Obituary of Jeanne Burden

Margaret Jeanne Thomas was born on July 30, 1920 to David and Susannah Thomas of Unity, Saskatchewan. She had one older brother, David. Jeanne, as she preferred to be called, really enjoyed growing up in the small towns in Saskatchewan & Alberta in which the family lived…..particularly her years in Paradise Valley. It was there that she cultivated her interest in sports , music & dancing . Lifelong friendships emerged from that era as well. The Thomas family moved to Lougheed, AB in 1938. After teaching a Sunday school class one day, Jeanne shunned her secretarial training in favor of a teaching career. To that end, she attended Normal School in Edmonton for one year , received her teaching certificate and met yet another lifelong friend, who is the sole survivor of the 'gang'. Jeanne taught in several country schools in the Lougheed area and felt she had found her passion. But 'cupid' was lurking around the Groveland district and Jeanne earned another certificate when she became Mrs. Ian Burden, Ian being a local farmer of the area. This union became another lifelong relationship, ending when Ian passed away in December 2002. Ian & Jeanne raised three children on their farm north of Lougheed, they being Larry, Derek (Rick), and Marg(Susie). Even though she gave up her 'official' role as teacher, Jeanne always seemed to find a 'life lesson' born out of any experience to pass onto her children to facilitate learning. She did return to teaching in Lougheed School when Marg was in grade two but her growing family increasingly occupied her interest and devotion, surpassing the dedication to formal teaching from which she retired in 1976. As a retiree, Jeanne truly got in tune with nature. She loved the birds, the flowers, the walks in the pasture, She always maintained she was never bored as she had so many hobbies, including letter-writing (to maintain her eloquent handwriting); reading, baking , reading(did I mention that already)playing the piano & organ; watching sports & game shows on television ; solving crossword puzzles; Being active was always important to Jeanne and that was accomplished through participation in sports, (softball, tennis, badminton, floor curling ), walking and stretching exercises. She was well known about Sedgewick as the little old lady walking the little black dog. From the farm, Ian and Jeanne moved into Sedgewick in 1992. Failing health necessitated a move by Jeanne to the Killam Continuing Care Centre in June 2012. She passed away May 10,2014 at the age of 93 years. She is survived by her 3 children; Larry Burden, Derek (Sylvia) Burden, Marg(Ron) Roggensack; 6 grandchildren; Garrett (Tara) Roggensack, Sarah Roggensack, Mathew(Brandy) Roggensack, Amy (Chris) Frazer; Shane Burden & Anthony Burden ; & 5 great grandchildren; Lane, Dale & Jake Roggensack, Shay Roggensack, & Avery Roggensack; One sister-in-law, and numerous nieces & nephews & their families.