Adalene Beisel

Adalene Beisel passed away on Friday, July 5, 2024 at Cypress House in Swift Current at the age of 90. Adalene is survived by her daughters Karen Reimer (Jerry), Katherine Johnson (Tom) and daughter-in-law Gladys Beisel, grandchildren Renee Olson (Garnet), Tara Tanner (Barclay), Rochelle Dempsey (Donald), Tricia Raynard (David), Amanda Beisel, and Jeremy Reimer (Kara) and 12 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and two sister-in-laws Ruth Beisel (Wilbert) and Frances Gerlach (Harvey).  Adalene was predeceased by her husband of 53 years Roland, her son Barry, her parents Reinhart & Frieda Gerlach, her brother Harvey Gerlach, her parents-in-law Andrew & Molly Beisel and several of her brothers and sisters-in law.

Adalene Verona Gerlach was born on March 24, 1934, on the family farm in the Beaver Flat District north of Waldeck to Reinhardt & Frieda (Schindel) Gerlach. She was their second and last child with brother Harvey being born in 1930. All births that occurred at home had to be recorded at the RM office in Rush Lake. The secretary of the day was not very educated so when Reinhardt told him that his daughter’s name was Adalene (which to this day is a unique name), as he had no idea how to spell it, he recorded her name as Irene. This was problematic for when Adalene secured her birth certificate, her name was recorded as Irene and she had to reapply so that she could have her proper name. Her middle name Verona never was recorded.

Adalene grew up in the 1930s with an especially frugal father so the need to save and not spend too much never left her. At an early age, she learned to cook, bake, clean, and garden. She often told the story of when she got home from school how there was a huge stack of baking dishes waiting for her to wash as her mom had been busy baking all day. This was because her mom loved to bake but not do the clean up. Adalene just would groan when she saw the stack of pans and dishes but didn’t dare complain. Adalene loved to tell the story of how at age 13 her mother had to quickly go to Melville to help her brother Julius who had lost family members in a fire. However, Frieda had invited company for supper that evening which left Adalene to cook a meal for the company. Apparently, the visitors were amazed at the splendid meal young Adalene had prepared.

Adalene took the horse and buggy with Harvey to Moscow School which was a few miles from the farm. She was good at school and finished her Grade 8 at Central School in Swift Current living at her Uncle Julius’s place. Adalene would go with her brother Harvey to social gatherings where many of the attendees were older than her. Here she met Roland Beisel, eight years her senior. Roland’s easygoing, fun-loving nature attracted her to him and Adalene’s lively and very pretty appearance made an impression on him. On October 8, 1950, at the Evangelical Church in the country, Roland and Adalene were married. They settled on the Beisel home farm where Roland had remodelled the two-story farmhouse into a modern cottage style house. Here they raised chickens, pigs, cattle and at one time had over 1,000 turkeys. It was hard work keeping the house, milking cows and yard work. In later years when the children were older, Adalene became the combine operator, a job she did not mind doing. Adalene was very athletic excelling especially in races at school track and field meets.  She loved playing softball, and her favorite position was short stop. After she was married, Adalene & Roland would milk the cows and then rush to the ball diamond so Adalene could play ball. In later years, Adalene and her daughter Karen played softball regularly with the Stewart Valley ladies’ team.

In 1953, Adalene & Roland had their first child Karen with Barry being born two years later. In 1959, Katherine was born. The family lived on the home place for the next few years with the exception of moving to 9th NW for the winter of 1957. Here Roland finished a bungalow which they sold in the spring when they moved back to the farm. In the fall of 1962, Adalene & Roland thought that they would join Roland’s brother Oliver in Chilliwack, BC, and buy an apartment building. Roland would continue to farm in the spring, summer and fall but spend the winter in BC. They sold the home place but kept the rest of their farmland. However, there were no apartment buildings for sale so there had to be a change of plans. They purchased another unfinished house on 3rd NW in Swift Current and moved into the basement while they completed the construction of the upstairs. They resided here until spring when they purchased a quarter of land 11 miles north of Waldeck and started a new yard. It was a lot of work as the house and all the buildings needed to be constructed as well as planting trees and grass. When the house was partially completed even though there were no kitchen cupboards, they moved in.

