Marjorie Reynolds

It is with heavy hearts, the family of Marjorie (Marge) Reynolds of Preeceville share the news of her passing on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, in Preeceville. Marge was 96 years old, her warmth and kindness will be deeply missed by all who loved her. 

Family and friends are invited to gather and celebrate Marge's remarkable life on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 1p.m. at the Endeavour Community Hall. 

Memorial donations in memory of Marge may be made to Preeceville Personal Care Home (Box 1150, Preeceville, SK S0A 3B0) or to the Etoimamie Cemetery (c/o Adeline Mills, Box 294, Sturgis, SK S0A 4A0) as gifts of remembrance.

Marjorie Margaret (Cook) Reynolds was born on November 24, 1929, on the Hazel Dell farm.  She was the eldest of 10 children born to Ken and Margaret Cook—six boys and four girls.  Marge was premature so her mom and dad used the old wood stove to keep her warm.  All types of farming were part of Marge’s life.  As a child her family raised rabbits, then changed over to mink and a small herd of cattle . . . and always horses.  In 1939, the family moved to Windy Lake and Marge was pulled from school for two years.  Marge always talked about those years as being a great experience and how she learned a lot about those who lived in the area and how you needed to help each other to survive.

When the family returned to the farm at Hazel Dell, a few more children were in tow.  Marge started back to school at Hazel Dell, with her Auntie being the teacher in the one-room schoolhouse.  Marge was responsible for getting her siblings to school and often took them with a team of horses or, sometimes, with a team of dogs.  Marge was able to attend school in Hazel Dell up to Grade 8.  Her Grade 9 education was by correspondence.  To receive her Grades 10 and 11 schooling, Marge and sister Bessie (Elizabeth) traveled by train to Preeceville every week.  They stayed in a rooming house for those years.  Marge always remembered those two years as a great adventure for two young girls from Hazel Dell.  Marge wasn’t able to finish her Grade 12 as the family needed her help on the farm.

Besides working on the family farm, Marge had other jobs in her younger years.  She would help her cousin Tim Cook during harvest.  She also worked at Gelman’s Store in Preeceville and at the Preeceville Creamery.  Another job was working as a housekeeper for the Hagemeister family.  Mrs. Hagemeister helped Marge become an excellent cook and baker.

In 1949, Marge met Ken Thidemen.  They dated for two years and were married December 14, 1951 at Hazell Dell.  They started their life together in a small house, often referred to as the “Granary” by Marge, along the Etomami River near Endeavour.  Soon after their marriage, Marge and Ken both worked at the Fred Dalton’s logging camp south of McBride Lake with Marge cooking for about 20 men and Ken working as the edger man in the sawmill.  In the spring of 1953, Marge and Ken bought a quarter of land with a rundown two-room house near Endeavour for $1,000.  Ken worked for a neighbour and, with the help of his brother Leonard, also logged spruce off their newly bought land.  Marge milked about six cows and sold cream to the Preeceville Creamery for extra cash.  She also did her best to fix up the house that was to be their home for two years.  She plastered the walls with mud and straw and then covered them with wallpaper.

After their first years near Endeavour, Marge’s father suggested that Marge and Ken come to Hazel Dell and establish a mink ranch.  They then settled on land that later became part of the Hazel Dell Community Pasture.  There, they raised mink and had up to 1,000 mink at a time.  They also raised cattle and chickens.  They again milked cows and shipped cream to Preeceville by train.  Sons Murray and Arlee were born while living at this farm. 

When Ken’s health began to fail, they decided to get out of mink and just focus on farming.  In 1961, they purchased a farm three miles southeast of Endeavour from Norman Wall.  Marge stated that this was a very exciting move.  The family packed up all their belongings and began the process of moving cattle from Hazel Dell to Endeavour.  Soon after the move to Endeavour, their daughter Laurie was born in 1963.

After moving back to Endeavour, Marge and Ken established a dairy.  Ken spent some time working away logging, while Marge stayed home to manage the dairy and raise the children.  In 1965, after a lengthy illness, Ken passed away on February 9, 1965.  It was a tough year for Marge with a new farm and young family to look after.  She faced a heavy workload of operating the dairy and raising the children.  But she was still able to build up her farm by adding pigs, chickens, 50 head of cattle and more milk cows.

In 1966, Marge met Dick Reynolds and they were married in 1967.  Soon after, Tammy was born.  Dick was the local vet.  Marge recalled Dick was very busy with his veterinarian work and she was busy on the farm.

