Date of Birth: August 11, 1924
Date of Death: July 10, 2024
After a brief illness Inez Herman, of Middle Lake, SK, passed away peacefully in Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, just one month shy of her 100th birthday.
Born and raised in the southern Ontario towns of Fisherville and Jarvis, upon high school graduation Inez attended nursing school in Hamilton, graduating in 1946, then started her nursing career. She went to the same church as a young man from Saskatchewan who was working in the Hamilton steel mill during the winters. She and Gilbert Unverricht were married on May 10, 1947. Their honeymoon was a trip across North America to Grenfell, Sask. where Gib worked on a road building crew, and her first job on the prairies was cooking for the men. After the birth of their fourth child and the sudden onset of Gib’s lengthy illness, Inez resumed her career as a nurse at the Grenfell Union Hospital, Parkland Place in Melfort and Bethany Pioneer Village in Middle Lake, where Gib was the maintenance man.
As a working mother of four, Inez was always supportive of her children, never raised her voice, and had a calm, but firm way of keeping everyone in line. She could raise an eyebrow and change potential chaos into quiet peace. Inez understood the value of music in her children’s lives, playing the tenor horn alongside her children in the Grenfell town band and making sure that piano lessons happened, whether we practised or not. She loved being involved in music, playing violin or singing with the Sloughgrass Singers and continuing musical participation at Bethany.
After Gib’s passing in 1976 Inez married Max Herman on Aug. 31, 1979 and moved from her trailer to the Herman family farm where she adapted to farming life and soon retired from nursing. They then moved into Middle Lake in 1982 and began travelling. Numerous trips took them to Mexico, Europe, Germany (twice), Hawaii, Alaska and California by car, bus or with their camper truck. They both enjoyed being involved in the community and church while supporting and volunteering with local organizations that included the Lions Club, Bethany and delivering meals-on-wheels. In 2016 Max and Inez moved into Birch Manor.
Inez was blessed with a clear, strong mind throughout her 99.9 years, and kept it sharpened through her work projects, crafts and crossword puzzles, along with scrabble, rummy tile or Mexican Train games, often with grandchildren. At 91 she learned to communicate with all of us by text and loved receiving family pictures covering four generations on her tablet. She enjoyed going for a drive in the country, checking crops, and watching the harvest or birds. Always up for TV game shows, movies, or curling, her favourite pastime was a good conversation. Three generations of family members will remember her for the unconditional love and respect she gave to each of us, for her ability to soften the blows of life’s disappointments, for her joy and pride in our successes, and for her genuine smile and laughter.
Throughout her life Inez drew strength and comfort from daily prayer. The depth of her Christian faith was evident in her positive attitude in all situations and her discernment skills as a parent, friend and co-worker. At the front of her well-used bible she wrote, “Our power to cope comes from God. His love restores and revives.” Reflecting on her long life, we know that to be true.
Inez was predeceased by her parents, Edgar Machell and Lena Held; four siblings: William Machell, Lavone Unverricht, Glen Machell, Marjory Kohl, step-brother Chris Smelser, and step-sister Helen Yager. In her immediate family she was predeceased by her first husband, Gilbert Unverricht, in 1976; daughter-inlaw, Beverly Hodgins, in 1994; her second husband, Max Herman, in 2017; and grandson-in-law Josh Mayers, in 2023.
She is lovingly remembered by her four children: Brian Unverricht and granddaughter Stephanie (Kirk); Sharon (Joe) Carter; Wendy (Dennis) Kondrat and grandchildren Ryan (Roslyn), Becky (Giovanni) and Jennifer (Rich); Ed (Lori) Unverricht and grandchildren Christina (Graham), Jaclyn (Erik), and Cathryn; step-son Ken (Sharon) Herman and grandchildren Nolan (Karrie) and Talia (Ian); 14 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
The funeral service will be held in the Silver Willow Room at Bethany Pioneer Village in Middle Lake on Friday, Aug. 9 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Faith Lutheran Church, Bethany Pioneer Village, or a charity of your choosing. Inez’s extended family wish to thank the staff at Bethany Pioneer Village, the Humboldt Hospital, the Cardiac Ward in RUH and Schuler-Lefebvre Funeral Services for their exceptional, compassionate care.
