Verna Clara (Nodwell) Igini – July 11 1934 – Jan 26, 2019

She was born July 11 1934, to Howard & Ruby Nodwell, in Biggar SK.  Verna was an incredibly unique & caring individual who touched the lives of all who knew her.

She had a rich and loving childhood, growing up with her siblings, on her father’s farm.  On Oct 2, 1951 she married Andrew Norman and they lived in Saskatoon.  They had two children.  The 1st, Gloria Jean, was born on July 7, 1952.  But tragedy struck & Verna was devastated by the loss of her first born at just under 16 months of age on Jan 1, 1954.  Good fortune returned, & on March 31,1956 a second daughter was born & Penny joined the family.  She was Verna’s pride & joy.  On June 19, 1969, Penny’s father died suddenly & unexpectedly.

After the passing of her 1st husband, Verna married Oswald Igini in 1971.  Ozzie had also grown up in Biggar and the families were neighbours.  Verna moved back to Biggar, they lived together on the farm & on July 1, 1972 their son Cameron was born.  After several years they sold the farm, packed up, & moved to Creston, BC.  Once there Ozzie built their dream home & the happy couple spent many wonderful years together raising their son and subsequent granddaughters.

Verna often talked about her early days and her employment at the Hudson’s Bay Co., how much she enjoyed it and the people she worked with, & all these years later, still kept in touch with some of them.  After the move Verna began working with the Creston Valley Home Support group.  She loved her clients & they loved her.  She went above & beyond any of the duties that her job required & often took them her freshly baked buns & pastries.  Even after her retirement she continued to help those she could, & drive them to appointments, or to get groceries, or pay bills, or just to get them out of the house for lunch or a cup of coffee.  These were just a few of the unsolicited acts of kindness she did for many & for which she expected nothing in return, short of their company & friendship.

She loved her family & friends & took great joy in cooking amazing meals for her guests.  She was a “Master” at baking and fancy slices were her specialty.  She had coffee most Thursday mornings, at Timmy’s with her good friends, Yvonne & Ricky.  As the “Coolest Grandma” she took fashion cues from the young at heart & always looked sharp on every outing, right down to her accessories.  The one thing you could be sure of was that almost every ensemble would include some form of the colour purple and her favorite Dawgs.  And Verna was always up for an adventure, be it a little “trip across the line” or a road trip through Alaska, pulling the 5th wheel trailer on a holiday. 

Of course, none of us are perfect & even Verna’s life had its ups & downs, she suffered her hardships, & rejoiced in the good times of which there were many.  She would do anything for anyone, even if meant she had to change her own plans, & in her later years, when she wasn’t as “up to snuff” as she would have liked, she would still drag herself out to help someone else.

Verna was predeceased by her daughter Gloria Jean, her parents Howard & Ruby Nodwell, & her sisters Velma (Nesdoly), Lila (Sully), & Marjorie (Watson) & she leaves behind her beloved husband, Oswald Igini, her brother Norman Nodwell, her twin sister Vera McNeil, two children, Cameron Igini & Penny Gingras, four grand-children, Colin, Kyle, Amber, & Daylene, as well as numerous nieces and nephews and their children.

We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Verna during her 84 years & to share in her life.  We want to let her know that she did a great job and wish her a safe journey and reunion with those that have gone before her.  We will remember her smile, her warmth, her energy, & her love for life, family and friends.  She gave & loved with every ounce of her heart & soul and will remain in our hearts, in our lives, in our memories forever.  We will always miss her.

At Verna’s request her remains will be cremated & her ashes scattered at a private family gathering, on a later date in Biggar Sk.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made as a “Tribute – In Memory” to the Arthritis Research Foundation at http://beatarthritis.ca/.

• Date : 2019-01-26