Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Madeline Nelner passed away on October 4, 2018. She was an amazing person. She was 91-year-old community member of Liidlii Kue, who was a pillar of wisdom and common sense.
Madeline was born at the confluence of the Willow and Mackenzie Rivers on April 19, 1927, to Paul and Marguerite Jose. Madeline has a twin sister, Celine Villeneuve, and a younger sister, Diane Edwards, still alive. She was predeceased by her parents, four sisters, two brothers, and a son.
Madeline was five years old when she went to residential school. After 10 years of residential school, Madeline was sent to Liidlii Kue to work with the nuns who ran the hospital. She worked there for three years before moving down south.
Mr. Speaker, Madeline was a beautiful woman who turned her future husband, Ivan Gerald Nelner's, head, and they soon began courting one another in 1963. After getting married, they started their family. They had two sons, Dennis and John. Unfortunately, John passed away two weeks after his birth.
Back in those days, homemakers would not buy clothes at the store. Madeline would buy patterns, fabric, and sew her own clothes and the family's.
The Nelner family moved to Liidlii Kue in the early '70s. After her husband passed away in 1981, Madeline worked at several jobs. She was a guard at the local police station, caretaking for the youth group home and the seniors' home. In those days, Madeline had the patience of Job. She was bound and determined to see her son graduate from high school, which meant she was going to be alone most of the school year. Dennis thanked his mom for her courage, strength, and determination to see him graduate.
Madeline enjoyed knitting, crocheting, and baking during her spare time. She liked to socialize and play cards, Rummoli, crib, and frustration rummy until all hours with her friends. She enjoyed reading and, most importantly, spending time with her two grandchildren. Madeline loved her grandchildren, Nicholas and Lydia, and her son, Dennis, and daughter-in-law, Trudy.
Madeline was well-grounded in her Catholic faith. She helped raise funds to replace the aging church. Madeline used her own residential school money to pay for the ingredients.
Madeline was amazing for 91 years old. She had an exceptional memory, excellent comprehension, could read and write like a 20-year-old, and had her own home, where she lived and cooked on her own.
Dennis had the privilege to live with his mom for the last five months of her life in Yellowknife. She told him she'd had a long life and, if the Lord came calling, she would not feel any sorrow. The pain and suffering is now over, and that's the main thing. Madeline was surrounded by her family and friends in her own home when she passed away. This is how she had described it. She would not have had it any other way. I would like to thank Madeline's niece, Susan, and her husband, Larry Pucka, for being here today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.