Gerry Renner

1938 - 2023

Gerry Renner, beloved wife of the late Ken McKibben, passed away in Taber on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at the age of 84 years.

A come and go celebration of Gerry’s life was held at 5804 - 58 Street, Taber, in her yard, which was her happy place, on Friday, July 7, 2023 between 2:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M.

A private burial service was held at the Taber Memorial Garden.

Gerry is survived by her children Roxanne (William) Huddlestun of Taber, Rhonda (Terry) Burge of Taber, Cindy (Rodney) McArthur of Saskatchewan, Don Renner of Carstairs, Debbie (Neil) Weerstra of Taber, Laurie (Wanda) Renner of Taber, Tracie (Butch) Baceda of Taber and Ron Renner of Taber. Also left to mourn her passing are her sixteen grandchildren, twenty great grandchildren and by her sister Jane Douglas of Taber and her family.

She was predeceased by her parents Fred and Frieda Miller, her husband Ken McKibben, granddaughter Kortney Burge, grandson Bo McArthur and brother-in-law Rick Douglas.

Gerry was born September 23, 1938 in Empress, Saskatchewan. As a young girl entering school, her native language was German, therefore, she had to learn to speak English. She continued to speak fluent German when conversing with her mom throughout her life, especially when she didn’t want her kids to know what they were saying. Gerry would often tell the story about how she would have to ride her horse Flika to school no matter what the conditions were. She had a passion for music and could play multiple instruments, but her real passion was the organ. Gerry was able to play either by reading music or just by ear. In her younger years, she could always be found playing her organ and she used to say she had to play to keep her fingers limber. Even as the years went on and arthritis started setting in, she insisted on trying to play with her crooked fingers, she was adamant that it helped with the pain.

Another passion Gerry had was for sports. She followed her kids and grandchildren while they competed in their sports. She was a permanent fixture at a ball diamond, either coaching or as a fan. Right up until her passing, she continued to head down to the local ball diamonds to take in a game. Gerry was an avid Blue Jays fan, as they were her favorite team. She never missed a game on television and she was able to attend some games in person with her kids and grandkids, which was a highlight for her.

Throughout her working years, Gerry had various jobs but her passion was for cooking and plants. She spent countless hours helping her mom in the café and continued on later in years running a café with her sister Jane at G&J Café. The last but not the least of her working years were spent running her greenhouse, which was known as Granny’s Greenthumb, where she was in her happy place for many years. Her love of flowers was evident in the ones she sold as well as on display in her yard. She loved to spend hours either sitting on her deck or in the yard admiring her flowers.

As Gerry’s health declined, she spent the last four years residing with her sidekick Roxanne and her family. Very rarely did you ever see them around town without each other and if you did, people were asking, “Where is your mom?”. Although she was plagued with many ailments, Gerry never complained about the pain she was in so she could go along with everyone in order not to miss out on anything. She always said, “Don’t leave me, I am not staying home”.

Gerry’s sense of witty humour will be missed by all that loved and knew her.

If friends so desire, memorial tributes in Gerry’s name may be made directly to the Taber Lost Paws Society, 5710 - 66 Avenue, Taber, Alberta T1G 1B8 www.taberlostpawssociety.com.