In Memory of

Doreen "Dot" Hilda Elizabeth
Ford (Hemmings)

1923 - 2018

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Blair's Funeral Home
205 - 1st Avenue West
Kelvington, Saskatchewan
CANADA
S0A 1W0

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Obituary for Doreen "Dot" Hilda Elizabeth Ford (Hemmings)

Life Story for Doreen "Dot" Hilda Elizabeth Ford (Hemmings)

The following is a Tribute that was given at the celebration of life by son Shane:

Doreen Hilda Elizabeth Hemmings - Dot, was born on April 22, 1923 to parents Annie (Darby) & Arthur Hemmings in the city of York, Yorkshire, England. Most of her growing up years were spent with her Granny & Grampa Darby, surrounded by cousins who were more like brothers & sisters, as well as two younger brothers, twins Derrick & Cyril. Mom also discovered many years later @ the age of 90 that she had one more brother Desmond, who she never got to meet.
Mom attended school to grade 11 then went to work @ Rowntree's Chocolate Factory. During WW II, she worked at a 'munitions factory, packing powder into bombs. Also during the war, mom worked as a bus conductress (ticket taker) & during blackouts, walked in front of the bus with a flashlight in her hand to light the way. It was on the bus where she first met the love of her life, RCAF officer Lawrence Ford.
After a whirlwind romance, their 60 year love story began. Mom & dad were married on Feb 24th, 1945 @ St Cuthbert's Church then Dad was given leave & went back to Canada to pave the way for his new British bride. While on leave, the war ended & so it was much later when mom left England & came to Canada. She arrived in Sept 1946 with baby daughter Maureen, travelling with many other war brides & their children first by ship from Liverpool to Halifax, then by train to Winnipeg. Mom told how she was nearly run over crossing the street because Canadians drove on the 'wrong side.' The next leg of her journey was again by train to Kuroki, SK where Dad met them at the station. Mom often told the story of how she'd only ever seen him in uniform & didn't recognize him in 'civvies.'
They started their life together on the farm in the Pipestone area, living first with Grandma & Grampa Ford. Unfortunately, as a “foreigner that talked funny” mom wasn't well received by her new mother in law. They were often @ odds with each other until one day mom picked up their few things & told Nanny, “from now on, Lawrence & I will be living in the little house at the end of the road!” They got along much better after she'd put some distance between them.
One can only imagine the culture shock of leaving behind family, home & country & how difficult it must've been for a city girl from England to become a farm wife in Sakatchewan. Thankfully, the Pipestone neighbors welcomed mom into their lives & their families & helped her learn the Canadian way. She learned corn on the cob wasn't just for the hogs, that fruit cakes were made for Christmas - not birthdays & to never tell uncle Alf Adamson that your favorite part of a pig was the tail or you'd find it tied to the doorknob!
Eventually they gave up farming, Dad went to work at The Kelvington Post office & the family left the farm & moved to town. Because Dad refused to buy “on credit” mom also went out to work, as a clerk in Blankley's Store for 11 years, part-time @ Beaton's Hardware & once women were allowed in pubs in Saskatchewan, she became the first barmaid @ the Kelvington Hotel!
Mom was very community minded & over the years volunteered countless hours of her time. She joined the North Country Women's Club in 1953, was recognized in 2013 for 60 years of membership & continued attending meetings, helping where she could, for as long as she could. In fact, mom was secretary for the NCWC until last month when she reluctantly resigned due to failing health & poor sight.
