from North to South and East to West.  Rosemary kept a daily journal.   And some of her comments are truly priceless.  She gave the journal to Candy to keep with all the photos (this will be on display at the Family Reunion in August.  The year 2000 is our 20th Anniversary).  To fund the Stamp Around Alberta trip, Rosemary and her sisters went to every craft sale and farmer's market in and around Saskatoon--selling their gophers and other plush animals as well as other crafts.  They also went further a field to attend a show called of all things, "Creative Chaos" in Vernon, B.C.  Rosemary said, "We should all fit in really well--we're used to chaos."

Once when Rosemary and Candy were out traveling on a "runaway" weekend, they went to Drumheller so they could, as Rosemary put it, "Look for dinosaurs of our vintage."

How proud Rosemary was of her grandchildren!  She talked at great length about them.  She was always so happy to have her family gather around at Christmas and special occasions. She always provided great meals--sometimes out of next to nothing.  And, her door was always open to family and friends.  If you needed a place to stay or if you needed a meal, she was always there for you.

She had many longtime friends and always had a place for new friends.  She enjoyed going to bingo with her son Reg, her cousin Doreen and her sister Kay, as well as her good friend of the last fifteen years, Jackie, and of course, husband, Reg.  Sometimes winning, sometimes not.  As she put it, "You pays your money and takes your chances."

She also loved going to the Manhattan Dance Hall and other venues where she could listen and dance to old time music with young Reg.  Rosemary taught all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to dance by having them stand on her feet to learn the steps.  By the way, she also taught sisters Pat and Candy to dance using the same method.  (Its a method you just don't see at ballroom dancing classes.)

Most recently, she spent Saturday nights with Laverne, Dorothy and Norma playing cards.  Not Kaiser!  (She won a Kaiser tournament with Cathy and Allan and one of their friends and never again played Kaiser.)  Rosemary also spent the last five years being a grandmother to John Wiebe, playing canasta, going to bingos and going fishing with him.  As you all know, its something they both loved to do.

Rosemary believed in volunteering for good causes.  She was one of the coordinators for the community kitchen programs for Westmount and Pleasant Hill Schools.  She cooked breakfasts at Westmount School for the child hunger education program.   As well as volunteering with the Westmount and Caswell Pre-schools and the Westmount School Community Association, she also ran bingos for the Canadian Progress Club raising funds for the Westmount Community Association and played shinny for Interval House with "High Voltage"--a team comprised of Dale, Elsie, Rosemary, as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.  By the way, Rosemary won a trophy for being the oldest player in the League.   (She didn't mind being the oldest at all.   It was a great accomplishment.)

Rosemary's family also remembers spending a great deal of time picking wild berries with her.  Norma was saying Rosemary would go every year to pick cranberries to make jam for Jackie's dad, Fred.  Norma said the house would smell like old socks cooking, but...Fred got his jam.  But there were those delicious smells too.  Pat reminds us Rosemary used to make lemon meringue pies when they were all on the farm near Edson--a special treat for her little sisters.

And there were so many other happy memories of Rosemary.  For example, she went to Robbie Burns Night with her sisters and some friends.  No one recalls seeing her eat haggis, but they know she liked the rest of the meal.  One of the special times with Norma, Candy and a friend was when they all piled into Rita's car and drove to a Trooper concert at Greenwater Lake.  Rosemary got a kiss from the oldest band member.  The rest did not.  And Rosemary loved going to the Ness Creek Festival at Big River with her family and lots of friends.   She totally enjoyed those weekends.  She also went to the CB Radio Club parties with Reg, George, Marie, Rosemary and Young Reg.  She had a great time and made sure they did as well.

Then we remember her working career--varied to say the least!  She made ice for the Nutana Curling Rink, became a stationary fireman for the city hall and then worked, until her retirement, as an evening janitor...not an easy job.  After she retired from city hall, she learned a new trade--shingling roofs with Reg and if that wasn't enough, she learned to build a log cabin with him.  In her words, she was working on the "mighty mansion on the hill"...a cabin being built for Elsie's dad. She loved telling us about the cabin and the views from the windows and around the area.

Rosemary will surely be missed for her sense of humor at the Auntie gatherings on Friday nights.  Some of her memories of "the olden days" were truly hilarious:  The other night, the family was recalling the wonderful "Black Mariah", Rosemary's van.   The thing would break down at the most inconvenient times.  One time there was no gas pedal so Rosemary manufactured one using a brick.  Another time she crawled under the thing to fix the transmission.   The lady could turn her hand to anything and make it work.  Pat remembers traveling with Rosemary out through the mountains in that Mariah.  That's a trip with Rosemary Pat will never forget.

So many memories and now they are so much more precious.

There are some who regret not being able to attend the service today, but nonetheless share in the sorrow we all feel.  We have this message from one of Rosemary's nieces, Evelyn Stanbury and her family of Vancouver, B.C.:

"I want to pass on our deep sympathy. It would be greatly appreciated if you could pass on our condolences. Its always hard to know what to say at a time like this. I found it hard enough at Mom's funeral to be able to express to others the sorrow I felt inside. I didn't know Rosie as well as I know the rest of you, but I know that the loss of any of the Aunts is a great loss to the family as a whole.

Another niece, Cynthia Weir, of Kanata, Ontario, phoned to say something she regrets not saying earlier.  It was a simple thank you to Rosemary for loving her just as she was.  

Rosemary never judged people by what they had or how they looked.  She accepted them for what they were and never tried to change them.  This is the most memorable tribute to Rosemary.