Hilya Hall - September 25, 1930 to November 18, 2024
Hilya was born on a small homestead near the tiny community of Darling in Northern Alberta, the 9th of 11 kids. Her Mother was Finnish from Helsinki and her Dad was Sami from Northern Finland.
Early life was tough for the family and certainly fostered resilience. Food from the farm was meager, supplemented by hunting and fishing when possible. She knew what it was like to go hungry. Walking barefoot to school, carrying her shoes, was a way to make them last longer.
At the young age of 11, due to financial hardships at home, she moved in with a large farming family to help care for their children. One of her tasks was walking the youngest to and from school. After a couple of years, she moved back in with family, first with her oldest brother and then her older sister until venturing out in the working world at the age of 15 with her youngest sister. Jobs included cooking and cleaning at lumber camps and coal mining towns. She also spent time working at restaurants in Horseshoe Bay.
Through a relative she was offered a job in Yellowknife, NT, working and living at the Giant Mine cafeteria. She moved up in March 1953. It wasn't long before she met Albert who was also working at Giant Mine and living in the bunkhouse. A common love for playing sports, outdoor adventures, and partying with friends under the midnight sun brought them closer together.
They married in 1953 and made Yellowknife home, raising four boys in the process. Their time was spent making fond memories with friends and family in a small house on the lakeshore at Giant Mine. She was active in the community donating countless hours of her time to a variety of charities and organizations including the Order of Royal Purple of which she was immensely proud.
Retirement was spent actively enjoying themselves in Kelowna, BC, for 20 years. Volunteering remained important to them including helping to organize the first Kelowna Picnic.
After moving back "home" to Yellowknife in 2006, Dad's Parkinson's landed him in Aven Cottages. Fortunately, Mom moved into Aven Ridge and was able to help care for him every day until he passed away in 2013. Mom continued her second calling, helping care for senior friends and neighbours at Aven Cottages and Court.
She was an avid gardener and was blessed with a dark green thumb, growing beautiful flowers along the front of Aven Ridge as well as the many flowers that graced her deck every summer, including her final summer.
We want to thank her friends, neighbours, and staff at Avens for their care and support. Mom always spoke very highly of the care she received from the EMS and the staff at the hospital. Our heartfelt thanks.
Hilya was predeceased by her eldest son, Jim and her husband, Albert. She is survived by her sister, Laila Tomich; sons, Ken (Jeannette), Tom (Ann), and Terry (Jackie); and grandchildren, Heather (Kenny), Brad, Lisa (Simon), Devon (Chelsea), Kira (Ryan), and Michael (Kacie); as well as great grandchildren, Noah, Avery, Taylor, Leo, Lucie, Nicholas, and Louise. She will also be missed by her "adopted" grandchildren, Jennifer (Brad) and Shauna (Rick); and great grandchildren, Ophelia, Dashrick, and Wilder.
Donations in Hilya's memory can be made through the Yellowknife Community Foundation to the Albert Hall Seniors Enhancement Fund, soon to be called the Albert and Hilya Hall Seniors Enhancement Fund. www.ykcf.ca
A Celebration of Life will be announced soon. McKenna Funeral Homes