STACHIW - Ellen Stachiw (Nee Visser) was born December 16, 1940 in The Hague, Netherlands to John & Tina Visser. Ellen was born during WWII into a country that was occupied which influenced and impacted her life. In 1959, Ellen moved with her family to Canada and settled in Regina with her first husband Johannes Vandenberg and together they had a son John and a daughter Marcia. Ellen officially became a Canadian citizen in 1969. In 1971, Ellen married her second husband Peter Stachiw and resided on a farm near Leslie, SK, welcoming their second daughter Heidi. Ellen took on the life of farming with full force, utilizing all resources and providing her family learned skills and experiences such as home churned butter, fresh bees honey, homemade ice cream from fresh farm cream, handmade wool mitts and socks from the sheep they raised, canning and preserving every type of vegetable from a massive well-tended garden, and any fruit that could be grown on the Saskatchewan prairie. She was a member of the Horticultural society and won many ribbons for her beautiful flowers and award winning produce. In 1987 Ellen and Peter moved from the farm to Foam Lake, SK and lived there until 2008 when they then moved to Yorkton, SK to be closer to family and medical care. After Peter’s passing in 2016, Ellen continued to reside in Yorkton until 2020 when she was placed in long term care in Moosomin until her passing on December 26, 2024. Ellen lived a full life with many different roles and hobbies. Her impressive list of roles included a bank teller, hospital worker, licenced hair dresser, she ran the Cafe in Margo, SK, she was a cook at a restaurant in Wynyard, SK, store owner, wife, mother and grandmother. She was very talented with all types of needle work and crafts and attended national needlework conventions. Ellen sold her crafts at various farmers markets including the Yorkton Sunflower where she was known for her beautiful wheat weaving and apple head dolls. Ellen opened Welcome Home Crafts in Yorkton where along with selling art and crafts of local artists, provided workshops of different crafting skills for others to learn. Ellen had a passion for sewing and quilting and was a member of the Yorkton Quilters Guild. She attended many quilting workshops allowing her to learn to make beautiful creations as part of her legacy for her children. Ellen was active in her community and was a member of the Rebekah Lodge in Foam Lake and was also a member of the Federated Women’s Institute of Canada. Ellen enjoyed travelling and seeing places. She travelled most of Canada from coast to coast, parts of the US including Alaska, Europe, and the Caribbean. She is predeceased by father John Visser; mother Tina Visser; brother Hank Roeters; and son (Col) John Vandenburg. Mourning her passing is daughter Marcia Weedmark of Moosomin; her children Kristen & Emily; daughter Heidi (Brian) Russell of Yorkton; their children Hayden & Grace. A family graveside service will be held for Ellen Stachiw come Spring 2025.
