MAGDALENA (WOLFRAM) BOTCHETT

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MAGDALENA (WOLFRAM) BOTCHETT Lena passed away peacefully as she slept, on February 18, 2002, in her home in Winnipeg. She was born in 1905, on a homestead in Beausejour and led a long and productive life. At 96 she was self sufficient and still walked three blocks for her groceries. Her mind was still sharp as a tack, and she could entertain for hours with tales of what she had seen and done over her lifetime. As a child she helped raise her siblings when her father was killed in a farming accident. She was self educated and as a young woman, was homekeeper to several prominent Winnipeg families including the Roblins, where she developed her extraordinary cooking talents. After marrying Albert in 1933, they settled in Orillia, ON, raising two children, Doreen and Douglas. When Albert died in 1976, Lena moved first to Hampton, NB, and later to Liverpool, NS, and Dartmouth, NS, to live with her son Douglas and his family, where she contributed a great deal in the development of her grandchildren during their formative years. In 1991 Lena moved back to Winnipeg to care for her sister Jo Douglas, who was dying of cancer and stayed on after Jo died. Family and God was everything to Lena, and she was an inspiration to anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Loving, caring, selfless, righteous, extraordinarily generous, resourceful and fiercely independent was the way Lena lived her life and will be remembered. She will be greatly missed by those of us who survive her but comforted in the knowledge she will spend eternity in Heaven with the God she loved watching over us. As she instructed, her body was donated to science. The family will have a celebration of her life at a future gathering. Lena is survived by her sister Myrtle Brown, Vancouver; daughter Doreen Peever, St. Catharines; son Douglas Botchett, Fall River, together with many friends and relatives.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 23, 2002