Obituary of Gertrude "Gertie" Boser

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Gertrude ”Gertie” Boser at Provost Long Term Care on April 14, 2025, at the age of 94 years. She passed peacefully in her sleep.

Gertrude, known to everyone as Gertie, was born October 21, 1930, in Provost, Alberta. She was the eldest child of Anton and Alvina Schultz. They lived on a farm north-east of Provost but later moved into town. Gertie and sister Lea travelled to school with their horse named Dolly. Dolly knew the way to and from school. Often, they would say "Dolly, take us home" and Dolly did.

Gertie loved doing things that weren't necessarily meant for girls at that time. She took Home Economics in school which she loved but especially loved woodworking which she excelled at and made and fixed many items.

She met the love of her life, Frank Boser and they married July 12, 1949. They had 2 children; Harold and Debra and lived in Provost. Gertie had a full life raising her children and then decided to work outside her home. She opened "Gertie's Grill" at the Esso Station on the highway. All the pastries there were home-made. She spent many hours at home baking pies or cakes and cookies then taking them to the restaurant to be served and enjoyed. Everyone loved her baking.

After the restaurant closed, she started working at Spilde's Grocery Store. She left that job and started at the IGA. Frank and Gertie had the Bottle Depot for many years. When Frank retired, they sold the Bottle Depot and Gertie worked at the Greenhead for a while.

Frank and Gertie loved travelling. They travelled all over Alberta, B.C., into Saskatchewan and took several holidays in the United States. After Frank passed, she did many things including driving to Maklin to play Bingo and visit with relatives; going to Calgary to visit her sister and nieces and nephews; and going to Edmonton many times for various appointments. She was able to house-sit for Harold and Sylvia while they were away on extended winter holidays. Several times she took the Greyhound bus to Kamloops to visit with her daughter Debbie while Debbie and her family lived there.

Gertie had many projects that she loved: knitting or crocheting, but her favorite was ceramics. She made many items of each of these to give to her family and friends as gifts. She was also able to help family members if they needed any help making special breads, pasta or baking. She loved having relatives come to stay and they were always served a home-made meal made from scratch. She was always there to help.

Gertie loved gardening and under her expert guidance the gardens thrived. She loved socializing, playing cards, dice and Bingo. She was so happy when she Bingo'd and she would win a mini-chocolate bar. She was also very involved with her ancestry, calling on many relatives to help.

When her grandchildren arrived, she was more than happy to help the new mothers and they were happy for the help.

She leaves to mourn her passing, son, Harold (Sylvia) Boser of Sherwood Park; grandsons, Boyd (Charlene); great-grandsons, Tegin, Ethan Boser of Leduc; Dean (Laelle) Mannion of Slave Lake; Chris Mannion of Edmonton; and Gary (Tara); great­grand daughters, Macalia and Jubilee Mannion of Stony Plain; as well as many other relatives and friends.

Gertie was pre-deceased by her husband, Frank and her daughter, Debbie.

She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Memorial Donations may be made to the provost Auxiliary Society LTC Recreation Fund.

Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, April 25, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Provost, Alberta with Father Christopher Selvaraj Rayappan SAC officiating. Interment to follow at the Provost Cemetery.

Gregory's Funeral Home Inc.

www.gregorysfuneralhomes.com