Edna Wittal

WITTAL, EDNA ELIZABETH
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved wife, mother and Grandmother at the age of 86. Her love, generosity and humour will be missed by her husband Leonard of 67 years, children Dolores (Frank), Bruce (Elaine) and Dean (Tania), her grandsons, Peter (Karen), Andrew & Mark (Ashleigh); Bryce, Grant (Lindsey) & Trent; Paul & Bryan; and three great-grandchildren, Elias, Wesley and Zoe. Edna was “Ma” to her eight grandsons who remember her fondly. She was the last surviving member of her family; She was predeceased by her parents, Philip and Katerine Young, and her twelve siblings, Kay, Philip, Laura, Rose, Johny, Augustie, Martha, Bill, Ed, Rheiny, Wilfred and Allan. She is survived by many nieces and nephews.

Edna Elizabeth Young was born on April 11, 1928 at the family home on the farm in Melville, Saskatchewan. She was the last daughter, the eleventh child of thirteen children born to Philip Young and Katerine Elizabeth Steffan, immigrants of Germanic descent who met in Melville and married in 1907. Born premature and weighing a little more than 4 pounds, she fought to survive and with the aid of the warming compartment in the old wood-burning stove, as incubator, she eventually thrived.

Growing up in Melville during the Great Depression was difficult, but the Young family never went without food which was plentiful on the farm. Edna’s mother (Granny) was an excellent cook and prepared memorable meals of homemade perogy, cured sausages, sauerkraut, cabbage rolls and potato pancakes served with farm fresh sour cream.

At only 12 years old, Edna remembers travelling on her own by train from Melville to Vancouver where she visited her sister, Laura and husband, Bert. Another highlight of the trip was when her sister Kay came down from Braelorne, BC to visit and bought her a complete new outfit; shoes, sock, underwear, dress and sweater. Edna had never owned anything new, to this point in her life, and this was to become a lifetime memory!!

Eventually, by 1941, all of the Young family had moved to Hammond (now Maple Ridge) and later to Vancouver where Edna went to high school and found part-time work as a housekeeper and clerk in Mrs. Laken’s store. Mrs. Laken became a close friend of the family even after she moved to Australia.

Edna attended high school at Sir Charles Tupper only to grade 10 at which time she was needed at home to look after Granny, who was recovering from a major operation. She was nurse and housekeeper as she ran the household for grandpa and the “boys” who were still living at home.

Her first real job was working at 2-ED, the RCAF Western Air Command equipment depot near Jericho Beach. After the war when 2-ED shut down, she worked for West Steel on Granville Island.

Soon after the end of World War II she met Leonard Henry Wittal at Martin Luther Church and they married on June 13, 1947. Edna and Leonard (Len) raised three children, Dolores, Bruce and Dean. Family was very important to Edna and she enjoyed being a mother, grandmother and homemaker. But, she also contributed to the successful operation of a hotel (Houston, BC), motel (Lytton, BC) and chicken farm (Richmond, BC) as a partner in Len’s entrepreneurial ventures. After the children were grown, Edna kept busy with part-time work as a sales clerk at Eaton’s Department store. Like her mother, Edna was an exceptional cook and continued the culinary traditions of the Young family, much to her family’s delight!

Thank you to the staff at the Normanna Rest Home for their kindness and care to Edna. A Celebration of Edna’s life will be held at the Burquitlam Funeral Home 625 North Road, Coquitlam, on Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Society or the charity of your choice.