Mom was also an active member of the Kelvington Lionelles Club & many of you will remember her singing her way through their musical programs - The Roaring Twenties, Showboat, The Pork & Thistle to name a few. Mom loved to sing & loved to have fun & oh what fun they had! There was always music in our lives & she passed her talents to some, but unfortunately not all of us. In later years mom became a member of the Kelvington Seniors Club where she & Auntie Joyce Kitar took turns leading the exercise group.
Mom was a member of the Sask War Brides Association from 1975 when the association was formed until they disbanded. She never missed a convention & so looked forward those get togethers, they sang, they danced, they reminisced. Every convention closed with the brides joining hands & singing “We'll Meet Again.” With mom's passing, Kelvington has lost its last war bride.
Mom loved to travel & it made no difference how she went as long as she got to go! In early years there was a trip to Watrous with Auntie Joyce & Uncle Metro, camping trips in the hard top tent trailer, there was the trip to Missouri in an old converted bus, with the other Ford families – Uncle Walter, Teeny, Uncle Tim & Bess, the motorhome trip with Anne & Rick, experiencing Mexico with Shane & Sheldon & their families, as well as trips back “home” to England. Each one of us “kids” made the trip with her at least once, as did grand-daughter Marla. Her last trip to England was 4 years ago & while there she visited family, met her niece Barbara for the very first time & celebrated her 91st birthday - in the pub of course!
She loved to talk, drink tea (or beverage of choice), read, & watch TV – especially Coronation Street, but most of all she loved people & being with her family – the more the merrier! Some of you will recall Kelvington Homecoming & the “tent city” that grew in mom & dad's yard as more & more of us arrived. All those people & only one bathroom, but mom took it in her stride, even when the rains came & eventually we all ended up sleeping in the house. Mom would tell how, when one rolled over, they all rolled over!
As our matriarch she loved all of her family very much. From those closest to her to those furthest away, to those newly discovered & of course the extended family – like all of you with us here today.
Everyone here knows how fiercely independent mom was & I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of the special people who helped her keep that independence as long as she did. Thank you to Kevin & Lynette & to Dave & Bernie Toth for being her on-call helpers & for dropping by to check on her when she was still in her home. The wonderful team of Home Care workers that assisted her daily, both in her home & after she moved to her new home @ the Villa. To the caring & compassionate staff at the Kelvington Hospital for always providing excellent care, as well as your kindness to her & our family during mom's final days. Thank you one & all.
Mom was predeceased by the love of her life, Lawrence Ford, infant daughter Lisa Marlene, brothers Desmond, Derrick, Cyril & his wife Gwynn, as well as nephew, Mark Andrews.
Left to remember her are children, Maureen, Sharon (Peter), Anne (Rick), Gail (Vern) & Shane & their families - 16 grandchildren, 23 great-grand children & 8 great-great grandchildren. Her dearest friend, Joyce Kitar, sister-in-law Anne Andrews, niece Samantha Andrews, niece Gail Andrews & their families as well as, nephew Kevin (Lynette) Ford & their family. Those back home in England, sister in law Pat Morris, niece Debra (Simon) Lewin & their children Ryan & Abbi, cousins Anne (Colin) Thistleton, John (Gladys) Rushton, Jim (Linda) Moore, niece Barbara Herbert & their families.

