Obituary of Herman Atema

Herman Atema was born in Edmonton to William and Sara Atema August 21, 1915 and passed away peacefully at Birch Cottage, Bethany in Camrose February 1, 2013 at the age of 97 years. He resided in Edmonton until the age of four when his parents moved to Carvel Alberta. They farmed at Carvel until he was eleven years old at which time his sister Martha took ill with spinal meningitis and they had to move to Edmonton for her medical treatment. In 1929 the family purchased the Grundberg homestead north of Armena where he farmed with his Dad until 1940 when his parents and sister moved to Victoria. He married Ruby Lyseng June 8, 1941 and they farmed and lived on that land until August 6, 2009 when their home burned. He spent his remaining years in Camrose. He enjoyed water skiing until well into his seventies. During the last years on the farm he was a passionate berry picker, especially raspberries from his patch. Ruby got very good at making wine from those berries. He harvested wild mint from a meadow for their tea and always made sure they had plenty of garden produce. He and Ruby spent many winters RVing in southern California. His favourite pastime was riding his little Honda 70 to shop for bargains, scrounge for produce and pick raisins. Sometimes Ruby rode on the back. Although he was very careful with his money he never hesitated to help out relatives, friends and acquaintances. He is survived by his loving wife, Ruby; children Janice (Terry) Grundberg of Whitecourt, Bill (Elsie) of Camrose, Fred (Debbie) of Hay Lakes; 13 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren. He is predeceased by his parents William and Sara, his only sibling Martha and one grandson Russel Hansen. A funeral service was held on Wednesday February 6, 2013 at 1:30pm from the Camrose Kingdom Hall with Mr. Tom Roy Leslie officiating. Memorial contributions are gratefully accepted to the charity of one's choice.