Obituary of Judy McMaster

My Grandma Justina (Judy) Sieben McMaster was born on the home section of 24-37-27 W3 near Grosswerder, SK on July 28, 1931. She was delivered by her grandmother, who also had the honor of naming the children.  Grandma was the 10^th of 13 children and by the time she was born their grandmother must have run out of names as she was not given a middle name. The family moved to Compeer and Grandma and her siblings walked to school (uphill both ways) when the weather permitted and were taken by horse in the winter.  She completed Grade 8 which was as high as the school went.  While in school she really enjoyed playing ball and had a wicked arm. Grandma and her siblings enjoyed going to dances in the community and her love for dance lasted her whole life with her watching the Saturday night dance party just last week. At one of those dances she met my Grandpa John (Scotty) McMaster who she married on January 21, 1957.  They moved to the McMaster homestead east of Wilkie and lived in a three-room house. They were blessed with one daughter, Marlene. Grandma was a devoted wife and mother and worked hard on the farm.  She could be found milking cows, growing a garden, raising chickens and helping Grandpa with the farm work. They spent a lot of evenings with family and friends visiting and playing cards.  Sundays were almost always spent visiting Grandma’s parents after church. In 1981, Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer and they made the difficult decision to move to Wilkie and our family moved to the farm.  Unfortunately, Grandpa lost his battle in 1983 and Grandma had to adjust to life as a widow.  She joined the New Horizon’s where she loved playing Bingo and Carpet bowling, was a member of the CWL and spent time with friends and family.  Grandma also baked and was a master at bread, cinnamon buns and glaze.  She also really enjoyed watching game shows to pass the time. When my mom and dad had Wade and I, Grandma became a loving grandmother to us, which is not to say we didn’t drive her around the bend sometimes.  We always knew when we had crossed the line when she started saying things in German to us.  Wade and I both worked in Wilkie at different times and she always had dinner on the table and a bed for us if we needed it. Grandma did not enjoy driving and only got her license after Grandpa passed away.  One day she had to take Wade and I from Wilkie to the farm in her big brown 1973 Ford LTD.  She was driving about 50K and me being my usually cheeky self said “Grandma I could walk home faster.  Do you want me to drive?”  To my surprise, she pulled the car right over and hopped into the passenger seat.  About 4 years after that I was old enough to get my own driver’s license! Grandma was blessed with 2 great-grandchildren, Hayden and Taylor, and she loved it when they came to visit.  She would always have a KitKat bar for them that she had won at Bingo. Grandma lived at her home until a couple of years ago when some of the household chores became too challenging.  She moved into Bethany Assisted Living in Wilkie and enjoyed the friendships and activities.  Last summer her health declined, and she made the move to Poplar Courts Nursing Home where she looked forward to Monday’s when they would play Bingo and Friday’s when they played cards. On July 28^th we celebrated Grandma’s 91^st birthday with a Chinese food supper and angel food cake-both her choices.  She was so happy to have us all together and we were very fortunate that Poplar Court’s had a room that we were able to use to have her birthday celebration in. This past Thursday-August 4^th mom visited Grandma in the afternoon and I visited her after supper.  As each of us left she thanked us for visiting and said “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”  Unfortunately, that was not to be and she passed away peacefully Friday afternoon with mom and dad at her side. We will miss you Grandma. Judy leaves to mourn her loving family, daughter Marlene (Oren) Robinson, granddaughter Amie (Dan), grandson Wade (Oralee), great-grandchildren Hayden and Taylor, and numerous nieces and nephews. Judy is reunited in heaven with her beloved husband John McMaster, parents Adam and Elizabeth Sieben, in-laws Robert and Annie McMaster, siblings Katherine, Solomon, Rose, August, Frank, John, Paula, Clementine, Eva, Peter, Ann, Mary and their spouses. Funeral Mass was celebrated on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, 2:00 p.m., at St. James Roman Catholic Church, Wilkie, SK. Celebrant was Father Santhosh Thekkekulam, VC. Cross bearer was Janice Sander. First reader was Cordellia Crittenden. Second reader and prayers of the faithful by Audrey Fenrich. Music was shared by St. James Choir. Honour guard was formed by the Catholic Women’s League. Eulogist was Amie Robinson. Active pallbearers were Dennis Sieben, Ken Sieben, Ervin Sieben, Patrick Sander, Joe Calder, and Lorne Mathison. Interment took place at Wilkie Cemetery. Memorial donations in memory of Judy to Poplar Courts Activity Fund, Box 459, Wilkie, SK  S0K 4W0 and Bethany Assisted Living, Box 629, Wilkie, SK  S0K 4W0 were greatly appreciated.