 Through the years as the children grew, Adalene continued to be a diligent and very involved mother. She drove the children to 4-H where she served as project leader as well as a chauffeur to different outings. Karen remembers her mother patiently waiting in the car while she and Barry were outside hanging out with their friends. When everyone else was ready to leave, they did as well. She always said she would rather wait around as at least she knew where her children were. Church attendance was at the Evangelical Church in the country until it was destroyed by fire. The congregation then moved to Rush Lake, but Adalene & Roland made the decision to start attending services in Swift Current. They started attending Westmount Church of God which later became East Side Church of God. Here Adalene was active in teaching Sunday School, teaching Vacation Bible School and helping with the Women’s Ministry.

 For many years, Adalene worked as a teacher and kitchen helper at the Pinecrest Bible Camp where her children spent a week every summer. Faith was always important to Adalene and on August 11, 1968, Adalene, Roland, Barry and Karen were baptized in the Swift Current Creek. Adalene had always enjoyed playing board and card games. In the country, Adalene & Roland would play ludo with the neighbors and many evenings were spent with Clarence & Emma Beisel playing Rook. This tradition continued after Roland had passed. Adalene, Violet Beisel, Clarence Beisel and Howard Heard would meet to play Aggravation after going out for supper. This became a weekly outing.

Another favorite memory of hers was camping with their children – Jerry & Karen Reimer and grandkids – Tara, Tricia and Jeremy with on some occasions Rochelle or Renee Beisel joining them. Every summer they would travel to Cypress Hills and other destinations such as Jasper, Missoula, Lake Louise, Banff, British Columbia, North and South Dakota. Often friends like Kathie & Lyle Holderbein and their North Dakota family, the Iversons, would join them. The camping agenda would include sightseeing during the day and after a campfire playing Rook every evening.

In the early 1980s, Adalene & Roland decided to try the Snowbird lifestyle and they pulled their RV to Phoenix, AZ. They tried different accommodations from a park model to a fifth wheel. In Arizona, Adalene learned to swim and began bike riding at age 50. They went to Arizona for over 16 years and those times were always a favorite with Adalene as she had escaped winter. Adalene & Roland eventually moved to Swift Current into Adalene’s parents’ house. Once in town, Adalene was very diligent in caring for her aged parents – cleaning, providing meals and being their taxi driver. In September of 2003, Adalene unexpectedly lost the love of her life whom she had been with since she was 16. Roland was only 77. Through this ordeal, Adalene was very stoic and said she did her mourning when she was alone. When someone asked her to go for lunch or coffee, she willingly went as she said if I don’t go then next time, they may not ask me.  Adalene spent over 20 years without Roland ably handling her investments and finances. After a couple of years of living in their house, she decided to buy a condo in Bridal Run and ably did so on her own. Here Adalene made new friends and enjoyed her life of independence.

One of Adalene’s greatest sorrows besides losing Roland was enduring the passing of their son Barry at age 54 in 2009. She often said she was so glad that Roland was not alive as he would have had great difficulty dealing with the death of his only son. However, Adalene’s loss was very heavy on her heart. After Roland passed away, Adalene took some holidays with Jerry and Karen to California to visit Larry & Carole Beisel (Roland’s nephew) and to Germany to visit her Schindel cousins. The cousins were very emotional when they met with her as they had not seen each other for many years. Adalene was always very hospitable and had many people over for meals or family visiting who would spend the night. She was always willing to help her family with whatever they needed. She could always be counted on to be there when needed. Her faith was very deep as she consistently demonstrated her belief in God and how He made a difference in her life. In 2021, Adalene after a bad fall had to move into assisted living in Cypress House. Here she entertained the staff with her one and only German song she knew and she had the staff singing, “yah, yah, yah.” The staff relayed how much they enjoyed having Adalene in residence as she remained a strong, lovable woman even though she was suffering from dementia and less mobility than in the past.

 Her family rejoices in how they could all share in her wonderful life and are thankful that her struggle with her health is over and that she now rests in her Lord and Savior’s arms.

 In conclusion, we will hear from Adalene who wrote this in 2012:

“It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, one glimpse of His dear face. All sorrow will cease. So quickly we ran the race till we see Christ.”

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