Ella West

    Live Streaming will available on Saturday, February 5, 2022 from Wolkowski Funeral Service FACEBOOK page starting at 12:50 p.m.  

Ella West (nee Hubic) was born February 8, 1936, the seventh child of Alex and Rose Hubic, in their house on the family farm.  She often said that her twin sister, Irene, pushed her out.  She attended the district school until her early teens and was known to her siblings as the cleaning lady and laundress of the family because she did not want to work with the animals.  Ella worked as a live-in nanny and house worker for several families, including her siblings, starting at age 16 and continuing after she was married and had a child of her own (Lynn).

     She married Glen West on October 1, 1955, in the Meloneck United Church.  They lived with family, first in Kamsack with her older sister, Olga and her family, then on the West family farm in the Millroad School house they bought to be their home.  They moved to Kamsack in September 1966 and lived on Decorby Street for 35+ years raising their children.

     Ella loved to be working outside in her garden and yard, wearing plastic bags over her orthopedic shoes to keep them clean when it was muddy.  She loved to be with family, either at their place or her own.  She spoiled her family with great food (perfectly diced vegetable borscht, cabbage rolls, studenetz) and treats (chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies, peanut butter balls, bachelor cake).  She sewed clothing for her children and made many outfits and cloth diapers for her grandchildren.  To make her grandchildren feel extra special when they came to visit Baba and Grandpa, she made pillowcases and quilts for the beds they would be sleeping in.  Ella enjoyed playing board and card games (if she wasn’t busy in the kitchen or yard) with her children, grandchildren, family and friends, never caring whether she won or lost.  She liked spending time with her grandchildren, developing close, lasting relationships with them.

     She was always supportive of family and friends, whether to cheer them on, look after children, pets, or a household, or just be there to hold your hand or provide a shoulder to cry on.  She always saw the good in people, always willing to help anyone who asked.  She was a trusted confidant to many family and friends. 

     Ella walked everywhere because she didn’t drive, and many of us in the family often have said that we had to learn to run to keep up with her.  She had a strict routine to her week that she kept to until just a few years ago.  She was never afraid to tell her family when it was time to stop doing or go do something, and always organized family get-togethers with precision and order.  She led and we followed.

     In July of 2001 Ella lost the love of her life, Glen, to cancer.  She remained in Kamsack until the summer of 2007, moving into an apartment in Regina.  Shortly after celebrating Christmas with family, Ella had to have emergency colostomy surgery early January 2012.  A few months later she had to have the same surgery again to fix the colostomy bag and had a stroke while recovering in hospital.  She never quite fully recovered from the stroke, slowly losing her physical and mental independence.

     Ella moved from Regina to Moosomin to live in an apartment next door to her sister Vicky in 2015, and then to Esterhazy in 2018 to be close to her son, Lee.  She moved to Maple Street Manor in Esterhazy in October 2020 after being diagnosed with dementia.  Ella lived at the manor until taken by ambulance to St. Anthony’s Hospital, Esterhazy on January 14, where she passed peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of January 31, 2022, just one week shy of her 86th birthday.

     Ella is survived by her children and their families:  her daughter Lynn and husband Gary Mack, their children:  Amanda (and husband Chad Selby), great grandchildren: Maizy and Kix; Brendon Mack (and wife Desirae), and great grandchild Weston; her son Lee and Cheryl West, their children: Taiden (and fiancé Caitlyn Peebles) and Teanna (and husband Jonathan Russell); her daughter Colleen and husband Stephen Hellman, their children Olivia and Johnathan (and wife Justine Wilton); and her son Kerry, his children:  Brytin West (and Cindy Cesiak), great grandchildren Bentley and Ella; Tyler, and Karma.  She is also survived by several siblings:  Olga Schow, Anita Kowch, Minnie Raddysh, Orest (Alicia) Hubic, Renold (Dorothy) Hubic, Daniel (Phyllis) Hubic, and Mervin (Kathleen) Hubic, and her many nieces and nephews.

A private family funeral service was held February 5, 2022 from the chapel of Wolkowski Funeral Service Kamsack, SK., with Velda Dahlin officiating.  Anyone wishing to donate in memory of Ella, may make a donation to the Royal University Hospital Foundation Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (103 Hospital Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 0W8.) Condolences for the family can be shared at wolkowski.ca

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