Obituaries

ISABEL EDNA LILLIAN HARMAN
(Née STEWART)

Peacefully at home, with daughter Sharon by her side, Mum’s time came, and she can once again be with her beloved Reg.

It seems no small thing, that she passed on his birthday, August 28. We will miss her so much, but without regret, as we celebrate a long life well-lived.

Born on the Stewart homestead at Cherry Grove Farm, near Mekiwin west of Gladstone, Manitoba, April 27, 1923, Isabel was a true middle child, fourth of seven, with three sisters and three brothers, raised in that big farmhouse on the crest of the prairie, above the winding Whitemud River.

After a stint as a country schoolteacher, she entered nursing and although her life then became a city one, she instilled in us a love of the farm, and the land, that lingers still.

As her career in nursing got underway, she met Reg Harman, a young pharmacist, and that was that! When he passed, they had been married 66 years, living in the same house they built in Silver Heights in 1951. Chris, Michael and Sharon arrived in early summer, three years between each of us (maybe they read a book about that), within three weeks on the calendar. They welcomed Lisa Maureen a few years later.

The bustling years of kindergarten wonder, teenage pangs, adult discovery, stampeded by.

Dozens of cousins, trips to “the country” especially Kae’s and Mamie’s farms near Plumas, and expeditions to Granite Lake filled those years, with her gentle guiding hand and generous love around all of us.

As a new generation grew from this foundation, Isabel took great delight in each of her seven grandchildren, and five, going on six, great grandchildren.

She was a quiet person, intelligent, principled and compassionate, who taught us well by her example, how to love and respect one another.

In following her lead, each of us continues to try to be the best person we can.

We remember her dearly, with gratitude and Love. We are sorry she’s gone.

We are so very proud of her life and her gifts that live on.

Happy trails, daughter of the Prairie. Say hi to Dad for us.

Family and friends will gather together next summer to remember this gracious lady.