LILLIAN KELLER

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LILLIAN KELLER February 1, 1925 March 16, 2008 It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Lillian Keller at Russell Hospital on March 16, 2008. In the early hours of Palm Sunday, after receiving last rites from her priest Fr. Leo Fernandes, Lillian slipped away peacefully into her eternal rest. Lillian was predeceased by grandparents Alexander and Anastasia Mazur, parents John and Jessie Mazur, first husband Peter Parobeck, brother Alec Mazur, niece Cheryl Anne Kowalchuk, and granddaughter Anne-Gretchen Wiebe. She is survived by her husband Eddie Keller of Russell; children Mildred and Armin Wiebe of Winnipeg; grandchild Sara Jane (Jenny) Wiebe of Yellowknife; sister Olga Kowalchuk (Mike) of Winnipeg; nieces Shelley Kowalchuk (Gary Pedersen), Rachel, Chris, Mike and Jon; and Michelle (Nick Kowalchuk), Talia and Max, all of Winnipeg. Born on the farm northeast of Angusville, Lillian attended Lakedale School to Grade 8 and then worked as a hired girl for several farm families in the Silverton area. She married Peter Parobeck in 1943. They farmed near Angusville until Peter's health forced them to sell the farm in 1972. Peter took ill later in the year and Lillian nursed him until his death in 1977. After working for two years in Brandon, Lillian married Eddie Keller, a retired farmer living in Angusville. When Eddie retired from the Angusville Water Board, they moved to Banner County Court in Russell. Lillian was renowned for her baking and cooking skills. Several years back she was honoured at a dinner celebrating her forty years of cooking for area weddings, banquets, and fall suppers. Though declared legally blind in 2005, she would still take the handi-van to do her banking, go shopping, and visit the hairdresser. Lillian's funeral service was held on March 19 at St. Joseph the Worker Roman Catholic Church in Russell, with interment taking place at St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Cemetery, northeast of Angusville.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 30, 2008