PETERS, Johanne Lokken
July 30, 1924 - May 22, 2015
Friday, May 22, 2015 was a sad day for those who love Johanne Peters when her life of almost 91 years came to an end. She was surrounded by family and was ready to leave this earth.
She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Flemming Peters, her children Sharon Mulder (Roy), Colin LaBerge (Jo-Anne), Dixie Gutwald (Dwayne), 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren as well as her older sister Dorthea Christianson and twin sister Martha Wagner (Jack), sisters-in-law Betty Wakeford (Dale) and Ebba Dyck as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Her death was preceded by that of her father Christian Lokken Andersen in 1964, her husband Raymond LaBerge in 1968, her mother Ingeborg Stentebjerg Andersen in 1981 and her son-in-law Mark Gutwald in 2006.
Johanne Lokken Peters (nee Andersen and formerly LaBerge) was the surprise bonus baby delivered after her twin sister Martha on July 30, 1924. Martha and Johanne were the first twins born at the Wayne, Alberta hospital.
Johanne lived almost all of her life in the Dalum area. She spent her first years on the farm adjacent to the Blue Spring School. The family moved east to their Dalum farm above East Coulee in 1939. Johanne went to Olds College in 1943 where she took a program for farm wives (from carpentry to first aid to sewing) and moved to Calgary in 1946 where she was a cook at the Tea Kettle Inn. She married Raymond LaBerge of High River in 1948 and they farmed in that area until 1951 when they moved to the home farm east of Dalum where they raised their family. Sadly Raymond died of cancer in 1968 but Johanne, with farming in her blood, stayed on the farm until a few years before her death.
In 1975 Johanne married Flemming Peters and they farmed together until renting out the land in 1993. They continued to live on the farm until they moved to their Drumheller condo in 2011. They had loved farming together and missed living in the country. Johanne used to drive the grain truck while Flemming drove the combine and he said, “I never had to wait with a full hopper, Jo was always there to unload on the fly which saved precious time…and she still somehow had hot meals ready”. They were a great team as she always knew what needed to be done to help Flemming with the farm work.
Johanne loved gardening, preserving, sewing, knitting & crocheting. Cooking and baking were her passions and she often said to guests at meal time, “Eat as much as you possibly can”! She was a member of the Dalum Friendship Club for 64 years (although not active for the last few) and enjoyed the camaraderie.
She cherished the grandchildren and great-grandchildren and as Bestemor, together with Bestefar, enjoyed entertaining and indulging them. Sometimes grandchildren enjoyed extended visits experiencing farm life and in time there were wonderful visits from great-grandchildren too.
Johanne lived the last 2 ½ years of her life in Drumheller Continuing Care where Flemming visited her every afternoon. Unfortunately she gradually lost her ability to communicate over the last few years but was still cheerful. The family is most grateful to the staff there for the wonderful care she received in spite of how very busy they are.
There will be an open house and celebration of Johanne’s life at the Dalum hall on Sunday, June 7 from 2 to 5 p.m. No flowers or cards please, your thoughts are more than enough. If you wish, donations can be made to Drumheller Continuing Care.
