Theresia Johanna Spykerman

On September 23, 2021, Theresa “Oma" Spykerman  passed away at the age of 92. Theresa was born in 1928 in Raalte, Holland to Jan and Na Horenberg as the 9th of 11 children. 

When she was still small, the biggest treat she would get was an ice cream cone which her family could only afford once a year. She told us that she savoured every last bit and this is why we have many pictures of her eating ice cream. Each day until she was in grade four she walked two miles to school, at which point she got a bicycle. She went to school until grade eight and at the age of 15, she became a housekeeper for a family of nine to help support her family. The girls in her family all had to have long hair put into braids and she could hardly wait until she was old enough to make her own decisions and have it cut short.

On April 1, 1954 at the age of 26 she married Tony “Opa” Spykerman. Five days later they immigrated to Canada to start a life together as land was scarce in Holland and they wanted to have their own farm. The English they knew was minimal when they first arrived, but they quickly learned the language by watching television and from the family they stayed with. After brief stints in Indian Head, McLean, Lebret, Jameson, and Saltcoats where they worked for other farmers, they purchased their own farm near Jedburgh in 1968. They started the farm with six Jersey cows and began shipping cream. They increased their herd with holstein cows and then started shipping milk in the early 1970’s. In 1989 Tony and Theresa retired the dairy herd but continued to farm the land with a few head of beef cattle. She worked tirelessly raising the children and working alongside Tony to run the farm. She was very involved in the community whether it be at curling, bingos, the Good Deed Club or other community events. Theresa’s infectious smile and laughter lit up the room everywhere she went and will be forever missed.

In 1999 Theresa and Tony moved to live with their daughter Margaret in Regina. This is where Theresa lived until her passing. You could always find her in the kitchen singing a tune while cooking or baking. The neighbors would often comment in amazement that she was still cutting the grass and shoveling the snow even at the age of 90. Theresa was at every Rider home game cheering loudly, with her last outing being the Rider game on August 21, 2021. Theresa loved travelling with her family, whether going to watch curling in Vegas, touring the Maritimes, visiting family in Ontario, sipping wine in the Okanagan, or “camping” at Good Spirit. She was very excited to spend and treasured all time with grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Theresa is predeceased by her husband Tony, son in-law Paul, parents and some of her siblings. Her memory will be cherished by her children Margaret, John (Suzel), Irene (Rick), and Monica, grandchildren Paul, Shaun (Ashley) and their children Elizabeth, Emelia and Baby due in October, Chad, Erik (Rachelle), Sarah and her children Hailey and Bree, April, Curtis (Yuliya) and their child Logan, Jon (Andrea), Zach (Karley).

In lieu of flowers, friends so wishing may make a donation in Theresa's name to the Hospitals of Regina Foundation and specify on the memo line “Palliative Care Services”.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday September 29, 2021 at 2:00 pm from St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church with Fr. Louis Nguyen officiating.

The service will be live streamed please click on the following link at 1:50 pm http://www.facebook.com/christiesfuneralhome.

For more information or to leave a condolence for the family please contact www.ChristiesFuneralHome.com.

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