Obituary of Doreen Burke

September 19, 1932 – January 6, 2021 Doreen M. Burke was born to Anna Marie (Lutz) Gaertner and Henrich (Henry) Ernest Gaertner on 19th of September 1932 in Runciman, Saskatchewan. Doreen’s siblings and mother came from Germany in 1930. Her father and grandfather (Carl Friedrich Gaertner) had arrived earlier to establish a farm in Runciman. Mom grew up on the farm and later moved with her parents to Tisdale. For one winter, Doreen lived in Vancouver with her brother Helmut and sister in law Terry, where Terry and Doreen worked at a drug store. After returning to Tisdale she worked at various businesses as a clerk. Doreen met Clive Burke while on a blind date. The two hit it off and later were married on July 20th, 1955. She moved from Tisdale, to the Burke farm, near Valparaiso where she became a dedicated and well respected farm wife. Doreen’s strong work ethic served her well and she was respected for her lovely and productive gardens and welcoming home. The Burke farm was the gathering place for extended family and our mom made all feel welcome. Our cousins remembered mom as kind and considerate. Upon dad’s death in 1971 Doreen, then 38 years old, relocated to Tisdale with us 4 children; Ann, Susan, Carla and Daniel. These were tough years for all of us. Mom remained involved in the farming as she rented out the farm and was pleased when her daughter Ann and her husband Ken Poggemiller took over the farming in the 1980’s. She was always interested in how the farming was progressing. Mom was supportive and helped with childcare of her grandchildren Curtis and Sarah, gardening and meals during the farm season. When great grandchildren came along Colby (Curtis and Melissa’s son), Rhett and Asher (Sarah and Aaron Nygaard’s sons) she loved their visits. Susan (Terry Boyer deceased 2013) had one daughter Kate. They visited mom in Tisdale and mom traveled to their riverlot for visits also. Mom kept caught up with Carla (Ehsan Saffari) over the phone and looked forward to Carla’s many visits home. The highlight of mom’s summers was her son Dan and grandson Danny coming for visits from Chicago. Danny loved visiting Oma’s farm, seeing the big machines and experiencing the prairies. Mom saw her role in life as one of caring for her children, the farm, her church and actively participated in the community. She met challenges head on and persevered with faith and the help of a few friends. Doreen relocated to live with Susan (her 2nd daughter and Kate granddaughter) in Rosthern, August 2020. She was tired of living alone and looked forward to the company of family. In the short time she was in Rosthern she enjoyed the yard and flowers, meals with family, doing puzzles and the freedom to take short walks, do word searches, listen to CBC, and watch Netflix with family in the evening. She died January 6th, 2021, and is laid to rest beside our father in the Tisdale cemetery. Arrangements were in care of Funk’s Funeral Home, Rosthern, SK (306) 232-5245, http://www.funksfuneralhome.ca.