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Janet Langdale Moffat
b.20 May 1911 Frobisher, Saskatchewan, Canada
d.4 Dec 2007 Carlyle, Saskatchewan, Canada
Family tree▼ (edit)
m. 11 Aug 1909
Facts and Events
Eulogy for Aunt Janet Janet Langdale Moffat Hume was born at Frobisher on May 20, 1911 . Her parents Alfred Moffat and Myrtle White had both moved to Saskatchewan from Ontario, they met in Moose Jaw, married and went farming near Frobisher. Janet was the eldest of 5 children, Janet, Annie, Clara, Herbert and Graeme. All of Janet's siblings have predeceased her. She grew up on the farm and went by buggy to town to school. The horse would be put in the livery stable and she told of having hot noon lunches at her aunt's house in Frobisher. For high school she took the train to Oxbow and then went on to normal school to become a teacher. Aunt Janet became a school teacher. She taught during the 1930 depression. Many of the small school districts could not afford to pay teachers during the depression and gave them promissory notes. I remember her telling me that she did not get full paid for her years teaching until nearly 1960. She taught in a number of country schools. A school near Gainsbough, one near Filmore, the South Arcola school and Dalesboro School. My mother remembers having Miss Moffat as her grade 1 and 2 teacher. There was no nonsense in her classroom!! It was in Dalesboro that she met Elmer Hume, they were married on Oct. 24, 1940. She told me about taking the train to Regina for their honeymoon and using their wedding money to buy and ship home some 2nd hand furniture. They started their married life in what was know of as the Old Cunningham place. It was cold and small. It had not been lived in for several years before they moved in and they found families of mice had taken over the attic. The old house was the scene of one of her most dramatic stories, a skunk got into the house and Uncle Elmer shot it, in the house. They lived with that smell every time it rained for many years. She also told of her shock when she found a mouse floating on the top of her cream that she had planned to send to town to the Carlyle Creamery. I think the pigs ate well that night. It was not until 1952 that they built and moved into a new house. She always said her brothers were great teasers and like brothers knew exactly how to annoy their sister Janet. My father remembers them teasing her and at their wedding, telling Elmer that he was in for some trouble now. Another story that is told is of the visit of her younger brother Herb to the farm. When he was asked if he wanted more tea, he said no thank-you, he would just have some of that milk, and reached over and poured the contents of the cream pitcher into his cup and drank it. This did not go over well with my frugal Aunt. When moving Aunt Janet to the nursing home I found her music certificates showing that she had taken her Grade 10 Conservatory exams. She played the pump organ at the Dalesboro United Church for many years. I noticed that Uncle Elmer always opened and set up the organ for her and eventually learned why. One memorable Sunday morning she opened the keyboard cover to find MICE had made their home on the keyboard. This was before women carried an emergency supply of anti-bacterial wet wipes in their purse. The Dalesboro United Church did not have running water. She had no choice but to play the organ anyway knowing that mice had been running over the keys she was touching. During the years that they farmed, Janet would grow a large garden and can for the winter food supply. She baked bread, drove a tractor and kept her house dirt and mouse free. She was involved with the Dalesboro UCW and held the position of treasurer for many years. She was a very capable seamstress and sewed for herself, Elmer and other people in the area. She enjoyed reading and playing word games such as Scrabble. The Scrabble dictionary was a well thumbed book in her home. She and Elmer enjoyed traveling and went to Europe several times and a road trip in their RV to Alaska. We got to enjoy their travels through the many slides that they took and enjoyed sharing with friends and family. Janet and Elmer like to go to visit relatives in Ontario. Janet's best friend was her sister Annie who lived in Hagersville, Ontario. In 1979 they bought a house in Carlyle and moved into town. Janet became involved with the large project of typing and editing the Carlyle History book. She and Elmer also put together a book about the history of the Dalesboro District that they called, Footprints in the Sands of Time. They were involved with the Seniors Centre and were both on the Museum board for some time. In Carlyle they attended the Community Christian Church and Janet played the organ and piano there. Elmer died of bone cancer in 1996 at the age of 85. Aunt Janet cared for him past the time she really could, as they wanted to stay together in their own home for as long as possible. After he was put into palliative care at the Moose Mountain nursing home, Janet would be there to see him every day. About 2 years after his death she decided to move into the Heritage Court. She lived there until her move into the Moose Mountain nursing home in July of 1994 [this should probably read 2004 - Rick Moffat]. A few months after her move she fell and broke her hip. She spent the rest of her life in a wheelchair. In her last years she seemed to spend much of her time in spirit with her mother, sister Annie and Elmer. On Dec 4, 2007, she slipped quietly away in her sleep to join them. We are left with memories of a strong, intelligent capable woman who lived with the spirit of "making do". Her eco-footprint on the planet was gentle. References
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