Tina Kornelsen Kehler (1937-2022)

On Tuesday, September 27th, 2022, our wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and sister, Tina Kehler left us to be with her Lord and Savior at the age of 85.

Tina leaves to cherish her memory: her husband of 64 years of marriage, Reuben Wellington Kehler; her children: Cliff (Tammy), Dolores (Mike), Audrey and Blake (Pamela Juneau and son Evan) as well as five grandchildren Christopher, Courtney, Natasha, Nick and Aimy and two Great-grandchildren Cayden & Tianna. She is survived by three sisters Jessie Froese, Frieda Martins, Linda Kornelsen and one brother-in-law Norman Friesen (Lena).

She was predeceased by her parents John and Helen Kornelsen (Pries), sisters Hilda Friesen (Cornie Friesen), Bertha Friesen and brother Jake Korneslen (Kay) brothers-in-law Pete Froese and Elmer Martens.

Mom was baptized in Barkfield on May 21, 1956. She was born and raised on a small farm in Barkfield, Manitoba. Mom lived there along with her one brother and her five sisters. At the age of 14 she started to work in the beet fields and later the sewing factory in St. Pierre, at which time she picked “the small guy in the back seat with the white teeth” to be her loving husband and ultimate caregiver throughout her life, Reuben.

Mom and Dad moved into their apartment three and a half years ago. Each evening and most mornings they spent a little time before getting out of bed to cuddle and pray, giving a blessing for each one of us by name.

Mom’s love for family was made clear in everything she did. Mom was a home maker and seamstress, earning enough extra cash to supplement our yearly vacation road trips to Alberta, BC, and everything in-between. Mom loved her time camping at Caddy Lake, Toniata and later at Eagle Lake & Lee River. She was always up for a boat ride and a chance to drop a line into the lake in hopes of catching a fish. Mom looked forward to bringing the grandchildren for sleepovers at home or the lake. Spending time swimming or should I say floating on her inflatable boat, either at the different lakes or in Audrey’s pool brought her so much joy.

Like her mother, Mom was more quiet than chatty and spending time with all of her family was always most important.

Dinner and game night was a favorite time to share with Audrey and Tasha on Tuesdays. The last few years Blake was dropping off three Kinsman Jackpot bingo cards for Mom, Dad and Audrey to play on Saturdays. Afterwards she looked forward to watching a Jets game or setting up to play a game of cards.

Chris was the first-born grandchild and Mom and Dad babysat and did lots of sleepovers. When he was dropped off in the morning, he would run to their bedroom to cuddle and spend some time in the fart sack. Mom always tried to figure out what everyone’s favorite food was and ensured it was well stocked so she could feed you when you stopped by. For Chris it was pizza pops. Mom was a champion for Christopher after his accident, attending events in his name was an honour. At our family gatherings, she would sit beside Chris, in his wheelchair, holding his hand and making sure he was always appreciated and never forgotten.

For Nick and Aimy she would make crepes, sprinkle them with sugar, roll them up for the perfect snack. Nick makes his version of the crepes now and took pictures to share with Mom when he visited.

Mom loved for her family to drop by anytime at all and when you got there, she never wanted you to leave, she would say “come sit down in the living room for a while”. She was always offering a drink, a meal, sweet treat or salty snack. Never enough time to satisfy her want for having us all around for as long as possible. If you ever have a sewing project to do, redo or create something from scratch, she was the one to get it done. If we had an appliance, car, clothing or anything, that needed to be cleaned up and restored to new, she was the one who had the patience and the toothbrush to complete the task. We called her Mrs. Clean.

Another favourite pass time for Mom was puzzles. Tasha enjoyed puzzling with Mom and she was always impressed with how quickly Tasha could find the pieces. It was nice finding comfort in silence with Grandma.

With her sisters and mother, she enjoyed their yearly birthday tradition of homemade chicken noodle soup and also visiting at Lilac.

Thank you, Mom, for all you have done, you have been home when we needed you, you cared, protected, watched over us and loved us. We will miss you so much. As Mom always said: “one by one” ….. our chain is now broken, but we will see you again as God calls us ONE by ONE and the chain will link again. We love you with all of our hearts!

The service will be held on Tuesday, October 4, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, with viewing one hour prior. A luncheon, in which the family invites all for fellowship, will take place after the service. Interment at Glen Lawn Memorial Gardens, 455 Lagimodiere Blvd, thereafter.