Date of Birth: August 8, 1946
Date of Death: January 15, 2018
Elsie Hepburn of Whitewood passed away Monday, Jan.15, 2018 at the age of 71 years.
Elsie Clara (Petterson) was born on Aug. 8, 1946 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan, SK. She was the 11th child in a family of 12 born to Gustave and Clara Marie Petterson.
The family lived on a farm south of Estevan. Elsie attended a country school called Wood End until 1957 when the family relocated to a farm west of Wawota, SK. She attended another country school called Model until she finished Grade 8. Her high school was taken in Wawota. After completing high school, Elsie went to Regina in the fall of 1964 where she worked at Sears. She took training to become a nurse’s aide, and worked as an aide in the Regina General Hospital until the spring of 1966. While in Regina she lived at her sister Sonia and brother-in-law Ron Hawgood’s place.
On June 4,1966, she married Ronald Gordon Hepburn at the Gospel Chapel in Langbank, SK. Now she became a farmer’s wife and lived on the Hepburn farm 5½ miles south of Percival. Three children were born to this union and brought much joy to Elsie and Ronald: Cheryl Robin, Kevin Ronald and David Charles.
When the children were a little older, besides working on the farm, Elsie did homecare in the Whitewood area and later worked as a housekeeper at the Broadview Hospital.
Elsie was a very hospitable person and if unexpected guests arrived, she could quickly make up a meal from her storehouse of vegetables that she had harvested and preserved from her big garden or from boxes and boxes of fresh fruit.
When farming became too much for Elsie and Ronald, David came home from Ontario to help. Ronald passed away in June, 2011 and David married that same August. She was then alone on the farm and after a bad fall she could no longer stay on the farm, so she moved to a seniors’ complex on Green Street in Whitewood. Another fall there caused her to need long-term care so she moved to the nursing home. For the past two years Elsie had made her home at the Whitewood Community Health Centre. She has received very good care there for which the family is very thankful.
Elsie was predeceased by her husband, Ronald; her father, Gustave, and mother, Clara Marie Petterson; infant sister, Fern; brothers, Allan and Lloyd; double sister-in-law, Shirley Petterson; brother-in-law, Zan Nikiforuk; nephew, Douglas Hawgood; great-niece, Lacey Florek; father-in-law, Charles Hepburn and mother-in-law, Gertrude Hepburn; sisters and brothers-in-law, Evelyn (Jack) Willis, Ethel (Frank) Hymes, Elmer Trimble, Lillian (Dave) Blackwood,
Fern (Fred) May, Lloyd Hepburn, Ruth Sawatzky.
Elsie is survived by her children: daughter, Cheryl (Todd) Davidson and three granddaughters, Jacquelyn, Marissa and Lynelle; son, Kevin (Kara) Hepburn and grandchildren, Krysten, Jordan, Aaron and Camron; son, David (Donna) Hepburn and grandchildren, Joshua, Caleb and Zoey; her siblings, Gladys Nikiforuk, Pearl (Kenneth) Cranch, Sonia (Ron) Hawgood, Ross (Donna) Petterson, Roy Petterson, Fay (Leverne) Silzer, Alice (Jerry) Dutcyvich, Arnold (Ruth) Petterson; cousin, Gordon (Shirley) Petterson; and sisters-in-law, Geraldine Kidson and Marguerite Trimble. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and their spouses; great-nieces and nephews and their spouses; as well as several great-great-nieces and nephews, cousins in Canada and Norway and her friends.
Elsie’s funeral was held Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, at the Whitewood Evangelical Missionary Church with Pastor Joseph Steeves presiding. Linda Beutler offered a tribute, the eulogy was presented by Alice Dutcyvich, and a video tribute prepared by Kara Hepburn was played. Elsie’s son, Kevin Hepburn read the scriptures and son, Pastor David Hepburn gave the message. The musicians, Renee Oshowy and Linda Beutler, led in the hymns “Holy Spirit Thou
Art Welcome,” “His Name Is Wonderful,” “Jesus Loves Me,” “Blessed Assurance,” “What a Day That Will Be” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”
Prior to the funeral, interment took place in the Percival Cemetery with Trevor Silzer, Ken Nikiforuk, Milton Sawatzky, Sheldon Tebbutt, Ryan Tebbutt and Aaron Hepburn acting as pallbearers.
Arrangement were entrusted to Matthews Funeral Home, Whitewood.
