Date of Birth: June 13, 1928
Date of Death: July 26, 2016
MORHART – Mrs. Sophie Morhart, widow of the late Jack Morhart, passed away in the early hours of Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at St. Paul Lutheran Home in Melville.
Sophie was the fourth child of Joseph and Evelyn Seida. She was born in the Dubuc area on June 13,1928. Sophie started her education at Columbia School, then the family moved south of Dubuc in 1936, where she attended Larson School until 1942. Next they moved to a farm near Ferrell School, where she completed her education.
On June 12, 1945, Sophie married Jack Morhart. They then began a life-long partnership earning a living on the farm three miles east of Grayson. That fall they took over the meat market in Grayson from Jack’s father. At this time, there was no such thing as refrigeration; large blocks of ice were required for preserving the meat, which involved a lot of hard manual labour. During this time, ration coupons were required to buy meat, and because of this meat-purchasing restriction, the business was not lucrative.
On Aug.1, 1946, their first child, Emily, was born.
In the spring of 1947, Sophie and Jack moved back to the farm. On the farm, not only did Sophie keep busy with her homemaking and gardening duties, she also was involved in all the other aspects of farming. This included milking the cows and feeding the pigs and chickens. In the earlier days, she would stook sheaves for threshing, then in the latter years, she would haul grain and bales. Sophie spent countless hours canning and making preserves, and fall was especially busy because of butchering cattle, pigs and poultry in order to keep the family supplied with meat for the year. In addition to the farm work, Sophie also babysat the neighbour’s children for a short period of time.
On July 14, 1948, Sophie and Jack’s second child, Audrey was born and on March 5, 1953, their third child, Randy was born. Next to arrive on Oct. 29, 1957 was Sheila. The last of their five children was born on April 1, 1961 and he was named Darcy.
Sophie and Jack farmed from 1947 until 1978, at which time they retired in Grayson. While living in Grayson as an active community contributor, Sophie performed caretaking duties in St. Mary’s Church. She was a personal care attendant for a neighbour, a member of the CWL and the Senior Citizens Club. She also volunteered in the making of cabbage rolls and perogies, as well as serving during the Grayson Polka Fest Days.
Her pastime and recreational activities included crocheting doilies, braiding rugs and clothes hangers, knitting sweaters for her children, sewing patchwork quilts as well as clothing for her children; her granddaughters especially enjoyed the doll clothes that she sewed and knitted for them. She also enjoyed reading, going for walks, playing cards and winning at bingo.
In January 2006, Jack passed away and that fall Sophie moved into the Queen Street Manor in Melville. There she enjoyed the company of the residents, as well as the activities held in the lounge. Sophie resided at the Queen Street Manor for nearly 10 years until on May 31, 2016 she moved to St. Paul Lutheran Home because of health issues. Here she continued to practice her good nature and quick wit with staff, family and friends.
Sophie’s pride and joy have always been her family. She always looked forward to having her children, grandchildren and friends visit her, especially once she was in St. Paul Lutheran Home. Sophie looked forward to rides in her wheelchair and she greatly enjoyed the visits in the fresh air courtyards.
Sophie was raised by devout Catholic parents and her religious beliefs carried her through her entire life.
Sophie was predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Evelyn (nee Rieger) Seida; infant twin sisters, Rosie and Elizabeth; a granddaughter, Rhonda Shalanski; and a son-in-law, Albert Biro.
She leaves to cherish her memory: five children, Emily Biro (Dave Leftwich ) of Yorkton, Audrey Shalanski (Wilson Schick) of Saskatoon, Randy Morhart of Vancouver, B.C., Sheila (Gordon) Propp of Melville and Darcy Morhart of Saskatoon; four grandchildren, Dawn (Derek) Lewis of Cochrane, Alta., Blaine (Kim) Biro of Morinville, Alta., Leslie (Jeff) Bernath of Regina and Amber Propp (Jason Sass) of Grande Prairie, Alta.; great-granddaughter, Kynsle Swanson of Whitecourt, Alta.; step-great-grandchildren, Brendan Lewis of Cochrane, Alta., Danika Lewis of Cochrane, Alta., Kolton Massey of Morinville, Alta. and Landon Massey of Cochrane, Alta.; sisters-in-law, Ilean Kolynchuk of Melville and Barbara Seida of Regina; god-children, Jerry Morhart, Kenneth Taillon, Sonia Kovacs and Wendy Rudy; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Mass of Christian burial was celebrated for Sophie on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Grayson, with the Rev. Fr. Thomas Mutavanattu celebrating. The participants in the mass were: music and vocals, Charlotte Holitski and Allan Gelowitz; altar servers, Jayden Croswell, Selena Dietrich, Brett Duczek and Katelyn Kraushaar; reader, Florence Parlee; offerings, Dawn Lewis, Leslie Bernath and Amber Propp; the eulogist was Emily Biro; and Leona Bisch assisted with the mass. The hymns for the mass were “On Eagle’s Wings,” “Jesus, the Bread of Life,” “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art.” All who knew and loved Sophie were considered honorary pallbearers.
Interment took place in St. Mary’s Parish Cemetery with Randy Morhart, Darcy Morhart, Blaine Biro, Derek Lewis, Jeff Bernath and Richard Seida acting as pallbearers.
Arrangements were entrusted to Matthews Funeral Home, Melville.
