META (MAY) DEGNER (RAHN) -

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META (MAY) DEGNER (nee RAHN) 1922 - 2012 Meta was born in Germany but immigrated to Canada in 1928 with her parents Martha and Henry Rahn, settling at a homestead in Amaranth, Manitoba. Her earliest memory was of her ball being lost down the hold of the ship that took the family from Hamburg; this must have been a sad loss for a little girl of six on such a long journey. She remembered the freedom of growing up on the farm, but was not much for farm chores. She was particularly unimpressed by the fact that the potatoes had to be planted on her birthday, May 19th! Although she left to enter nursing school at the age of 20, the farm continued as a stable feature of her family life long after marriage and children. Meta was predeceased by her husband Oscar in 1989; her parents, Martha and Henry Rahn; her sisters Alma Elke and Hilda Grover; and most tragically of all, her beloved daughter Kathryn in 1968 at the age of 10. Kathy died of acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a time when this disease was uniformly fatal; she survived 14 months after the diagnosis which were both a gift and a struggle for the family. Meta was a pillar of strength during this terrible ordeal, although it left life-long scars. Meta is survived by her children Lesley, Randy (Susan Best) and Paul Degner, and by her grandchildren from Randy and Susan: Nicholas, Zachary (Stefanie Turner), Luke, Jake and Quinn Degner. She is also survived by her brother Arnold Rahn (Merle), her sister-in-law Norma Sol, and many nieces and nephews. She particularly enjoyed visits from her nieces Laurie and Debbie in her later years. Meta graduated from the Portage La Prairie School of Nursing as class valedictorian in 1945, just as the Second World War was ending. She was disappointed that she did not have the opportunity to serve as a military nurse, but instead had a long practice career as a private duty nurse. She came home with wonderful stories of the challenges and adventures of her work, which subsequently inspired her daughter Lesley to enter the profession. Meta enjoyed her class reunions, and kept in contact with some of her classmates such as Hazel Hierlihy throughout her life. She also made some great nursing friends over her career, and enjoyed their lunches and chats together. In her later career, she worked at the Holy Family Nursing Home where her husband was a resident for the last three years of his life. She had provided significant amounts of caregiving to Oscar as his condition deteriorated with age as a result of war injuries he sustained in England in 1942. Meta had met her future husband Oscar at the German Club during the war, and they married in 1945 in Langruth, Manitoba. Meta and Oscar moved from their first house on Rutland Street in St. James to their home on Church Avenue in the mid-1950s and there formed close relationships with their neighbours which sustained them through the years. The Sprysaks, Halases, Kobewkas and the Browns were particularly close friends and in later years Mel was also a very supportive neighbour to Meta. Many enjoyable evenings were spent in the adjoining back yards along that short block of houses. Meta and Oscar enjoyed camping and fishing, and took their children on many trips around Manitoba and particularly into the northern parts of the province. While Oscar planned the trips, Meta was in charge of the food supplies that had to keep them going for three weeks in the woods. When the food ran out, the family ate pickerelfor breakfast, lunch and dinner! The family inevitably seemed to arrive in a newly opened camp ground just in time for a storm that brought the trees down and crashed on their equipment. The family albums are full of photos of fish caught and camp fires enjoyed. Between these trips and all the weekends at the farm, they gave their children the advantages of travel at a time when that was not the norm. Meta continued to work very hard, both at home and in her career, balancing work and motherhood at a time when it was the norm for women to stay home once they had children. Her work also provided much appreciated additional income for the family, allowing for some small luxuries that would otherwise not have been possible. Meta also had hobbies that she pursued with vigor. Her capabilities as a seamstress were considerable; she sewed her daughters many lovely dresses, including evening gowns which were extremely detailed. She would often come home from an evening shift and stay up very late sewing a dress; she said it helped her unwind from the stresses of work. She also had a gift for petit point, spending her mornings working on a project after the children had gone to school. These canvases have since been passed down to family members. Although not an enthusiastic cook, she provided excellent meals and mastered the Ukrainian specialties of the neighbourhood which made for many tasty dinners. She had a canning cupboard which she faithfully filled every summer with fruit and vegetable preserves that kept the family going throughout the winter. Meta was delighted (and relieved!) when she was finally blessed with grandchildren thanks to the efforts of her son Randy and his wife Susan. Meta enjoyed taking the grandchildren out to a variety of venues as well as buying them clothes. Those years when the children were young were very happy ones for her. She also travelled with her friends, and was able to enjoy trips to Florida with Claire and other trips abroad with Ruby. Her most fondly remembered trip was the cruise around the Greek islands and her visit to Istanbul, where she bought a small silk rug for the wall which was her favourite possession. She also enjoyed trips with her daughter Lesley to Toronto, New York and Florida. Once she was no longer able to travel, she spent mornings at the Wellness Centre walking the track and meeting her friends. Meta was an extremely generous person, and assisted her grandchildren with support for their post-secondary education. The family would like to thank those who made the last years of Meta’s life more comfortable after she left the family home in 2007: the staff at the Irene Baron Eden Centre who were particularly helpful in keeping Meta from being admitted to a nursing home; and the staff at the Rosewood, particularly Paulette who showed her dedication in learning how to handle Meta’s needs, Diane who managed difficult situations with such skill, and Roxanne who was so helpful at dealing with a wide variety of issues. Meta experienced a small stroke in February of 2011 and then her breast cancer recurred in June of 2011, leading to a course of radiotherapy. However, the tumour started to grow rapidly. While at the Rosewood, care for her breast wound was effectively managed by home care nurse Monica, and the practical assistance and emotional support provided by Darlene Grantham, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Oncology, were particularly appreciated. In January of 2012, Meta was admitted to Seven Oaks General Hospital and was cared for in the last weeks of her life by the extremely knowledgeable and compassionate nursing staff of 5U1 and 5U2. Their attention to detail and pain management skills were particularly appreciated. Throughout Meta’s last two decades, Dr. Mark Kristjanson and the nursing staff at the Kildonan Family Medical Centre (formerly Pat and now Chrissy) were an ongoing support and met Meta’s needs in a discreet yet effective manner. In accordance with Meta’s wishes, there will be no funeral service. Her ashes will be interred with her husband Oscar, at his grave in Chapel Lawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation in Meta’s name would be greatly appreciated. From the valedictory address given by Meta Rahn, 1945: “Just read of the job our nurses are doing in North Africa, in India, or in the far North in Canada. They live for their work, put into it all they’ve got, and don’t count the cost. They are pioneering again. It is because they are doing jobs bigger than themselves which call forth all their reserve of initiative and daring.” For those who wish to sign the online Guest Book please visit our website.  Chapel Lawn  www.chapellawn.mb.ca  885-9715

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 14, 2012