Obituary of Gertrude A Babcock

Gertrude A Babcock nee Poggemoeller

Our Mom passed away on November 14, 2024, 4 days from her 88^th birthday. Gert was born in Vernon, BC, 8^th in a family of 11. She was raised on the family farm/orchard and learned to work hard at a young age, a quality she taught her children. Mom left home at 16 and had many adventures working in Banff, Lake Louise, Lake O’Hara. She made many friends and spoke fondly of those times. During the filming of the 1954 movie ‘Saskatchewan’ she learned horse riding stunts from the cast.

Mom moved to Fort Nelson to keep her sister Lily company, and it was there she met our Dad. They married in 1955. Mom and Dad lived around Fort St. John for all their married lives. She raised 4 children while helping Dad with various business ventures, including driving a tractor on the farm and tail sawing at the sawmill.  Mom worked for several years as a Library Clerk at the Fort St John Public Library and then at Northern Lights College and acted as a proofreader for several instructors. Mom sewed clothes for us and her grandchildren, a skill she learned from her mother that she passed onto us. One of Mom’s specialties was Little Bo Peep dresses. Several little girls were recipients of these dresses. She continued sewing for great grandchildren and others right up to her death.

Along with the skills mom possessed from her early years – cooking, canning, sewing – her sense of adventure and skill accumulation continued throughout her life as she continually tried new things:
vegetable & flower gardening, food dehydrating, stained glass, glass sandblasting, skiing  - to name a few.  She also made the best baklava we have ever tasted.

Mom grew up without grandparents and did her best to be a supportive grandparent. Her grandchildren played their best hockey when Grandma was there rewarding them for goals with cash. She and Dad were present at Christmas concerts, band concerts, birthday parties, anything that involved the grandchildren. Mom loved her family fiercely.

After the love of her life, our dad, passed away in 2017, Mom decided to move to Cranbrook with her daughter Loreena. She very much enjoyed the warmer summers, more like her childhood home. In June of this year, she moved again with Loreena to Grande Prairie.

She is predeceased by her husband Bill Babcock, her parents, and all her brothers and sisters except for her beloved brother, Ernest. She is survived and very much missed by her children Troy (Rory), Wyatt (Jill), Loreena (Troy) and Tara (Mike), 12 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

Mom requested no funeral service.

We love you, Mom. Thank you for always doing your best.