Obituary of Grethe McBain

Grethe Marie McBain (Nielsen) passed away in the early hours of February 19th 2018. Our Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 7th 1923. She made the journey with her mother, older brother and sister to join her father in Canada in the summer of 1929 at the age of 5. Originally landing in Montreal, they made their way to Camrose where she would make her home for nearly 90 years. Grethe worked with her mother cleaning and cooking for various families in the community until eventually waitressing at Bill's Café. There she met Wilbur McBain, who she would marry on October 24, 1943, moving to the farm the next day to work for Ralph Hurlburt. Grethe would spend the next 42 years working alongside her husband managing the farm and raising their two sons, Harold and Bob. She selflessly gave to her family, providing her sons with every opportunity to succeed. Wilbur and Grethe moved into town in 1985, but she never stopped being a farmer's wife. Grethe was a strong, resourceful and confident woman with many talents. Whether it be regular meals and running the house, or baking, knitting, and teaching Brownies, she used the family's limited resources to provide a comfortable life for those dear to her. Grethe was predeceased by Wilbur, her husband of 63 years, and oldest son Harold and his wife Marilyn McBain. She will be missed by her son Bob and his partner Leigh-Ann Klick of Sexsmith; grandchildren Andrea McBain, her children Kreashyn, Nicholas and Brooklyn of Wembley, Robert McBain and his wife Kristin Mason of Calgary, their children Russell, Alden and Ethan, and Daryn McBain and his wife Jolene of Sexsmith, their children Evelyn and Quartus. She will be sorely missed by Glenda Strauss who she loved as a daughter. A memorial gathering has taken place at 10:00 a.m., Friday, February 23, 2018 from the Burgar Memorial Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are gratefully accepted to the charity of one's choice.