Rachkewich, Geraldine Shirley Marie (nee Plaskan)

It is with great sadness that the family of Geraldine Rachkewich announce her passing on September 2, 2023.
Geraldine was born on September 13, 1938 in a log cabin on the homestead at Marean Lake, Saskatchewan to Steve and Anne (nee Barteluk) Plaskan. Her Dad had used the logs from the 10 acres of land he cleared to build the log home in the early 30"s. Then in 1940 her parents bought the country post office, store and land 2 miles from Marean Lake.
From a very young age, Geraldine and family learned the importance and value of helping others in time of need; along with being good neighbours they learned to face adversity when confronted with tragedy. Sadly, the 2nd house that they lived in caught fire and they lost most of their possessions. The family had a strong faith and were very religious and would attend the country church at Nobleville on Sundays, and the kids went the 7 miles to school daily with the horse and wagon.
Geraldine was also instilled with a strong work ethic. At 14, she helped cook for her siblings when her Mom and Dad were busy on the farm or away. She despised picking berries and would do anything to avoid that dreadful task!! Her first job was working as a waitress at the Greenwater Cafe in the Greenwater Provincial Park and selling cigarettes at dances.
In 1950, when the Nobleville school shut down, her parents bought a house in Porcupine Plain so the kids could have a better education.
We have all heard the saying, “Love At First Sight”! As the story goes, John and Gerry first met in the back of a truck, both representing Porcupine Plain High School at a baseball tournament in Weekes, Sask,(20 minutes east of Porcupine Plain). John was pitcher for the Porcupine Plain High School boys team and Gerry was pitcher for the Porcupine Plain High School girls team. She did marry the love of her life, John Rachkewich on October 11,1956 where they waited for the harvest season to be mainly finished. Holding her funeral now is part of honouring that part of life my Dad loved. They married and John graduated from Teacher’s College in Saskatoon. John worked 2 years in the Tisdale School Division, North Hyde School at Steen, and they lived in the teacherage at Pringleton school. John began his 30 year teaching career with the Hudson Bay School Division, becoming the Principal of Stewart Hawke School in Hudson Bay, Sask. Gerry worked as a Switchboard Operator in the local telephone office and teller at the Bank of Nova Scotia. They started their family in 1969 when Darren came to brighten their lives, and in 1974 they were blest with Dean. Upon starting their family, she felt conflicted between having a job and family commitments. She resigned from her job at the Bank of Nova Scotia and became a full-time homemaker. Don’t let that fool you; she had many other duties. She assisted John by picking up the mail from the post office and delivering it to the school. She also had this great “knack” of helping John select the appropriate person for future teaching positions, based on their personality and how long they had worked with him. They had a rich life with curling, dancing, staff parties and entertaining.
They bought a cabin at Marean Lake where everyone went to have a fabulous time enjoying various lake activities like, fishing, boating, snowmobiling and sitting around the camp fire. They loved playing cards and Yahtzee where company feasted on the best cooking anyone could imagine. Her famous saying was, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness!” and she kept her cabin and home immaculate. Gerry and John were the ultimate hosts where everyone felt welcome, which I'm sure had to be a ton of work for them. After Darren graduated and left to join the Canadian Armed Forces, John retired as principal of Stewart Hawke school and in 1987 moved to Porcupine Plain to be closer to their mothers and John's sisters Mary and Stella. John and Gerry both became active in the Porcupine Seniors curling league. In their later years, they looked forward to and enjoyed watching every curling event on TV. When the grand slams, Scotties or Brier were on you better be on life support or a life and death emergency situation to call and interrupt the game. Geraldine put aside those 2 weeks as her annual holidays!! They both enjoyed watching the Toronto Blue Jays and Saskatchewan RoughRiders on TV. Dean graduated from Porcupine Plain High School and seeing many of his classmates and neighbours move away, Dean desired something similar. He then moved to Cheshire Homes of Saskatoon individual living home for people with physical challenges. In 1998, John and Gerry sold their house and moved to Saskatoon for a brief time. On June 1, 1999, they packed up and moved with Dean to Edmonton to be part of Darren's life, who had become a City of Edmonton Firefighter. Being a firefighter had been Darren's childhood dream. They became a huge part of Darren and Cathy’s life with their 2 beautiful children Nathan and Kayla. Gerry loved playing cribbage with Cathy and grandson Nathan. John passed in 2009 and it was then that Gerry felt she had lost a limb. She sold their condo in 2013 and moved to Tisdale to be closer to our big family in Saskatchewan and familiar territory. She enjoyed those days as she drove to many community and family functions. Then in 2017, Geraldine had a massive stroke and couldn't manage on her own, so was moved to Saskatoon and then to Weyburn.
Just before COVID, on November 5, 2019, she was able to move back to Edmonton to the Devonshire Seniors Long-Term Care Facility, where she lived with grace and resided until her passing.
She is predeceased by her father Steve, mother Anne, brother DuWaynne, and sister Muriel.
She is survived by her sons Darren (Eva), Dean, grandchildren Kayla (Colton) of Edmonton, Nathan (Stephanie) and great-grand daughter Louisa (Lloydminster), brother Jerome of Regina, sister Gloria (Wayne) of Victoria, Cathy, and numerous nephews, nieces and relatives.