December 27, 1939 - March 29, 2024
Laura Agnes was born December 27, 1939, the 5th of 7 children to George & Elizabeth (nee Wiebe) Schroeder. She was born and lived in Winkler in her younger years until her family moved north west of Carman, where she grew up and went to school in the Albert district. She moved back to Winkler to live with her grandparents to complete Gr 9/10 then enrolled into the nursing program to get her LPN nursing degree. While training & working at the Carman Memorial Hospital in 1960, she met a young man, Don Skeavington, who lived just down the street from the hospital, and they were married August 26, 1961.
Laura is survived by her husband of 62 years, Don, her daughter Sherry & husband Murray, granddaughters Kaitlin (husband Kody & great grandchildren Chase, Teagan & Rayna) and Stacey (husband John) and her son Dwane & fiancée Evangeline and grandson Dylan (fiancée Liz). She is survived by siblings Bob (Mary), Margaret, Deloris, Edna & Donald and by Don’s sister Marjorie. She is predeceased by her sister Susan, brothers in law, Ed, Johnny, Art, Howard, Lawrence & Cliff, sisters in law Marie & Hazel and by nieces Marlene & Maureen Dowd. She is survived by many beloved nieces and nephews.
Laura retired from the Carman Memorial Hospital on December 31, 1991, after working there for 29 years and 11 months. Of all her duties there, she most loved and was known for her role as a labour & delivery “baby” nurse. So many in the Carman & area community have wonderful memories of Laura as their nurse when their baby was delivered. Sherry was very lucky to have had her mom as her night nurse when Kaitlin was born. Mom proudly swaddled and cuddled our new baby all night long! Another work memory was being driven to the hospital in the town grader during one of the floods that happened in Carman.
After retirement, she went on to volunteer for the Carman DAS in the office as a secretary/administrator for many years. Laura also volunteered for the Carman and District Christmas Cheer Board taking hamper registrations for many years. She had a small but loving group of family & friends with whom she was close. In her earlier years, she spent lots of time camping with her family at Stephenfield Provincial Park and a one month long family camping trip to the Maritimes was a highlight. She & Don also loved their vacations to Hawaii. Though scoliosis and arthritis severely limited her, she was so strong and determined that she would do what she could by herself! She was very gifted and proud of her cross stitch and embroidery creations which are all over mom & dad’s house. She loved sewing, quilting, knitting and crocheting when she was still able. She also loved reading her books and trying new recipes. Being a younger daughter with 3 older sisters meant that when it was time for meal prep or cleanup or chores, she often was able to get away to play the organ while her sisters did the work. When they were able to find another organ in her retirement years, Laura really loved playing her favourite hymns and songs. Her greatest joys were her grandchildren and great grandchildren. They brought a light to her life like no other. She always tried to have fun things for them to do or tricks to play on gramps when they came to visit in their younger years. In later years, gram was always ready for a visit to catch up on everyone’s busy lives. Chase, Teagan & Rayna were very lucky to have had the chance to know 2 sets of great grandparents!
Our many heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful staff at Carman Home Care, Carman Hospital and the Foyer in Notre Dame de Lourdes. Your care and attention to all the big & small details made mom’s life so much better. Thanks also to Pastor Bob Pauls for his visits to mom and dad during this difficult time.
A private family celebration will be held at a later date.
Donations may be made to the Arthritis Society of Canada if so desired.