Mildred Arvilla Lawrance

As a child I was in awe at the beautiful, strong, loving Mother we had.She worked so hard, up in the morning to help Dad with the chores of dairy farming. Also she tended to her motherly duties, as well as growing a huge garden,canning and perserving food for the winter. She have courage and strength to face the duties of raisng 6 children,one with a servere health issue.That alone was a big burden to deal with, yet Mother and Dad took it on in stride without complaint .

Many nights she sat at my side,quietly knitting, hand sewing or reading quietly while I gasped for air. She sat at my side patiently. Life was tough for our parents more so for Mom who sacfriced so much for my every need at night,including cooking rolled oats if I got hungry.

In the morning she was up again to do her duties of chores and taking care of my sibling's needs.

She was my nurse, companion and friend while I was sick. Only once in all my childhood did she and dad miss visiting me in hospital.And that night the nurse called them so Mom or dad could reassure me they were okay.

Her iron-clad determination to raise us with morals mattered to her. She laughed 'she drug us up' and in many ways she did. She drug us to the yard to get out chores done, if we resisted. She drug us to the garden to help with learning how to grow our own foods, taking us away from things we wanted to do. She drug us on trips we did not want to go on. Mother and Dad drug us to events that we had to learn how to be social. She drug us up on the floor to learn how to dance, play musical instruments. She made us get our own switch to be corrected with and she used it when we broke her rules.Most of us learned real fast not to break the same rule. She drug us into showing respect for our elders, and property etc by making us face harsh consequences if we did not.They drug us to being involved learning how to do by doing in 4-H, They drug us to fairs to learn good sportsmanship, to events as school yards to learn to compete in a good way. Yes, our mother drug us up and I am glad she did.She drug us to places where we did not like others to make us aware it was us who need to learn to accept others despite who they are.

One of my fondest memories of Mom was the way we rushed into the home after school to find out what special 'welcome home' treats she baked us before we changed and did our chores. She would be out doing chores of getting food from the garden, treating some sick cow or whatever. Yet everyday Mom baked a special treat for us when we came home from school.

We knew our chores we had to do daily and we did them immediately after those delicious treats. Mine was to get the cattle in the summer and a host of jobs as I aged. We are paid a handsome allowance for our work from our parents once a week, they took us to town to go to the show at the Gaiety Theater..

Mom gave of herself to the community as well, serving on the Board of Five Mile; raising funds for Kidney machine, Cancer, wrote the Five Mile News; was a ball coach and we cannot count the hours she volunteered her energy and time to our 4-H days.

Fund raising became a way of life for our mother. She helped raise funds for the Kidney, heart and stroke and Cancer societies. She raised funds for 4-H events, the community events it was needed for. Many hours she sat in the Co-op or Mall selling raffle tickets. And even more so, when it came to raising funds for the new Five Mile Hall.

Mom worked hard on the chapter of the Five Mile area in the Smoky To Grande Prairie Book, writing several stories herself for those unable to be included unless she did it.

Everyone around interested in Five Mile ; read her news weekly in the Grande Prairie Herald Tribune. She participated in letters to the Editorial page and to read the opinions shared between her , Jake and Harold Reiswig as well as several others on many subjects is one of my precious memories of Mom and her intelligent interesting opinions. Jake , Harold and Mom debated on several subject through the years. Later when I met Harold and Jake I understood the deep respect the three of them had for each other's wisdom.

Obituary of Mildred A Lawrance On Friday July 5, 1996 longtime resident of Five Mile passed away in the QEII Hospital at age 77 years.

Mildred was born August 1, 1918 to Richard and Elsie Evans in the Grande Prairie Hospital.where she lived the rest of her life.She was the eldest of 3 daughters. In 1939 she married Cecil Lawrance and raised 6 children. They were dairy farmers and active community members. For their many years of involvement, Cecil and Mildred received the Friends of 4-H Award from the South Peace Council in 1992; They were made Honorary Members of the Grande Prairie Agricultural Society and Honorary Presidents of the Alberta Jersey Cattle Club. Mildred and Cecil had an undying love for Jersey cattle. They had registered Jerseys through their many years of dairy farming shipping to the N A D P. In 1992 they were receiptants of the Alberta Dairyman Award Of Distinction

They were long time residents of Five Mile Society and in 1978 Mildred helped origanize and publish the chapter of Five Mile in Smoky River To Grande Prairie

Mildred thoroughly enjoyed writing the Five Mile News in the Grande Prairie Herald She was a long time member of the Kidney Foundation,. The Memorial Society and canvasser for Cancer Society [for over 35 years]

In her later years,Mildred's lifelong love of music helped her pass time It began as a child playing guitar and harmonica ,collecting songs and in the last several years buying and played tapes as well as listening to CJXX. [ note by Darlene,she also sang and played on Grande Prairie radio station Saturday nights Amateur hour for a long time prior to 1939 to marriage] and as she grew blind from the late 1980's forward turned to her music more as entertainment]

Changed to respect the living.

Survived by her sons Ricky [wife] Of Sexsmith, Alex [wife ] of Chemanius] and son and wife of Grande Prairie, daughters daughters [husband Ed] and Darlene [Larry] and one daughter-in-law and her sister Elsie Rigler. Predeceased by her husband Cecil, one son Lyle, one grandson Tommy Sorken , great grandson Dalton Lawrance, her sister Elva and brother-inlaws Kenneth Ashley and Percy Rigler. Mildred had 22 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren when she died.

NOTE: When I got my birth Certificate, I found mother's middle name as well as my own was spelled differently: ancestry.com

Birth certificate spelling Mildred Arivilla Evans

• 1921 Canada Census Township 71 Range 5 W6 Edmonton West Alberta
• 1949 Mrs. Cecil Lawrance voter list
• 1962 Mr and Mrs Cecil Lawrance voters list Alberta
• 1974 voters list Cecil and Mildred Lawrance
• 1965 voter list Mrs Cecil Lawrance [Grande Prairie]
• 1968 Mrs Cecil [Grande Prairie] Lawrance voters list

Canadian phone listing C W Lawrance