Obituary – Florence Katherine “Bonnie” Gairdner, 85

March 1st, 1924 – January 8th, 2010

Florence Katherine (Bonnie) Gairdner was born March 1, 1924 to Adolphus and Florestine Hodgson in Peace River, Alberta. In 1925, when Bonnie was one year old, her family moved from Peace River to Hay Lakes where they stayed until 1938. They travelled through Alberta and Northeastern British Columbia with short stays at Khantah and Kotcho Lake before eventually settling at Old Fort Nelson, BC. Bonnie often told stories about their adventures and the events that occurred along the way as they travelled where there were no roads, only bush trails and rivers. At one point the entire family, their livestock (horses and dogs) and all their worldly possessions were loaded onto a raft and they travelled several miles down river to a new camp. She said, “ That’s what you did in those days.” Like it was nothing. She also told the story many times about when she and her sister found gold in a creek but they didn’t know what it was so they just threw it back because it looked shiny under the water. In 1943, at Fort Nelson, Bonnie married her”soul mate” Enis Gairdner. Enis and Bonnie made their home at the Old Fort and had eight boys and five girls. Bonnie was always a jovial person and loved to say funny things that made people laugh. She was an avid story teller and many people would come to visit her just to be entertained by her stories. At times they would have to decipher a mixture of Cree and English but it was all very entertaining. Bonnie was also very musical and liked to play the button accordion. She was in her glory when she could spend time in the bush camping, hunting and trapping. She was more at home in the wilderness then anywhere. When it came to trapping rats, no one could out do her. In the bush she was the same as she was at her house. Everything had to be neat and tidy and clean. There was always something cooking and no one ever went hungry in her camp or at her house. When Bonnie turned 80 years old she decided it was time to do a bit of travelling and would hop on the bus and go to Alberta to play bingo with her relatives and friends. She generally did quite well on her own, except, she usually lost her suitcase and her medication but seemed to locate them somewhere later and have them again when she returned home. She did this several times and enjoyed every trip and everyone was always overjoyed at her arrival. She was the type of person that always cared more about other people then herself. Bonnie had great faith that kept her strong over her years of trials and tribulations as well as the good times. She loved the simple things in life and always said,” Your friends and family are your wealth, not your possessions.” Bonnie was predeceased by her parents, Adolphus and Florestine Hodgson, brothers Jimmy and Billy, sisters Mary and Nora, her husband Enis, sons Roy and Billy, grandchildren Christine, Darren and William Roy, son-in-law Bill McLeod, nephews Larry Hudson, David Jensen and Chubb Harrold and nieces Nikki Macdonald and Florence (Susie) Jensen. She leaves to mourn her passing, “All My Children” Minnie, Pauline (Don), Elsie (Bill), Linda (Eric), Archie (Patty), Ernie, Larry (Annette), Steve (Marilyn), Terry, Noel, Flora, brother John Hodgson, 43 grand children, 52 great grand children and 4 great great grandchildren, sister-in-laws Maggie Gairdner and Caroline Smith. Numerous nieces and nephews, the Jensen families, the Harrold families, the Badine families and her many relatives in Sturgeon Lake. “May she rest in peace in her Eternal Home with her Lord.”

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