Nellie (Voykin) Rezansoff

Nellie Rezansoff of Kamsack passed away on Nov 6,2017 at the age of 93 years in Yorkton, SK.

A funeral service was held on Wed Nov 15, 2017 from the chapel of Andrychuk Funeral Home. 

Interment followed at the Riverview Cemetery. 

Nellie was born in Kamsack on October31, 1924 to Lukeria Evin-Voykin and George Voykin.  She was the youngest child of seven children in her family.  Nellie attended Victoria School and completed grade eight. She was a life long resident of Kamsack.  Her grandfather Ivan Evin played a significant role searching out land for the Doukhobor people;  his journey took him as far as Cypress in the late 1800’s.  Eventually, Canada was chosen for its favourable conditions to an agrarian lifestyle.

As a child in school, Nellie liked Math and was very quick at calculations.  She also liked music and had a lovely singing voice.  She had fond memories of being part of a school choir.  As a young adult, Nellie loved to dance and she had very good rythmn.  One of her favourite dances was the  “ Heel Toe” .  It was later at a dance social that she met and eventually married Walter Nicholas Rezansoff.  Their wedding was held at the Stoney Creek Hall. Nellie had one daughter Kathleen (Kathy).

Nellie  was a conscientious homemaker and was always concerned about meal planning.  During seeding and harvest time she made large suppers and lunches that her husband Walter would take out to the farm  for  the work crew. 

Nellie was good at interior house painting and painted the rooms in her home  periodically. Nellie was an avid gardener.  She loved to start her tomatoes from seed in February and transplanted them in early March.  In the early years, she had a hot bed, a traditional Russian custom to start off seedlings early.  She grew a variety of vegetables and had enormous cabbages.  She was very generous sharing the surplus of her vegetables with relatives and at times donated items to the Kamsack hospital.  She also tended a large garden on the farm as well.   In late summer, she enjoyed berry picking.  During autumn, Nellie would do a lot of canning including tomatoes, pickles, relish, fruits, and jams.  She grew her last garden in 2007 which was very bountiful .

She enjoyed cooking  and made very tasty borsh, voreneke, and pereshke. For hobbies, Nellie liked crocheting and needle point.   Her last project was a rose pattern. 

Nellie had fond memories  of her numerous trips to Saskatoon which she  started when her daughter Kathy  began attending university and continued  right until 2010.

Nellie also travelled to British Columbia on two occasions.  She visited Vancouver, Kamloops  and took a side trip to Bellingham Washington.  This was her only time leaving Canada.   She was quite astounded by the B.C. Mountains and the traffic in Vancouver !

She also looked forward to her monthly shopping trips to Yorkton. Summers were always enjoyable with company coming to visit from various parts of Canada.  Nellie prepared many picnics and barbeques  for the visitors at Madge Lake.  It was a very happy time.

Nellie moved to Eaglestone Lodge with her husband Walter on November 11, 2010 and entered the Nursing Home in Kamsack in March 2011.  Although it was a difficult adjustment  for her, she enjoyed the entertainment and often sang along  with familiar songs of her youth.  She especially liked the bands that came to play and could be seen  keeping time to the beat when she was  in good spirits. In  the summer, she looked forward  to taking the Handibus  downtown for ice cream  with her daughter Kathy.  She liked to participate with some of the game activities with the residents.  She especially enjoyed listening to Kathy play the piano for her in the solarium.

The onset of dementia was an ongoing struggle but when she was happy her wonderful  smile came out and it was so fitting to play the song “When Your Smiling the Whole World Smiles with You “ for her.

Nellie was predeceased by her husband Walter in 2012; her parents Lukeria and George; a brother Andrew in infancy;  brothers Bill, Peter, George, and John;  two nephews Fred and Stanley Voykin of Kamloops B.C.

Nellie is survived by her daughter Kathleen of Saskatoon;  sister Ann Posnikoff of Kamsack and other extended family.

A special thank-you to cousin Eileen Kastrukoff  of New Westminster B.C. for all her kindness and support !

Also, thank-you  to Reg Brewer for his assistance and the Andrychuk Funeral Home

If friends so desire donations in Nellie's memory may be made to:

The Arthritis Society/Saskatchewan Division

#110 2550-12 Ave Regina, SK. S4P3X1

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