In 1968, the family began shipping cream on a larger scale.  In 1981, Marge’s oldest son Murray started working with the dairy operations and general farming.  In 1985, they built a bigger barn to milk more cows so that they could start shipping fluid milk.  Marge was dedicated to the dairy farm.  It was a big commitment--milking twice each day, doing other farm jobs and keeping the family fed.  In 2001, they decided to sell the dairy.  It was a sad time for Marge since she liked dairy cows.  But she didn’t give up milking altogether as she kept four cows for milking.  She also kept selling eggs for extra cash.  Marge and Dick worked together for more than 30 years.  Then Dick’s health began to fail, and he eventually became a resident of Preeceville Lions Hostel in 2000.  Dick passed away November 20, 2008.  After Dick’s passing, Marge stayed busy milking her remaining cows, keeping beef cattle, raising chickens, selling eggs, and taking in animals that needed extra care.  She had a love of horses from a young age, and she and Dick had gymkhana and racehorses.  She loved dogs and cats and feeding her birds.

Marge always had a huge garden for fresh eating and canning, and she continued this well into her 90’s.  She enjoyed cooking and baking and always had a full cookie jar or old tin can full of cake.  Many times, the dairy or feed truck drivers knew a good time to schedule a pickup was around noon as they would always be welcome to a good meal.

Marge was very community minded.  She was a founding member of the Hinchcliffe Sunshine Ladies Club and the Etomami Valley Riders Club.  She was also a member of Endeavour Seniors Club and Hinchcliffe Hall Board. Marge believed you always helped your neighbour and community.  After milking cows, she would even try to get in a game of curling, usually the last draw after the chores were done.

In her later years, Marge started knitting—making mittens and socks for all her grandchildren.  She loved to read Western books, newspapers, farming magazines and cookbooks. And she loved visiting family and friends.  She also enjoyed visiting with young people and was very interested in their lives and sharing stories about hers.  Marge always had a beautiful yard with flowers and household plants.  She took great pride in keeping her yard neat and clean.

Marge’s fondest memories included:

                When all the family would get together

                Being raised as a trapper’s daughter

                Harvest time

                Enjoying Telemiracle

                Watching how the world changes

Marge’s greatest inspirations in life:

                Hard work doesn’t hurt anyone

                If you want something you have to work for it

                Money isn’t everything

                Cherishing family and helping them in any way she could.

Our family would like to thank:

Randy and Rachael for helping Marg stay on the farm as long as she could.

Danny and Teresa for all their help and support, any day and all hours of the night !

Lynette & Gaylene, for friendship and the regular Tuesday rides to Seniors Club

When Marge went through some hard times on the farm, the business community and many individuals helped Marge through difficult times and helped to make sure she could stay on the farm.

A huge thank you goes out to the Crozier Home and all the staff and residents for their care, support and compassion for Marge and her family.

Marge is predeceased by her parents, Ken and Margaret Cook; her late husbands, Ken Thideman (1951-1965) and Dick Reynolds (1967-2008); her siblings / in-laws, Kenneth (Ethel) Cook, Eric Cook, Vivian (Bill) Breti, Raymond Cook, Phyllis (Ron) Zimmer and brother-in-law, Frank Arnie.  She is survived by her siblings / in-laws, Clifford (June) Cook, David (Elva) Cook, Bruce (Jane) Cook; her sister, Bessie Arnie and sisters-in law, Gaylene Cook and Glennys Cook.  She is also survived by her sons, Murray Thideman (Diane), Arlee (Darlene) Thideman; daughters, Laurie (Dave) Zarazun and Tammy Reynolds (Sean Gibney); grandchildren, Kerry (Derrick), Kenny (Nicole), Stacey (Perry) , Jason (Jaelyn), Lindsay, Brendon (Haley) , Katherine (Brenan), Billie Jean (Matt), Meagan (Denver) and Landon (Raelynn); great-grandchildren, Cole (Allison), Dylan, Shaelyn (Tanner), Chloe (Karston), Keegan (Tessa), Sky (Darnell), Alex (Aspen), Leah, Ryder, Charlotte, Teagan, Corben, Finley, Harlow, Oaklynn, Willow, Raelynn, Calla, Hattie, Rhett, Ty, Boston;  and great-great grandchildren Waylon, Paisley & Avaya.