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ELLA RUTH SCHINDLER (MILLEN)
Born: May 07, 1918
Date of Passing: May 18, 2020
Send Flowers to the Family Offer Condolences or Memory
ELLA RUTH SCHINDLER
(nee MILLEN)
May 7, 1918 - May 18, 2020
Ella is survived by her daughters, Myrna (Vincent) Brown, Ottawa, ON, Edna (Edwin) Smorong, Nanaimo, BC, and Janice (Darrell) Kinley, West Hawk Lake, MB; her grandchildren, Brad (Joanne) Brown, Rick (Rosemary) Brown, Mark (Lisa) Brown, Caroline (Dylan) Loy, Dawn Smorong, Matthew Smorong, Brianna Kinley, and Daegan Kinley; her great-grandchildren, Erin (Dan) Blair; Michael (Mia) Brown; Brandon Bell; Hayley Ella Brown; Jase Brown; Jackson Loy; Sophie Loy; Tess Hughes; Nate Hughes; her great-great-grandchildren, Emily Blair, Sara Blair; and many nieces and nephews.
Ella was predeceased by her parents, Charles and Bertha Millen; brother Howard Millen; husband Edwin Schindler; sisters and brothers-in-law, Eva Anderson and Jack Anderson, Eileen Low, Joe McKinnon, Ivan Low; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, August and Maise Schindler, Robert and Eileen Schindler, Thomas and Ruby Schindler; nephews, Bob Schindler, Gordon Schindler, Clarence McKinnon, Jim Nicol, Bill Swain; and son-in-law Vincent Brown.
Ella was raised on a farm in Wawenesa, Manitoba; she grew up riding horses bareback and herding cattle. She met and married the love of her life Ed Schindler in 1939; he served during the Second World War and in 1945 they were reunited and moved to Toniata Lodge, Falcon Lake. They ran a successful tourist resort there for 18 years, then moved to the Falcon Beach townsite where they resided for the next 25 years and where Ed passed away. Ella then moved to her apartment in Kenora and lived there for the next 10 years. Then she moved to Nanaimo and lived with Ed and Edna for her remaining years.
Ella was a very active curler and enjoyed many bonspiels with mixed and ladies' teams. Ella joined the Kenora Senior Centre and spent many years playing darts, carpet bowling and cards. She was part of the team that represented Kenora in the Senior Games in Ottawa and in Kingston. Ella always loved games of competition.
The family would like to thank Dr. Balfour and the staff of Dwelling Place Senior Home for making Mom comfortable in her last years. We will be forever grateful for your kindness, compassion and thoughtfulness.
No service by request. There will be a private family gathering at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ella's name to the:
Nanaimo District Hospital,
1200 Dufferin Cres., Nanaimo, BC V9S 9Z9,
or online: nanaimohospitalfoundation.com
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 30, 2020
Condolences & Memories (3 entries)
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Ella showed me how to clean cabins at Toniata Lodge and help in the store. I was treated as one of the family, slept in a room in the large cabin, attending with Edna swimming lessons, playing darts with the ecology profs from Winnipeg at 10 cents a game, who used to come close to midnight and play bagpipes through the whole campground! ---losing all my tips! Watching the "ice guys", Bruce and Richard, water down the sawdust from the ice to be dispensed; playing solitaire with Ella's mom in the kitchen and "chaperoning" Edna to dances in Falcon Lake. It was a time to remember; something to be valued. How wonderful to have met with people early in my life who were so hardworking yet buoyant. Ella was always warm and caring and made the experience into something that mattered. - Posted by: Kay Wotton (worked at Toniata job two summers after high school before university. ) on: Apr 30, 2022
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Wow I came across this by accident. She was a very nice lady. I recall she actually agreed to sew a Russian flag for us to hang over the cook shack at Toniata beach. We hung it up one early morning and it was removed (By Ed I think) later that day. We were dumb kids at the time but she put up with our shenanigans. - Posted by: joe (friend of myrna) on: Feb 20, 2021
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Auntie, you will be greatly missed by all of your family and friends. You have left a hole in our hearts. We can only patch that hole by remembering all of the wonderful times we had with you. I will always have the memories of all the summers and holidays at Toniata Lodge that you and Ed gave me. Those adolescent years that were spent with you and Ed will never be forgotten. Every curling game and jigsaw puzzle will remind me of you. I have lost a love of my life. Love and hugs Lloyd. - Posted by: Lloyd & Diane Anderson & Family (Nephew) on: May 30, 2020