Florence Mildred Stadnek, nee Hearn, was born on May 12th, 1925 on a farm near Sturgis, Saskatchewan to Charles and Mabel Hearn. Shortly after her birth, the family headed back down to Kalispell, Montana where Charles had been working. In the summer of 1928, the family returned to Canada and they settled on a farm outside of Preeceville where Florence attended Beaver Bluff school and then later the school in Preeceville. In 1946, Florence came to the Weekes area to live with her maternal grandmother, Nellie Gunn White. It was during this time that Florence met the love of her life, Walter Stadnek, at the Weekes Post Office and by November 12th, 1947, Walter and Florence were married in Preeceville. By summer of 1948 Florence and Walter moved to the quarter north of Weekes, where they spent 54 years together and Florence lived until August of 2022. Florence then began a new adventure in the Red Deer Nursing Home where she enjoyed her time with the other residents and the caring staff until her passing on March 3rd, 2023.
72 years of Florence’s life was spent at the farm, where she and Walter made their living and raised their 5 children; Eric, Donald, David, Valerie and Lynn. Having all the luxuries of modern life, we can only imagine how busy the days were for Florence as she cooked, cleaned, grew and preserved her own food, raised her children and supported Walter’s love of farming. Life wasn’t all hard work, Florence was a member of the Neely Lake Ladies Club which provided a chance to socialize, volunteer and be a part of the community. Family was also very important to Florence, and she could remember how people were related, what happened when and was a preserver of our family history without having to write anything down. Her walls included pictures of multiple generations of relatives, a highlight being her 5 generations picture which was captured with her first great-great grandchild.
Until recently, Florence was fortunate to live on the family farm, where she spent her time gardening, watching curling, recording the daily weather and visiting with those who stopped by. Florence is predeceased by her husband Walter (2002), her sons Eric and Donald, her parents Charles and Mabel, her brothers Everett and Delbert and her sisters Fanny and Violet. Florence leaves to cherish her memory, her sister Margaret, her son David, daughters Valerie (Ralph) Farley and Lynn Stadnek and her daughter-in-law Jackie as well as 11 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.