Remember me with smiles & laughter
For that's how I'll remember you all
If you only remember me with tears
Then don't remember me at all.
Dot


The following is a Tribute that was given at the celebration of life by granddaughter Tamara:

I have been asked to do the impossible: to share a few special memories of my Grandma Ford, or as I called her, “Party Grandma”. The impossible comes from trying to determine which of the multitude of memories should make the cut. I am Gail’s oldest daughter, Tamara. My sisters and I grew up in Porcupine so we were close enough to spend a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa and lucky enough to have grandparents who wanted us to!
When we were kids we would go every Sunday night to their place for supper. The smell of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, Grandma laughing and telling stories while she bustled around the kitchen, and the noise of too many people in their little house would be interrupted by a knock at the door. Friends stopping by for coffee were always invited in, and never allowed to leave until they’d joined for supper. I don’t know how she made that pot of potatoes multiply with the knocks at the door, but i n Grandma’s house there was always room for one more.
The same was true at the lake. As kids Grandma would spend all day at the beach with us, then go back to the cabin (which Grandma always called the cottage) and create a wonderful meal for whoever was there when it was time to eat. When we had summer jobs at the lake we lived with Grandma and Grandpa. The cottage was small but the fun was big. Grandma hosted drinks-on-the-deck and dinners that always included entertainment, be it stories, singing or dancing. In fact, Grandma taught my sisters how to 7-step on the deck!
Grandma loved music, and if there wasn’t any, she would sing. Around the house, whenever the mood struck, she would sing a little tune. If you got Grandma, Aunt Bessie and a piano in the same room you’d have a full blown concert! Attending the luncheons after the Remembrance Day services we were treated to Grandma’s public performances since we were too young to have attended her Lionelles shows. I think we may have been the only kids who knew the words to Roll Out the Barrel, and certainly the only ones who’d seen their grandma flash the union jack on her backside in Knees Up Mother Brown!
Despite being in Canada since 1946 Grandma took great pride in her English roots. All of us can remember the clock on the mantle that played the Westminster Chimes and being schooled on how to make a proper pot of tea. She never owned a pair of jeans, she never drank a cup of coffee, and she never lost her English accent. She was also an avid Royal watcher, keeping up on their news as she did with her own family. I was only in first grade when Prince Charles and Lady Diana got married but Grandma and I discussed her dress and the hats as though we’d been guests ourselves. Fast forward to 2011 when at 88 years of age, Grandma and I had a girls night at her place, staying up all night to watch Prince William and Duchess Kate get married.
Throughout her life Grandma attended the United Church. She and I would often talk about how the church was changing, for better or for worse. Grandma was very vocal about one thing that she felt should change: how slow the hymns were sung! She would say, “I don’t understand it. Why don’t they sing it like it’s meant to be sung? It’s supposed to be a song of praise!” When I hear, Make a Joyful Noise from the Voices United hymnal, I think of Grandma and smile. The tempo is just right and completely captures her approach to life and spirituality.
Joyful Noise is not what some would call noisy kids but Grandma never complained. She’d have a house full of people and we’d be building a fort in her living room, hollering to ask, “could we use the kitchen chairs too or just the couch cushions?” At the lake we would run laps through the cottage and out onto the deck, letting the screen door slam with a bang that could be heard all the way up the street to Auntie Joyce’s. As our own kids came along, there was always someone who needed attention, with the request at full volume. Grandma would just sit back and smile. She said that when people asked how she could stand it she would tell them that it didn’t bother her a bit as long as they were healthy.
She came to our school concerts and awards nights, skating carnivals, music festivals and anything else that we invited her to. At each one, she clapped as hard as if it were the greatest thing she ever witnessed. She was equally willing to be a performer or an audience member in our home productions of Masterpiece Theatre, and would laugh so hard, with her head back and eyes squeezed shut, laughing herself to tears, that we knew the production was worthy of Broadway.
Her laugh is familiar to you all, but I’m betting her tears are also. Grandma used to say that her bladder was too close to her tear ducts. At the symphony during the Hallelujah Chorus, during O Canada at the War Brides reunions, and at each and every one of our performances, the emotions would hit and the tears would flow.
Grandma didn’t often cry when she talked about the war. She acknowledged the atrocities but said if it hadn’t been for the war she never would have met Grandpa. She said that because people didn’t know what tomorrow would bring they lived in the moment and took advantage of every opportunity. And, although it might be looked at harshly now, they had some great fun! This same sentiment was shared through the years at the annual War Brides reunions that Grandma enjoyed so much. It was an honour when my sisters and I, along with our mom, were invited to be Grandma’s guests when the Saskatchewan War Brides Association met for the final time. Despite it being an ending, Grandma celebrated all that had been, and set about determined to make sure that everyone had a good time.
This tribute would be incomplete without mentioning Grandma’s great friendships. Imagine our surprise when doing a family tree assignment in elementary school and discovering that Auntie Joyce, Aunt Effie and Aunt Bess were not actually related to us! Grandma’s involvement in the community and with the War Brides meant that everyone knew her. She had the uncanny ability to meet someone at lunch and they called her a friend by supper. She made you feel special, and everyone wanted to be part of her fun and hear her stories. This included our friends, who shared that Grandma made them feel just like part of the family. If Grandma had been on Facebook she would’ve crashed the system with Friend Requests.
Grandma was also a friend to many charities. She believed in the work of each one she supported and wrote a personal note with each donation, wishing them luck in their endeavours. Canada Post will miss her too since in addition to the donations she mailed, she still wrote letters, and still sent birthday and Christmas cards. She also faithfully mailed back every request from Publisher’s Clearing House in her quest to win the millions.
I am told that to have a relationship with a grandparent like I had is unusual in this day and age. Stranger still is that my husband and our daughter have had the opportunity to know Grandma themselves, separate from me and my stories, and create their own relationships with her. For all of that, I am deeply thankful.
Grandma used to say, “If there’s anything you want, put your name on it. I don’t want you fighting over it after I’m gone”. There’s nothing in the china cabinet, no trinket or bauble that could capture who she was and what she meant to me. I’ll miss you Party Grandma.