Irene Mary Cleaveley TISDALE, Saskatchewan Obituary

Irene Mary Cleaveley

Irene Mary Mantai was born August 24, 1926 to Karl & Olga Mantai in Biggar, SK. Irene grew up on a farm in the Biggar area with 3 sisters & 3 brothers. As a child she played hide & seek and tag, and played “a lot of tricks” with her siblings. She attended school infrequently until the age of 15 as her help was needed on the farm. She worked hard alongside her siblings & parents to survive the Great Depression in the 1930’s. At the age of 15 she was employed as a housekeeper in Biggar. She travelled to Wetaskiwin, AB, then Kinley, SK following work. At 16 she worked in Ontario with her sister cooking and cleaning. She moved back to Biggar and worked in the café at the CNR Railway Station. After this she moved to the Tisdale area. Edith Harbridge set Irene and Bert Cleaveley up on a blind date. They dated for a while, and when engaged, they ordered engagement and wedding bands from a catalogue for a combined sum of $25. Bert & Irene were married on November 3, 1950 and together raised 11 children. They ran a mixed farm with grain, cattle, pigs, horses, & chickens. They had a large garden, and Irene enjoyed canning and preserving their produce. In later years, Irene enjoyed playing crib and cards, watching birds, doing crossword puzzles, watching game shows and soap operas, and playing bingo. She faithfully gave candy to all of her grandkids, and let her grandkids have the run of the house playing games and hide & seek. Irene’s husband, Bert, passed away in 2002. She stayed on the farm for many years before moving to MacKay Tower in Tisdale, then the Newmarket Nursing Home. Irene passed away peacefully on September 20, 2020. She will be lovingly remembered for her resilience, kindness, and joyful disposition. She was always known for her easy laugh and quick smile. She was predeceased by her parents (Karl & Olga), three siblings (Margaret, Alfred, & Leona), husband (Bert), and two sons-in-law (Mel & Aime). Left to cherish her memory are: 3 siblings: Elmer, Marleen & Lloyd 11 Children: Marilyn, Linda (Alan), Laura (Alain), Coleen, Gary (Ruth), Glen (Joy), Carol (Keith), Wayne (Julie), Floyd (Jennifer), Joyce (Cam), Ken (Judy) 23 Grandchildren: Troy (Rachel), Trent (Tammy), Kerri (Francisco), Celeste (Kyle), Tera, Marc, Mario, Melanie, Chad (Nicole), Nicole (Ryan), Amy (Chuck), Kevin, Rob, Chris, Cory (Tara), Sherrie (Colter), Matthew (Jillian), Natasha, Britney (Shelton), Tessa, Jarvis (Madison), Aspen (Nick), Miranda (Ryan) 34 Great-Grandchildren: Tyler, Kyle, Quinton, Abigail, Iain, Courtney, Kaitlyn, Ashley, Brooklyn, Blake, Braylee, Jaeva, Avika, Cody, Rylie, Blake, David, Tyler, Chantelle, Breanna, Logan, Jayden, Connor, Brady, Joshua, Hallie, Dominic, Lilia, Graysen, Eliza, Blaize, Kashton, Gavin, Myla
August 24, 1926 - September 20, 202008/24/192609/20/2020
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Irene Mary Mantai was born August 24, 1926 to Karl & Olga Mantai in Biggar, SK. Irene grew up on a farm in the Biggar area with 3 sisters & 3 brothers. As a child she played hide & seek and tag, and played “a lot of tricks” with her siblings. She attended school infrequently until the age of 15 as her help was needed on the farm. She worked hard alongside her siblings & parents to survive the Great Depression in the 1930’s. At the age of 15 she was employed as a housekeeper in Biggar. She travelled to Wetaskiwin, AB, then Kinley, SK following work. At 16 she worked in Ontario with her sister cooking and cleaning. She moved back to Biggar and worked in the café at the CNR Railway Station. After this she moved to the Tisdale area. Edith Harbridge set Irene and Bert Cleaveley up on a blind date. They dated for a while, and when engaged, they ordered engagement and wedding bands from a catalogue for a combined sum of $25. Bert & Irene were married on November 3, 1950 and together raised 11 children. They ran a mixed farm with grain, cattle, pigs, horses, & chickens. They had a large garden, and Irene enjoyed canning and preserving their produce. In later years, Irene enjoyed playing crib and cards, watching birds, doing crossword puzzles, watching game shows and soap operas, and playing bingo. She faithfully gave candy to all of her grandkids, and let her grandkids have the run of the house playing games and hide & seek. Irene’s husband, Bert, passed away in 2002. She stayed on the farm for many years before moving to MacKay Tower in Tisdale, then the Newmarket Nursing Home. Irene passed away peacefully on September 20, 2020. She will be lovingly remembered for her resilience, kindness, and joyful disposition. She was always known for her easy laugh and quick smile. She was predeceased by her parents (Karl & Olga), three siblings (Margaret, Alfred, & Leona), husband (Bert), and two sons-in-law (Mel & Aime). Left to cherish her memory are: 3 siblings: Elmer, Marleen & Lloyd 11 Children: Marilyn, Linda (Alan), Laura (Alain), Coleen, Gary (Ruth), Glen (Joy), Carol (Keith), Wayne (Julie), Floyd (Jennifer), Joyce (Cam), Ken (Judy) 23 Grandchildren: Troy (Rachel), Trent (Tammy), Kerri (Francisco), Celeste (Kyle), Tera, Marc, Mario, Melanie, Chad (Nicole), Nicole (Ryan), Amy (Chuck), Kevin, Rob, Chris, Cory (Tara), Sherrie (Colter), Matthew (Jillian), Natasha, Britney (Shelton), Tessa, Jarvis (Madison), Aspen (Nick), Miranda (Ryan) 34 Great-Grandchildren: Tyler, Kyle, Quinton, Abigail, Iain, Courtney, Kaitlyn, Ashley, Brooklyn, Blake, Braylee, Jaeva, Avika, Cody, Rylie, Blake, David, Tyler, Chantelle, Breanna, Logan, Jayden, Connor, Brady, Joshua, Hallie, Dominic, Lilia, Graysen, Eliza, Blaize, Kashton, Gavin, Myla

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