Jerrold Lemko Honours His Mother Jean

Jerrold Lemko Honours His Mother Jean

Rosanne Fortier News Correspondent

Jerrold Lemko believes mothers should be recognized this Mother’s Day, (May 10), because they are the backbone of any family.

“To me, any child or grandchild if they have anything bothering them or hurting them, they will to go mom. Mom is the cuddlier, mom is the storybook reader, and mom is usually the one that everyone goes to. They are the glue of the family. This is evident in society. Usually, kids will have that heart to heart with their mother before they go to their father. We see this even in grandparents when they go and visit their grandkids; they still go through the grandfather to get to the grandmother. This is even the way it is with my grandchildren and it is nice to see,” Jerrold said with a voice laced with love.

“For me, I had a really close relationship with my father but my mother, Jean Lemko was always there. She always had her eye on what I needed, what was my favorite meal, she also sensed when I was in trouble and that was when something special happened,” Jerrold said.

Jerrold Lemko and 24 other family members of Jean celebrated her 84th birthday on April 11 with a virtual visit via Zoom.

“My mother is a social butterfly; she has a big heart. She wants to make a difference and has from her work involvement at the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church. Even though she didn’t have a lot because mom was poor after my father died when she was 45 years old. Then mom had to raise a 12-year-old boy. I was already gone from home as I had a family of my own. My mom lived all by herself in Holden with my 12-year-old brother.

Before dad passed away, mom was a stay-at-home mother. After dad passed away, she had to get a job, get a driver’s license, pay bills, write cheques and go through that whole process. She had to move out of their rental house they had from the grain company my dad worked for. She had to get a job as a Head Cook at the Holden Lodge. Later, she had to move to Vegreville to get a job as a cook at the Alberta Hotel. She worked there for a number of years.

She is very resilient. She is still going with all her healthrelated issues; with her heart bypass, and she has cancer right now. She is in isolation at the Senior Citizen Homestead Lodge and she can’t come out of the lodge. Mom is very religious and she has accepted her fate.

Her 84th birthday was spent at Homestead Lodge in a Zoom Chat. Usually, we had a big celebration. But this time, she still enjoyed the event,” Jerrold said. “Also, we’re behind on our ancestry. So, I reached out to mom and I asked her questions. That lady has a brilliant mind. She remembers things that I can’t believe she can remember.”

Then due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Jerrold and his family will be recognizing Jean on May 10 with a Mother’s Day card with messages. “The great-grandkids usually send her letters and cards. There will be phone calls from the family and we will go outside her window and wave to her while maintaining social distancing,” Jerrold added