Gerda Pedersen

It is with a confused mix of tears and smiles that the family of Gerda Pedersen announce her passing. The tears are a reflection of the empty space that now exists in the hearts of those that knew and loved her, while the smiles reflect the relief we feel at the end of the pain that marred her final days.

                Gerda was born on July 19, 1930 in Holbaek, Denmark. She was the youngest of 12 children born to Otto and Emilie Jensen. She was quite proud of the fact that she out-lived all her brothers and sisters, but we did remind her that she had the advantage of being the last one born. Mom was a feisty one right from birth. As a young child, she took it upon herself to beat up anyone that dared to tease her sister, Lizzie, who was 3 years older than her. Before long, Lizzie was considered "untouchable" by any potential bullies as no one wanted to tangle with Gerda. As a youth, that fearless attitude continued, even as she lived in a country that was occupied by German forces. She and her friends would wear British flag pins, hidden under the collars of their coats, a small act of concealed defiance as they walked by German soldiers in the streets. Not sure if we should call that "fearless" or "incredibly dumb".

                The next fearless step Gerda took was as a young wife. She and her husband, Borge Pedersen, decided to leave everything and everyone they knew and emigrated to Canada. What most of their family and friends did not know as the young couple boarded the ship was that Gerda was pregnant with their first child. So, on October 12, 1953, their son, Leslie, was born in Turner Valley, Alberta. Three years later, Borge was the chief electrician at Banff Springs Hotel and the family lived in Canmore, Alberta. On October 2, 1956, their daughter, Peggy, was born at Banff Hospital. The next move came a couple of years later when Borge was hired by Eldorado Nuclear to work as an electrical engineer in an isolated northern Saskatchewan mining community. The family packed up and moved to Uranium City, Saskatchewan, a town accessible only by plane or crossing Lake Athabasca. After Borge was promoted, the family moved a short distance to the Eldorado townsite, where the mine staff members lived. It was while living in Eldorado that Gerda discovered her talent for catching fish. Problem was, though she enjoyed catching them, she would never eat them. She hated fish. This gave birth to a new evening ritual in Eldorado whenever Gerda and Borge went out in the boat for a little fishing. She provided many tasty suppers for those who were quick enough to get down to the docks when they spotted the boat returning after a successful fishing trip.

                After many years living in Eldorado, they left and moved to BC to live in Britannia Beach and later, Vancouver. The final move came when Borge was hired by IMC (now Mosaic) and they arrived in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. It was here that they both spent the rest of their lives. A couple of years after Borge retired from Mosaic, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away in 1991. A year after Borge's death, Gerda was diagnosed with breast cancer. She faced it with her usual feisty nature and defeated it. Then came her battle with lung cancer, which she also defeated. Numerous other health issues occurred during her life, including going blind in one eye, having a carotid endarterectomy, but it was the arthritis that slowly began to wear her spirit down. The last few years of her life were spent in constant pain that just kept getting worse. In the last couple of months before her death, her mind also began to deteriorate. On Saturday, July 19, 2025, Gerda celebrated her 95th birthday. On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, Gerda passed away at St. Anthony's Hospital.

                The family would like to thank Dr. Sharifi Rad and the staff of St. Anthony's for their care during mom's final hours. We would also like to thank Randy Klassen for his patience and help in dealing with mom's last wishes. Finally, a big thank you to all those who work in the various stores that mom would frequent. Your kindness towards her did not go unnoticed. She would tell us all about the jokes, the smiles, and the help that you gave her when she was out and about. It was and is much appreciated.