Seniors awarded with lifetime membership

By Irene van der Kloet
The Smoky Lake Drop-In Seniors’ Centre (SDIC) recently awarded two couples a lifetime
membership for their contributions to the centre. Marian and Maurice Lalonde moved to Smoky
Lake from Bonnyville in 1973. Maurice started working at the bakery, while Marian looked after
two young children and had no intention of going back to work at this time. The hospital did not
agree:” You are a nurse; you have to use your education,” so she started filling in every
weekend. That turned into a full-time position at the hospital. Maurice had become a member of
the SDIC at the age of 34, probably the youngest member at that time. Both put in a lot time at
the centre, from making coffee to helping wherever they could. Marianne was president for four
years and on the board for two years. While a reporter for the Smoky Lake Signal, she made a
newsletter so people knew what was happening. Maurice was renowned for his practical jokes.
These days, they are there every day, even when the drop-in centre is officially closed. Holidays
or not, Maurice will make coffee. “It’s not like it used to be,” Maurice says, “in 1976, we were
open all day, seven days a week. The centre had 300 members, and at least two volunteers
were needed to serve coffee. The average age was 55. There were parties, such as Malanka
(Ukrainian New Year), the “regular” Christmas, and Ukrainian Christmas.” At age 62, Marian
decided to get her Bachelor of Theology at Newman Theological College. She graduated with
distinction. On Thursday, May 11, they were honoured with their lifetime membership. Siegfried
and Katharina Loeffelbein (known as Sieg and Kathy) were also awarded a lifetime
membership. They started their lives in Europe, and both had rough youths in war-torn Europe.
In the early 1950s, they immigrated to Canada without knowing each other. “Sieg worked in the
sugar beets to pay his fee to come to Canada. We met in Hanna, AB, and there was this
immediate connection; we both knew it”, Kathy says. “We have been together for 68 years. We
got married, and after a brief time in Edmonton, bought a farm by Mons Lake and started small
with a few cows. It grew into a big cattle farm and was my first home. I loved it there. Sieg
worked as a mechanic while I farmed and looked after our four children. We only wanted land,
food and shelter, and we found it here. We did everything together,“ Kathy continues. They
loved living on the farm; it was their safe place, their home. People would accidentally end up in
their yard because they got lost and camp overnight; it was always good. But as they grew into
their senior years, they realized they could no longer stay on the farm and sold everything in an
auction sale on April 26, 2014, after 53 years on the farm. It is still emotional for them to talk
about it. They bought a house in town that Kathy always liked and had a good life there. Kathy
participates in the community; she helped out at the ladies’ auxiliary, worked with suicide
prevention, and was president of the Woodlands Association. She was also president of the
social committee at the Seniors’ Drop-In centre, booking music clergy and doing the coffee
schedule; for a long time, she decorated the Seniors’ Centre before the holidays. Kathy and
Sieg also received their lifetime membership awards on May 11. Both couples continue to be
active members of the SDIC.