Obituary of Agnes Conlin

Agnes Conlin 1930 - 2009 Agnes Theresa Conlin was born on April 28, 1930 in Lashburn Saskatchewan, to Harry & Antoinette Lefebvre. She was the 2nd of 9 children and being the eldest daughter, she was busy helping her Mom with the younger siblings, and Dad with chores on the farm. Agnes married Perry Conlin in August of 1954 and had 3 children, Linda, Merna, and Darren. Most of their married life was spent on the farm in South Dawson, where Agnes was always busy with her large garden, chickens and cows, (she named each and every one of them, even the calves). Memories of fresh baked bread, cinnamon buns, home made donuts, churning and making butter, using the cream separator at each milking and her awesome chocolate cake with lots of icing are remembered fondly by her children. How we will all, including the dogs, miss her baking. Agnes had two passions. She loved horses and was an amazing rider in her early years and she loved baseball. She played when she was a young teenager and watched her Blue Jays and Montreal Expos later in life, right up to this season. We found stats from 1993-95 were she was keeping track of how each player was doing. In Agnes's words, "1995 was not a good year for the Jays." Agnes loved family and she was very proud of each of her 7 grandchildren. She loved to watch them no matter what they were doing. She loved watching Marley and Paige Conlin bath in the kitchen sink. She loved watching Cassandra Boltz ride her horse in shows, and got to watch Cassie win a Buckle at the fair in Armstrong. She loved watching Brad Boltz play baseball, and Devon Gies bowl at the bowling alley. Agnes also loved watching her grandsons Colton and Jason Gies play hockey (as long as it didn't get too rough). She watched her last hockey game just 2 weeks ago when Colton was playing. She didn't stay long because as she said "I can't watch, their too rough on Colton". How we will miss those little cheers from the stands. Agnes spent nearly 10 years in Trail, B.C. where she met some great people who became life long friends. This is where she blossomed. She lived alone, learned how to pay rent, bills, and most important learned how to drive, at the age of 59. She loved her little blue Ford escort. Her son Darren was honored to be with her the day she purchased the car and got to see the pride on her face when she drove off the lot. Another proud moment was when she purchased her house in Dawson Creek 15 years ago. How nice it was for her daughter Linda to have her close by again. She spent many Christmases, Easters and other special occasion with us all. Was Agnes spunky? We all know the answer is yes. We all remember the Lefebvre family reunion where she learned to play golf, participated in the paint ball game and the relay race. We will never forget her riding on her nephew's back caring an egg in a spoon making sure she didn't drop it and then trying to transfer a bocce ball from under her neck to her brother Charlie's. Neither one of them have much of a neck, so it wasn't an easy task. Just this past August Agnes did a 2 mile hike with her brother Leo and family at Azueta Lake. The trail went through creeks, up hills, over rocks. There was one spot along the hike that was particularly rough, two of the cousins picked her up and helped her through that part of the trail. Once the others caught up she wittily commented, "I got here the easy way." Agnes will be remembered for her great cooking and making meals for hired hands on the farm, friends and family on special occasions or whenever she received company. The last few years, Agnes helped her Uncle Rene Jeannotte with the spring planting and fall harvest by cooking for his crew. She would make sure that potatoes and carrots were grown in the garden for the fall. Staying at Rene's there were lots of stories to tell and lots of fun and laughter, there was never a dull moment. She loved her evenings with Uncle Rene, Uncle George and the occasional glass of wine. Uncle George would always have a story to tell to make her laugh. Agnes's last Sunday was a great day. She went to church, had lunch with Uncle Rene, a nice visit on the phone with her Aunt Doris Jeannotte, she also had supper and laughs with her Uncle George. Sometime Monday afternoon, Agnes suffered a stroke. She passed away on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at the age of 79. Agnes went peacefully as she was surrounded by her brothers and sisters in-laws, all three of her children and grandchildren. Agnes is survived by her children, Linda (Rick) Gies, Merna (Joe) Boltz, and Darren (Lita) Conlin. Grandchildren Jason (Merina) Gies, Devon & Colton Gies, Cassandra & Brad Boltz, Marley & Paige Conlin. Brothers Charlie (Aggie) Lefebvre, Edgar (Lillian) Lefebvre, Leo (Joanne) Lefebvre and Ray (Jeannie) Lefebvre, sisters Jeannette (Murray) Smith and Glenna Lefebvre, numerous nieces & nephews. Niece to Rene, Paul, Harry & George Jeannotte. Agnes left us to join her mom and dad, along with sister Bea and brother Ted. She leaves behind many memories and we know she will always be with us. A prayer service was held on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 7:00pm at the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church. On Tuesday, October 13, 2009 a memorial service was held with Father Michael Anyasoro officiating and inurnment followed in the Dawson Creek City Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy in memory of Agnes, may be made by way of a donation to the: "Dawson Creek & District Hospital Foundation for the Palliative Care Room".