June 29, 1929 – June 14, 2019
at the age of 89 years
Jeannine Dawn Lohff Bannister (nee Malzahn) passed into eternity June 14, 2019, with her loving husband, John, by her side. Jeannine was born June 29, 1929 in Wisconsin, U.S.A. She married her first husband, Robert James Lohff, in June of 1948. Robert and Jeannine had two children, Judith and Robert. Her husband and her son predeceased her in 1977 and 2000 respectively. Jeannine immigrated to Kelowna, B.C., Canada in the spring of 1978, engaged to a Canadian, John Bannister. They were married in June. John, also a widower, had a daughter, Karen Bannister Alikan.
Jeannine leaves to mourn, her husband John, her daughter Judith (Kenneth) Reynolds, her stepdaughter Karen (Nelson) Mathiesen, grandsons Benjamin Reynolds, Derrick and George Alikan, plus great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and a great-great-great granddaughter and nieces and nephews.
Thank you Karen & Son’s. Such a lovely tribute to my mother—who did love you dearly. Mother was always telling me about a visit/call from Karen. l am surely grateful to my sister Karen. I was much farther away from B.C. and as Active Duty
in The USArmy, I did a great deal of 24/7 call, which continued with transition to Civilian employment at a local Clinic /Hospital following my discharge from active duty.
I am unable to attend even the Memorial, which is scheduled together with my mother’s in the near future. Karen has been active in coordinating that as well, was her Father (John Bannister) my Step-Father.
Mom, as she was my Mom for nearly 41 years, was the best Mom and Grandmother to my two sons, George and Derrick Alikin that was possible to be! She often said I was the daughter she didn’t remember giving birth to. I often told her she was the original Martha Stewart as she could do so many crafts as well as was a wonderful cook and baker. You could always count on wonderful food if you went to her house. I had many great times rock hunting, blueberry picking, shopping and dining out with Mom and Dad. My Dad just passed away, July 23rd.
Thank-you.
My brother’s name was James Robert.
Yes, the move to assisted living was a hard decision for my mother, but as Regina said she did quite well there, in more like an apartment. However, as Regina also said it was much more difficult when she had to go on to the higher level of care, as the kidney failure, I believe, left her unable to cope as well as previous.
But My mother had a wonderful long life and two sound marriages. She fulfilled her life long dream to live in a cabin in the mountains. ….Her and Daddy would sing:…”Take me back to that Little Log Cabin on the Mountain where the Wild Flowers grew, that Little Log Cabin on the Mountain so high—it’s a Wonderful Mansion to me. . . . .
I knew John and Jeannine for quite a number of years and know they were hard-working people who trusted in their Lord to supply them with their needs, which He did, by providing them with many talents which they used to make a living.
Jeannine was very creative with material and a sewing machine. She sewed countless numbers of dolls, animals, and birds into ornamental door stops, tea cozies and decorations of various kinds. There were all kinds of beautiful, desirable items which she sold at craft markets. She crocheted doll clothes , adorning small plastic dolls with pretty dresses and hats, another saleable item.
She and John picked wild mushrooms all over the mountain on which they lived and followed the mushroom trail over much of B.C., selling their product to mushroom marketers. They also gleaned the forest for boxwood, which the florists were happy to buy through the autumn and Christmas seasons. John had a lumber mill, mined for gold, and collected all kinds of beautiful rocks which were polished into gems and sold. They provided their own wood heat for their small, comfortable rustic home on Ginger Hill, in Malakwa, so there was always something to do.
Jeannine loved to sing and play her organ. John loved to sing as well. She talked of singing with her son Jim and had tapes of the two of them making music together. I know she listened to those tapes as she spent long hours by herself in the apartment she moved into in Salmon Arm.
John went to live in a care facility following the onset of dementia, and Jeannine was determined to live by herself in the home John had provided for them, even after he was gone. At this time I really got to know her quite well, as she needed help with doctor’s visits and shopping for the things which the local store couldn’t send out. She used a walker to get around the house but could not go outside for the wood for her fireplace and after needing help with that for a couple of winters she decided to move into an apartment in Salmon Arm. She did quite well there as she was able to take taxis to do the things she needed to do, but, as her health deteriorated, it became necessary for her to move into the assisted living facility that John was in.
The staff provided a beautiful corner with windows on two sides because John and Jeannine loved nature and could see the mountains and watch the birds outside. Despite the friendly help there, Jeannine, who was continuously losing her ability to get around and missed being able to call a taxi to go out for a trip uptown, was never really happy during the months she lived there. It was sad to see her slowly be overcome by diabetes, kidney disease and the pancreatic problems that had plagued her with so much pain for so many years. “Rest in peace, dear friend.” (Submitted by Regina Twa, Malakwa, B.C.)